Investment Q&A

Q: Suggestions Only: No question today. : )

1. I would like to add my vote for a 5I report on Ten Peaks coffee.

2. You have mentioned that you are re-vamping the website and wondered if one more suggestion might come into play. Is it possible to add some additional sub-headings to cross-reference all companies by sector? You have a few sectors delineated on the sidebar, such as Energy, Technology and REITS and Gold, but was wondering if more could be added to reflect TSX sectors -- so if one is looking for a Consumer Cyclical, for instance, or an Industrial, we could just comb that section without doing a massive search.

Anyway, just a thought. As the Australians say, "No worries, mate. All's good."

5I continues to be the best there is in the industry! Thanks for such a great place to find so much.

Q: My question is what is the proper asset mix, percentage wise, for a Canadian equity portfolio in today’s market conditions. Presently my asset mix is Financials 36% - Utilities 16% - Bonds & GICs 12% - Communication Services 10% - Preferred Shares 6% - REITS 5% - Energy 5% - Cash 3% - Stock Mkt Indexes 2% - Consumer Defensive 2% - Industrial 2% - Consumer Cyclical – 1%. Would you change these percentages & are there asset classes that you would add? I am finding the most difficult job of managing my portfolio is determining a proper asset mix. Thanks … Cal

Q: I'm interested in investing in Parkit. However, I don't fully understand what happened with this joint-venture deal (http://www.parkitenterprise.com/news/2015/april22/). Can you help shed some light on this and if it his is a good deal for shareholders?

Q: I had this for some time in an unregistered account, it represents about 1% of a well diversified portfolio but it is down about 40%. Is it worth hanging on or better to take the losse and invest in something more productive?
Thank you.

Q: I hold FCR for income and am in a small profit position. Would you trade it for D.UN? Thanks

Q: Please give opinion on kWh thank you

Q: Pi Peter, I need your help me to select one of the healthcare companies, NorthWest and Chartwell's 40d moving averages suggest buys, Extendicare numbers are confusing to me: i.e. Pe.133, book value as -66.Perhaps, suggest another one.
Many thanks, J.P. Burlington

Q: Just wondering about your take on the Canadian Banks going to the yearend. I bought them in the spring for a long term hold and am down about 10%. I know short term trades are mugs game but am considering them for some early tax loss selling and buying back later on in the fall, after 3Q earnings and the election. Doesn't seem to be much catalyst for them to go higher and with all the uncertainty I wonder if they'll drop some more.

Q: Sorry guys, I meant to ask about XEU (not XUS)as a C$ alternative to some combination of FEZ and EWU. What do you see as the pros/cons?

Q: "Moody’s slashes Teck Resources to junk status"
In your experience, is this a screaming sell signal?
Would you consider this worse than a dividend cut or elimination?
If it is a sell, what would be a good replacement in the same space?
Thank you.

Q: Any insight on JE... One insider buy a lot , would you consider a buy here for income ,,thx

Q: Richmont just announced that they have been added to the S&P/TSX Small Cap Index, and the stock is up over 7% today. I know this is a positive for the stock, but I'd actually like to exit my position (slightly under water), but wonder if it's worth holding for another few weeks/months to see where it goes? Specifically I'd like to know how long the positive effects of an addition to an index like this will remain?

Cam

Q: You previously said they were too small to comment on despite a little cash in the bank and a raising of $500,000. Since then the price has doubled to 20 cents and they raised another $2 million. Is it still below your radar as wondering if already too late considering it is speculative.
Thanks

Q: Hi peter can I have your thoughts on stb results today debt and payout ratio down looked ok to me but market did not seem impressed .i have a large position in rip.un and it has held up well in this turmoil.
Kind regards
Stan

Q: Some time ago I purchased a Royal Bank "fixed-floater" subordinate bond issue,for which the interest is fixed at 3.18% for the first 5 years, and then floats at the 90-day Canada rate + 1.21% until maturity 5 years later. The "fixed period" is coming to an end this year on November 2.

When I purchased the bond, I was told that banks virtually always "call" fixed-floater bonds before they become floaters. However, I do not understand what would be their motivation to do so: with the current approx 0.30% 90-day rate, they would only be paying about 1.5% interest to the bondholders until maturity in 2020.

Should I expect that this bond will not be called and that I will be stuck with it at a poor interest rate until 2020?

Thanks!

Q: I am thinking of moving out of FSZ into AD for growth and income. I realize they not in the same business exactly but would like your opinion. Thanks for a great service.

Q: Yahoo shows 2016 PE for above as 6.8, 11 & 6 respect. Pls. state what your source shows. I'm itching to buy.
Thanks

Q: What is your rating of QHR Corp now?

Q: What is it that is ailing BIN? I've wanted to buy it now for some time, yet something keeps holding me back.

Apart from your in-house report, I've read quite a lot on this company, because it seems such a logical, slam-dunk, no-brainer (and many other metaphors to accompany that thought) that it should be doing so much better than it is. Yet, it is trading lower now than in January, and nothing seems to shake it out of its doldrums.

Does it have more competition in the space than we (retail investors) are aware? Is it an organic ailment (no pun intended, given the nature of the industry?) Is it management? Is is just the sluggish market?

I would think even in a sluggish market, we're producing more waste than ever before in history, and consuming at such a rate that it makes cockroaches blush, and yet ...

I'd appreciate a gut-reaction, experienced investor's hunch on what's up with BIN.

Thanks very much, as always.

Q: I have a position in FEZ but it doesn't include Great Britain which appears to be the strongest economy in Europe. Would you add an equal position in EWU? Alternatively, if one doesn't wish to buy US$ at this time, what about a position in XUS which appears to cover Great Britain and the developed countries of Europe and is available in C$? Is there a US$ equivalent to XUS? Thanks for your advice.