Investment Q&A

Q: https://www.rbadvisors.com/insights/4-for-24-year-ahead-outlook/

RB advisers recommend the following 4 themes for 2024 and as a value investor I am looking for ETF recommendations:
(1) US small caps: I am using XSU (100% IWM)
(2) US cyclicals: I found IYC but P/E is 27! Recommendation?
(3) Non-US and emerging markets: I have been using XEF and ZEM. I like XEM (100% EEM) because it posts a P/E each day.
(4) Theme 4 is "Industrials: deglobalization spurs infrastructure". No idea what ETFs to use here.
Thanks for your recommendations/comments!!!

Q: What are your thoughts on water etfs or stocks? Should I use 1 or more in this sector? Using C$ or US$ to invest, which etf(s) or stock(s) do you recommend based to have the best potential?

Q: Good morning, Which Stocks do you guys believe should benefit the most with the rising cost of living and many people having to turn to cheaper retail and grocery stores for example. Would stores like Costco and Dollarama be a couple of obvious examples, thanks?

Q: Could you please describe ESTC’s business model and any competitive advantages that it has. As well, could you provide your comments on their last earnings report, which looked pretty good. Would you be confident in their future earnings guidance?

Q: Good evening,

I have a couple of questions regarding the following 5 ETF's. If it cost more than one credit that is ok. Just curious if you only own those 5 ETF's how diversified would you be? I understand that you be giving up some upside but from a diversification perspective do you have all your sectors covered?

For full disclosure I have 15 percent of my entire portfolio allocated to this 5 ETfs too add a little boost in income.

My last question regarding these 5 ETF's iss they all pay a distribution except SMAX and QMAX. SMAX and QMAX pay dividends according to my platform BMO investorline. Does that mean both these two are eligible for the dividend tax credit?

Thanks and have a great day.
Jimmy

Q: According to Graham's The Intelligent Investor one way to make money is to buy companies selling for less than book value. In previous responses 5i has said that book value can be somewhat tricky because while some companies have measurable hard assets others have a large amount of goodwill which is somewhat intangible and difficult to measure. I see that BIR now has a price to book value ratio of .69 suggesting that an investor can buy one dollar's worth of the company for 69 cents. I have two questions. First, is BIR one of those companies with measurable hard assets that are now underpriced? Second, is the massive dividend sustainable?

Thanks as always for your expertise and Merry Christmas to everyone at 5i.

Q: Hello, can you recommend a USD money market fund that can be purchased on the NYSE? I hold ZMMK in my CA portfolio and looking for a US$ equal. Thank you.

Q: As a general comment; I have noticed that you quite often end your answers to questions on commodity related stocks (especially energy) with ‘If sector exposure is desired’.

May you expand on this caveat? From what I gather, 5i is generally averse to the commodity sector. Are my assumptions correct ? Thank you for clarifying.

Q: Are you aware of a chart that compares tax levels on both capital gains and Canadian dividends at different income levels? Thank you.

Q: Could you tell me which 3 Canadian banks have the most domestic real estate mortgage exposure and also for a 2 year hold , and in general which CDN bank would you buy and why ,Thanks and have a Merry Christmas!!

Q: 3,500,000 homes needed in USA next 3 years, I know about Home Builders, What about things that go into these homes Paint Sherwin Williams, bathroom, air conditioners, kitchen appliances flooring, lumber etc,

Is there a play in these areas vs Home Builders,

Home Depot Lowes,

RAK

Q: Hi, I have a large capital gain from TMO which I have held for many years. I plan to sell some of this to offset some capital losses. Which alternative company(ies) would you recommend to replace it? I am principally interested in holding stocks for growth.
Geoff

Q: RESP allocation for 10 & 12 year old kids is currently 100% in VEQT. If it were your account, at what ages would you consider transitioning to VGRO and then VBAL if money was required in 6-8 years. I realize there isn’t a right answer and purely subjective.
Thanks

Q: What are your thoughts on the spin off of light oil assets? In your opinion do you think CVE purchases the oil sands assets at a later date?

Q: Considering to invest 100k in one of 5I portfolios. Which one do you feel has the most upside for 24? Retired investor .tks Larry

Q: Hello, I am down 25%+ on all of these companies and looking to do some tax loss selling prior to yearend. Can you order these companies in terms of what you would sell first? Would you rank these companies as Sells or Holds (or even Buys)? I am a long term investor, not a trader, so I'm hesitant to sell only to rebuy later, or to average down. I have some ability to do a tax loss carry back to recoup some of my losses from prior years (plus minimize my 2023 taxes).

Q: hi, in my USD account I currently hold: PFE, MMM, CRWD, NVDA and GOOGL. I want to add the IJT etf. any thoughts on positions size ( half, full) right now, based on current price of IJT? if you had to sell from my list of current equites, what order would you do it in - and would you sell any completely in exchange for IJT ?
cheers and happy holidays! Chris

Q: If the US pundits are correct and we are moving in a "peak" interest rate world this would bode well for the various forms of accommodation construction. Projections seem to suggest supply will remain tight until mortgage rates ease, and I believe that is likely as we move into the latter half of 2024.

Given that, my first question to you is do you feel that now, or soon, is a reasonable time to look into companies who would benefit from an expanding US housing market? If so, I would be interested in your take on a "top 3" home builders to invest in and then a "top 3" within the home construction supply chain. I already own a couple of lumber producers and am interested in mid-stream suppliers.

Thanks very much; Merry Christmas to you all.

Q: Peter; Do you see any indication that ,some institutions/ individuals , are selling CSU to buy LMN- and do,you think that’s a reasonable partial switch? Thanks.
And as also a very happy member for many years thanks for all you - and all your employees - who have helped my family with your insights into the market with totally unbiased research. 5i is more like “family” than a brokerage firm . A safe and happy holiday season and I look forward to 2024 with 5i providing the same excellent guidance.
Rod

Q: Hi, my question is about the oil and gas sector which I always had a generous amount in this sector ( 10% or more) because I live in oil country.
And have done quite well.
I’m thinking of taking it down to 4-5% because of the headache the sector is having with government and environmental concerns of the people.
My thoughts are the growth going forward is just not there and will be stagnant at best .
Do you agree ? Or ‘em I way too early in my thinking. Thanks