Investment Q&A

Q: Good morning,

My portfolio is pretty well diversified and do not keep more than 5% in each of my holdings. I have money right now that I would like to invest.
One of the sector that I do not have any investment is in the health area. Would have a company or an etf to recommend?

Thanks

Paul

Q: Hello Peter and Staff;
Is there any downside to purchasing an ETF in December, in terms of distribution of units. I know in the past when I have held mutual funds, I have taken a hit early in the new year which pertained to a fund timing purchase in the last couple of months of the previous year. ?any similarity in operation of etfs and mutual funds in this regard?. Thank you very much

Q: Regarding the question on RIF withdrawals,I try not to withdraw dividend stocks in kind - I leave them in my RIF and withdraw the dividend income in cash. If I withdraw dividend stocks in kind, the dividend gross up on top of the taxable amount of the withdrawal, cpp and oas, gets my taxable income too high (despite the dividend tax credit). So, for my required RIF withdrawal, I take the cash from dividends and top up the amount required with an in kind transfer of a non dividend stock such as GIL. I will pay capital gains in the future obviously. Do any of your members who have to make RIF withdrawals have any other ideas? It is a bit of a difficult transition to go from accumulating retirement funds, to then having to use them to fund retirement - something I should have been thinking about 10 years before retirement! My advice to anyone who has to live off their investments is to top up their TFSA's and to think about how to position your portfolio between RSP's and investment accounts well before retirement.

Q: Hi guys,

With the latest news from OPEC and the steep declines in oil prices, can you provide a few names that you think will benefit most from lower oil prices that we should have exposure to?

Also, I know natural gas stocks and oil stocks get lumped together and that sentiment is very bad right now, but some natural gas stocks are getting hammered with gas over $4. Doesn't seem reasonable.

Q: Hi Guys
Now that oil is so low, I am sure the analysts will start to reduce the future expectations of all the oil companies. Do you think there will be another sell off in the sector when the feeble minded, lemming-like Canadian money managers see the reduced expectation?
Thanks for the opinion.
Regards
John

Q: I have no intention of turning an excellent and straightforward service, such as the one you provide, into a hand-holding event, but you have lived through many meltdowns with a better handle on what is going on that most if not all of us. Do you see some type of bottom in the energy space? I have an urge to load up on Surge, Spartan and Whitecap for a five year hold. I am also thinking of adding to a small position in Elkwater because they have little or no debt but I don't really know their cost per barrel metrics.
Presently, I have about a half-position in energy and am not down too much as the purchases have been recent.
Am I looking for trouble?
Thanks.

Q: Peter; The last time I saw charts like this, i.e oil stocks, was the morning after the income trust fiasco. And it was a buying opportunity for long term investors. Publish if you wish. Thanks.Rod

Q: Hello Peter & Co.
Comparing the above 2, WSP has outperformed STN in 2014 ytd; but STN was the better performer in the longer term.
Could the underperformance of STN this year partly be due to its greater exposure to the energy sector?
Thanks,
Tony

Q: I am the poster boy for what NOT TO DO in building a portfolio . 25% of my holdings are in energy stocks ( ALA , CPG, ECA , HSE, PGF, SGY ,PPY ,TOU, WCP , SU , VET, as well as PSK, and FRU ) and probably some others. Yesterday I sold RIG at an enormous loss . I see today will be another lousy day and I am already way down on every stock I own in the oil patch ... Question : Might this carnage continue for a year or more ?... If so, which names do you suggest that I dump ? : I am 64 and retired and live off dividend income... thanks so much.

Q: Baytex is having a bad day, trading at $26.40 as I am writing this. Falling knife or good entry point?

Q: Good morning,
I own an equal amount of each of these stocks which have all dropped in the past year. Reading your answers, I plan to ride them out.
1) If I were to add to them, would you recommend an equal amount or would you favour one over the others?
2) Would I be better to leave them alone and add STN, AEM and TOU?
Long term holder.Thanks for your calm advice
Paul

Q: Regarding US$ portion of a well balanced portfolio containing 5i equity portfolio and A/B stocks, canadian large companies, a small bond ladder, no other international exposure w/ 15-20 year time line. Any US thoughts or advice?
4.9% Apple -AAPL
10.1% EAFE ETF -EFA
7.5% Russell 2000 -IWO
14.4% BIOTECH -IBB
39.5% S&P 500 -SPY
6.9% Consumer Discretionary - XLY
5.4% Tal International -TAL
6.8% Vanguard Dividend -VIG
4.5% Yum Brands -YUM

Q: Good morning Peter and Team, The recent Q and A about ZWH has me thinking about my own strategy. I own a position in CLU.C, and its chart shows a 21% gain for the last 12 months compared to 14.91% gain for ZWH, even though CLU.C has a smaller dividend. What do you think of CLU.C? Thanks!

Q: What is your opinion on this company? Does the company has significant value in the real estate of the golf courses it owns? Is it a buy, hold or sell? Thank you.

Q: Would you provide insights to a “Kitchen Sink Quarter” used to describe a company’s quarterly financials? One definition found on the web is: “To kitchen sink is to announce all of a company's bad financial news at one time. A company deliberately overloads a report or press conference to overwhelm the reader/listener.”

1) What other items can be included as “bad financial news” in addition to:
a) write downs (i.e.: closing parts of operations and/or higher than anticipated cost of merging companies),
b) bad loans/investments (i.e.: for financial institutions)
c) Restated financial statements (i.e.: due to accounting irregularities, income tax rulings)
d) Change in senior management

2) In your experience, is this a normal event which occurs to companies within all industries? Or more prevalent in specific industries (Eg: Banks during the 2008/2009 financial crisis) or trend with the market cycle?
3) Are there indications/trends when a company may report a “Kitchen Sink quarter” (E.g.: 4Q yearend)?
4) How do markets generally react to a “kitchen sink quarter” – i.e.: good news, wait and see or bad news? How would you view this type of quarter?
5) Would companies rated by 5i with grades B+ and higher, less likely to experience a “Kitchen sink quarter” due to its quality?

Thank you.

Q: Hello Peter and Team, I have a telecom sector exposure of 12.5% in my registered aggregate portfolio. This exposure is made of 3 companies: AT&T, Telus, and Bell(BCE). Is 12.5% expposure to telecom too high? What do you think of AT&T? It certainly has an interesting dividend of 5.3% Thanks, Gervais

Q: In addition to your comment, I have a rule to follow very strictly my orders. At the open, it is open season for your trade if you do not want to control it. A good placement requires a little effort, also be aware that most "professional" traders enter the market around 10h30 to avoid the fog of your type of trade at the open... At the office you can use your phone to place a trade, better in my view.

Q: I believe the new symbol is CPH

Q: MAL is at an all time high and some insiders are selling.What do you think of the company

Q: Hi Peter,

What is your opinion on everty tech. Is it good for a 10 yr hold

Thanks
Paul