Investment Q&A

Q: "We’re increasingly of the view that quarterly earnings are mostly noise,” she (Eileen Mercier, director at IFC) said. “I tend to think of the income statement in most industries as a work of fiction. It has become so complicated that most people can’t understand them or read them anyway.”

If we de-emphasize the importance of the quarterly report, in part because it is unaudited and therefore open to manipulation, should we therefore pay far more attention to the audited annual report, especially the MD&A section?

I know that 5i looks at the quarterly numbers partly because so many questions come from subscribers on assessing reported and expected numbers. What I'm curious about in the 5i process is what percentage of the company research process is put into analyzing the annual reports of say the last 5 years of an average company?

The whole article on quarterly reporting is here: http://business.financialpost.com/legal-post/the-case-for-ditching-the-quarterly-financial-report-mostly-noise

Q: They received offer from TDG of $4.90. I have 1650 shares.@$6.00 cost.Is the deal in 5i eyes good or would someone else bid higher.Is dividend safe for TDG. they offer 1.06 shares.As always your advice is great for your comments.Tks for great service Peter & Staff

Q: Hello,
WSP has been loosing value lately and down 10% in a month. My WSP holdings are about 4% of my portfolio (sector total 10%). Should I be concerned? What's your current view on the stock? Give the current market is it a buy, sell, or hold?
Thanks.

Q: I am looking at adding CPH to my portfolio. Would you suggest starting with a half position in todays market? Also I am wondering how to interpret the company's goals. For example, they are targeting $1biln cap by 2020. Based on the current number of shares (26million) that is a stock price of almost $40. Is this what management is suggesting here?

Q: what do you think of management hiring an outside source to sell some or all the company would this be a good time to buy. thanks.

Q: Your thoughts on Freeport Mc...FCX...would this be a good time to get in?

Q: I purchased Cipher Pharmaceutical during jan.'15 at $17.60/share. It is now down to $11.11/share (37% loss). The fundamentals look pretty good (e.g. forward PE of 9.56). I would appreciate if you could fill me in about why you think it has tanked so badly and what is your outlook for it?

Q: Hey Peter & Team,

Originally I bought Manulife right around $20 back in Feb 2014, collected a nice dividend but admittedly, I became impatience with very little in the way of capital gains. Jan I sold at $21.68 and redistributed the capital elsewhere which worked well in PHM & EFN.

Lately there has been much talk about interest rates and how well Insurance companies should do with an increase in rates. I have been sitting on 25% cash for about 6 weeks and am seriously considering MFC or SLF for a portion of this capital.

The long term graph for both since their lows back in July 2012 look very good with higher highs and higher lows all the way but also for both, very little in the way of capital gains for the past year.

Can you please give us your opinion on the Life Co's moving forward, what you think an increase in rates will do for their share values, and which you would select... MFC, SLF or another selection in the sector... at this time?

I know in the past you have recommended SLF ahead of MFC.

Thanks for all you do

Gord

Q: Hey Peter & Team,

This one has me a little confused. I am in at a little over $2.00. Was excited when the news surfaced about the Harvest takeover for $5.00. Saw the jump and watched the stock as it understandably hovered around the $4.80 to $4.85 mark and assumed this is where it would sit until the deal was done and I received the $5.00/share as per the deal.

Now in the past week or so it has dropped almost 11% to $4.35.

Can you please explain why the share price has dropped so low considering there is a done deal at $5.00/share...

Also, what advice you can give moving forward re when this deal will complete and as a shareholder what I should do in the meantime...

And am I correct to expect I will eventually receive $5 per share.

Thanks for all you do

Gord

Q: Hi, Can you please specify the Sectors The following companies are in?
Growth Portfolio: DRT. GXI. KXS. LMP. PLI. PUR. PEO. QHR. SCR.
Income Portfolio: DH. ET. SPB. MCB. VNR. WSP.
Bal. Equity: WSP.
Since this is a long list, feel free to charge question credits at your discretion. Thanks for everything. sarah.

Q: Black Diamond is now up 80% off its low.Is the market anticipating future growth again? ( maybe possible contracts from LNG ).

Thx Blake

Q: Hi Team,

I own full positions in EFV, EEM, and VXUS. I am looking to free up some US dollars to invest elsewhere and was wondering what you thought about selling one of these ETFs. Do you think I need all three or would two suffice for international exposure? If two is enough, which two would you keep? Thank you.

Michael

Q: A corus bond maturing in 2020 is yleiding 4.64%. Any thoughts on the safety of this bond.

Many Thanks

Paul

Q: Hi, Still trying to figure out the sector thing.
Is BCI a Health Care sector company? It's not Cons. Discretionary, is it? Thank you. sarah

Q: Is this a good entry point for Transalta? Thank you

Q: I need a transportation company in my balanced portfolio and was wondering which company you would choose today and why. Is there any other "transport" company you would choose instead of these 2 companies if you had a choice?

Thanks!!

Q: As a follow up to the answer you gave Donald today regarding companies that may be benefit from Europe infrastructure spending, you may wish to consider IBI group on the TSX-- ticker IBG. A risky play given its recent financial difficulties but they may be turning the corner this year. Tons of upside.

Q: Hello Peter and all; As always appreciate your great service, one news item from Bloomberg that as come Monday, Saudi Arabia lifts a ban on direct investments by foreigners, fund allocators are preparing to shift money out of other countries and put it to work in the Arbab world's largest stock market. I wonder are there any etfs that are related to this market that we have access from here? Thanks.

Lin

Q: Can you please comment on why you would not recommend a hedge fund to be more than 2% of someone s portfolio (i might have misread but my question is in reference to an answer to Bohdan about uber strategies on june 12). Thanks

Q: Hello 5i:
Very interesting, in-depth article on BEP today. The author has gone into great detail (more detailed than 5i's report), both positive and negative on the company. Yes, he likes it, with high praise for management, execution and target shareholder returns. IF you're thinking of investing in BEP, or if you need a utility, please read this. Here is the link: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3251275-brookfield-renewable-energy-partners-l-p-a-great-mix-of-growth-and-dividends