Investment Q&A

Q: Good morning,
I own a small house in Ottawa that is free and clear with a current market value of approximately $350,000.
A recent discussion with my trusted mortgage broker confirmed that a 5 year term (Closed & Fixed) term mortgage can be obtained at a rate of 2.29%. This mortgage is said to be:
a. insured through CMHC,
b. portable, and
c. transferable.
At that rate of 2.29% and given that the interest paid would be tax deductible if I use the funds for investment purposes, I'm seriously considering borrowing around $200,000 and investing this amount for an initial 5 year period with an expected net rate of return on investment of 4.5% .
Q1. With $200,000, what are your thoughts of splitting this amount in 5 different chunks of $40K in the following instruments:
a. Mawer Tax Effective Balanced Fund,
b. Mawer Global Balanced ETF Fund,
c. Vanguard Balanced ETF Portfolio,
d. IShares Core Balanced ETF Portfolio, and
e. BMO Balanced ETF

Q2. As an alternative to the above and given the 5 year time frame, would your preference be to invest the $200,000 in a selection of best in class individual stocks split between different sectors and if so, would you be so kind as to provide me with ya listing of your best ideas at this time.

I thank you and look forward to hearing your thoughts on both of these investment strategies.
Francesco

Q: These are the US holdings in my RSP. All have done well except for SYK down about 8% with a limited outlook for the rest of 2020 based on the Covid pandemic. Regardless of sector weighting, what are your favorite 2 or 3 US equities for growth over the next 5 years? I'm okay with a moderate risk.
Thanks in advance,
Greg.

Q: I would appreciate 10 US and/or Canadian small cap growth stocks to invest in for the next two to five years.
Clayton

Q: Harry asked an interesting question about investing in US Tech stocks and wanted an ETF. I did a 52-week comparison of the performance of the 4 mentioned Tech stocks with the ZQQ ETF. If my rough calculations are correct, one would have almost doubled their money with these 4 stocks compared to the putting the same money in ZQQ over the last 52 weeks. Past performance is no indication of the future, but I would like your thoughts on buying these 4 now versus the ETF. In my situation I would put 5% of my investments in these four and currently well diversified and a good chuck of fixed income (>30%). For me maybe okay (your thoughts please) but in general would this also apply to most investors. Please respond to my situation and the general situation if you can please. Thanks so much. Dan C.

Q: Good morning 5i, I am piggy backing off a recent question by James, but if you can disregard sector diversification and risk is also not an issue and main goal of course is capital appreciation.

"If you were starting a new account with 100k with a portfolio of 10 US equities, with a 10 year time frame, which 10 would you currently choose?"

Q: Can you give me names of 10 companies - CDN and U.S - that you feel have:
* strong balance sheets,
* a strong likelihood to survive or thrive in the current environment
* appear to be of good current value with an eye on a potentially strong rebound given a bit of time.
Your opinion is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Q: Hi 5i.
Thanks in advance love you guys! Recommend you to everyone I know. :) For RRSP if youcould buy one US stock which would it be?
I am well diversified, just have cash to dispence.
THansk P

Q: I want to buy two stocks from above selection. What would be your prefrence.
andrew.

Q: Morning 5i,
I'm looking to get my US allocation in my portfolio up to ~40% in the Healthcare, Industrials, and Tech sectors. I have a VERY long time frame, but I'm interested in businesses that have aggressive/high growth in the IMMEDIATE to 2 year timeframe.

Could you please rank the names below in terms of highest short-term growth potential coming out of a COVID world (reopening, new normal).

And if possible, are there any US names that trump these selections instead? Please take as many question credits as required:

Healthcare: VEEV, AMGN, REGN
Tech: TEAM, TWLO, MSFT, NVDA, AYX, AMZN, GOOG, QCOM, PYPL
Industrials: ROP, RTX

Q: Hi group I believe that Tech + health + gold will be the leaders when we come out of recession. Can you give me a list of 2 ETFs for each sector along with 2 individual stocks you like for Canada + USA. Am also interested you take on my sectors that will lead the recovery and should I start picking away or wait ??? (I believe the market are vastly overbought and does not factor in the economic reality that the virus is going to do to the market. Please deduct credits at your discretion.

Q: I don't hold ,SHOP,CSU,AMZN,GOOG,FB,NVDIA, and perhaps missed the boat.Which one you believe if any still make sense buying now?.

Q: If a new investor had a $100, 000 to invest in Canadian & US Equities what would be the TOP 10 Stocks to invest today for the next 3 to 5 years.

Thanks Valter

Q: I am about to triple the size of my investment in the portfolio above and give equal weighting to all. Virtually all of this new money will be in non-registered accounts. In total, this self-directed portfolio will represent 20% of my holdings; I also have 40% in a growth-focused pension fund, and 40% in a mix of ETFs through a robo-advisor.
Do you have any suggested changes to the list of names? I am primarily focused on growth, with a 3-5 year horizon.
Do you recommend a different weighting e.g. heavier on some, lighter on others?
What are your thoughts regarding timing? I am tempted to put all of the new money in now, betting on the sustainability of the recent recovery. But I understand that a phased approach will reduce risk.
Thanks for your help.

Q: I have these equities in my US Margin Account. I would like to raise some additional cash ... just in case. Which of above would you trim first. Are there any which should be sold for a tax loss if possible such as CRM and ISRG, where I am slightly negativ.
Thanks for your answer
Albert

Q: Which sector, consumer discretionary or staples do you believe will be a better bet currently.
Please name 3 stocks on the Can + US side that should work in this thesis and why.
As always, keep up the great work.
Mark

Q: I have these companies in my high revenue portfolio. It has been performing well. In these changing times, I find myself switching to companies that have high revenue growth and will not be affected by closure. Any expert thoughts or input would be appreciated.

FRPT - Freshpet is not in your database.

Q: Good Day

I have journaled over 1/2 of my SHOP position to the US side of my TFSA. I was contemplating selling to accomplish a few things, lock in some gains(1300%), reduce my overall portfolio weight and to increase my US exposure. Considering a basket of TEAM,MICROSOFT,VISA and AMAZON to replace. What is your opinion on this move and would you recommend anything else to add?
Thank you for your continued guidance.

Q: Can you comment on Amazon's earnings

Q: Would you still consider AMZN a buy at the current price for a long term hold?

Thanks, Lyle

Q: Pardon my logic (or lack thereof as it 5:40 am). I did a comparative chart of Shop and AMZN for a period of 1 year and 3 months. Over those two time periods SHOP is up 197% and 65 %, respectively while AMZN is up 21% and 24% over these two respective time periods. I am using the G&M watchlist.
If there is a hint of logic in Shop's share price would that not make AMZN a screaming buy?