Investment Q&A

Q: I notice that you are getting questions about what to buy when the market settles and it seems people are expecting this to happen soon. But isn't this something that could take a year or two, as closing plants down,people not travelling and buying things will reduce earnings and put us into a recession?

Q: Can you explain why gold has dropped sharply today? My expectation is that through times of uncertainty, gold should usually go up?

Q: Can you give your current thoughts on this company please? What is the growth outlook and how does the balance sheet look? Would you recommend anything else in the US instaed? Thank you

Q: What are your thoughts on a buy for Delta Airlines? If cornavirus worries pass in the next few months, do you anticipate a quick comeback for quality airlines like Delta?

Q: Could you review the situation with covered call ETFs during this type of market where everything is dropping?
Do you buy covered call ETFs to obtain income?
Do you sell your covered call ETFs?
Do you wait until the market moves upward before buying a covered call ETF?
Do you simply stay away when the market turns and buy the individual security?

Thanks....

Q: In Nov 2016 you dropped QST from coverage for being too small and volatile. Lately though, it seems to have risen in your estimation albeit on the higher end of risk. Just wondering what factors you consider to have changed?
Many thanks .
Mike

Q: Hi,

Warren Buffett owns Delta airlines. Which is a better buy Delta or Air Canada?

Thanks

Q: Hi, what are your top 5 Canadian and 5 USD dividend paying stocks that you would buy in this correction for a long term hold in a retired income portfolio? thanks

Q: Is there a chance the CGX sale will not close? Noticed the current stock is trading closer to $33 today. Also is there a another dividend payment?

Q: Is there any reason why Cineplex is now trading well below the $34.00 offer price? Is there any reason to believe the acquisition will not close? Would you simply hang on to the shares until the transaction closes?

Q: With both stocks below the takeover offers. While CGX is waiting to complete the transaction and TRZ is waiting regulators approval, what is your assessment of risk in buying a position in either or both companies.

Thanks

Q: Hello 5i team,
I've held a good number of stocks you hold in your BE portfolio and I've managed to obtain a 14% compound annual total return in the last 11 years.
100% of my portfolio is in equities; I'll be shortly 77 years old and plan to reduce my equity exposure to 30%, with the above stocks in mind.
Your opinion is most valuable
Antoine

Q: Two questions: i) You have previously voiced concerns with respect to NFI production control issues and ii) there appear to have been several additional contract awards to NFI in recent weeks. Do you consider the production issues have now been addressed and no longer a concern and, do the additional/cumulative contract awards represent a significant improvement in this company's outlook and is this a decisive move by purchasers of mass transit vehicles? I appreciate there is unlikely to be a short term profit bump but if there has been a productive move or change in purchasing trends do you expect the benefits will mostly accrue to this company and in the longer term. Thank you for your response.

Q: Could you comment on their earnings? Thank you!

Q: Can you comment on Whitecap’s latest results? Do you like the company? Any other general comments?

Q: I'm curious about what happened to REITs and utilities on Friday. They got absolutely hammered. Some of the utilities, in particular, like Boralex and Capital Power were down 6%-8%. Both sectors plunged like anvils. They performed worse than most tech stocks, yet the fears over the virus should not be able to impact their revenue and profit at all. Do you have any ideas here?

Q: You have probably answered similar questions but are there any companies you would buy here given the market turmoil? In particular, are there names that stand out in the sense that there are babies thrown out with the bathwater that are relatively immune to what's going on and because of strong balance sheets may actually “benefit” relative to their competition. Could you suggest some med. to large cap Canadian and US stocks that stand out to you? Thanks!

Q: My brother did a Ph.D in the area of virus research, at M.I.T. He has zero interest in stocks. He was able to tell us 1 thing regarding this event, it's that Europe, Canada and the U.S.A are currently in what he calls Phase I of the virus breakout (out of 3 phases) and that statistically, the death cases should be much higher in about 2 weeks. This of course might not translate to the equity market, but probably means that worst looking headlines are coming. My plan is to wait 2 weeks and then, start buying on margin *IF* the market is lower than today. Here's my question. Considering that the cost of the loan is 4.95% (all-in-one mortgage from NBC), how much of a drop from today (SP500 is at 2950) would you recommend buying the U.S index? Thank you.

Q: Has the expansion of the US Fed balance sheet since 2008 contributed to the performance of the markets by keeping interest rates low?
Given the last week of market activity, do you think the US Fed will lean towards cutting the discount rate shortly?
Do you think that this is the appropriate policy response?
Why?
Should interest rates be as low as they are?
Does the US stock market need a low interest rate environment in order to do well?
Thank you.

Q: I noticed that the money managers for the Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan sold Disney and Starbuck's and bought a significant position in Blackberry. Do you know why and do you think it was a good move?