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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: A very general question- to find info on companies I used to go to msn.money- then I sort of moved over to yahoo finance- what site would you recommend. I am looking for the basics a price chart that goes back 5yrs minimum, the financial statements, maybe earning history-same a min of 5yrs...
Read Answer Asked by Warren on December 16, 2013
Q: Hi Peter,
I am wondering if you have thought about giving a seminar/workshop on investing ? With defined benefit pensions going the way of the dodo it would seem prudent for individuals to take charge of at least part of their portfolio. I am particularly interested in finding something that would help put my two adult children on the right road.
Mike

Read Answer Asked by mike on December 16, 2013
Q: Hi Peter and Team,
I have allocated about 10% of my portfolio to higher risk/growth stocks.Which five or six of the following would you suggest? AVO,ACQ,LSI,BAD,EFN,MCR,FSZ,LGT? Or are there others you might suggest? Thanks Dave
Read Answer Asked by Dave on December 16, 2013
Q: Comment on comparison of discount brokers.

I moderate a forum on high yield Canadian stocks and have done so for 11 years. This question has frequently come up over that time period and I have noticed some similar conclusions coming up over that time period.
1) Every brokerage will have its die hard fans who swear by one institution--those institutions are never the same.
2) the most general conclusion is that all the brokerages have problems and strong points but all certainly have their problems--seems more luck than picking the "right" one
3) Only trend over the years is that TD has been dominant but the number of complaints against it are also increasing.
4)for the record I have no connection to a brokerage (retired) and use Investorline personally.
Bryon in Elmira
Read Answer Asked by Bryon on December 16, 2013
Q: This is my response to Paul's question regarding self trading with a broker. I have used TDW for over 10 years am very satisfied with the performance of their system. I have recently started using their new Advanced Dashboard program and find it to be very complete and happy to be using it.
Good luck Paul in your decission.
Terry
Read Answer Asked by Terry on December 16, 2013
Q: For Paul who asked about trading platforms. I used to be with TD, then moved to Nesbitt Burns and now with HSBC Invest Direct. Use HSBC for 99% my banking and like the world wide representation it provides. Check it out.
Ronald
Read Answer Asked by Ronald on December 16, 2013
Q: Good Day; We are starting up an RESP investment account for a new born and would like a suggestion on an ETF to start the first investment with. The initial cash investment will be fairly modest, probably around $2000 - $2500 for the first year.

Thanks for your insight.
Read Answer Asked by g on December 15, 2013
Q: Peter
I own DHX and have owned it since $2.62.Now it is overweight in my portfolio.Traditional thinking is that I should be selling some and rebalancing.What is wrong with putting a stop loss(lets say 15%) behind the stock and let it run!I spend a lot of time trying to find such an investment and I submit I took more risk at $2.62 cents than I am today.
Read Answer Asked by Randy on December 15, 2013
Q: hello 5i members:
I'd like an opinion on those familiar with using Scotia iTrade for a self-directed investment broker. If comparisons can be made with other experiences ie. BMO Investorline, or TD etc, then that would be helpful.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on December 15, 2013
Q: I am in Goldcorp at about $26.50 and willing to be patient. Does it appear weaker to you recently, and do you attribute this weakness vs AEM (for example) due to this land claim issue in Mexico? Buy more, sell, hold at this point.
Read Answer Asked by Randy on December 15, 2013
Q: I owe GNV as a play on infrastructure. I am up about 40%. I was thinking about selling at getting into STN or do you think there more to go for GNV? Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Paul on December 15, 2013
Q: Hi Team
My adviser is suggesting purchasing Vertex Arbitrage fund as an alternative to a portion of fixed income type of investing. Do you know this fund and any feel what type of return may be achieved with this type of fund?

As always thank you for your advise.
Read Answer Asked by Doug on December 15, 2013
Q: My question is on Abbott Labs and Abbvie. I had 300 shares of Abbott and they split. Now I have 300 of Abbott and 300 of Abbvie. Should I hold both sell both or keep one over the other. I know that Humira comes off of patton in 2016 in US and 2017 in Europe. Should I sell Abbvie before then?
Read Answer Asked by Jimmy on December 15, 2013
Q: I would like to clarify my understanding of convertible debentures. AFN.DB, for instance, matures Dec 31 2014 and pays 7% interest. It is callable Dec 31 2013 by the company. I understand that its conversion rate was set at 22.23. Assuming that AgGrowth does not call the debenture and that I was to purchase it in early January, I believe I could expect two interest payments in 2013 and then 22.23 shares if the shares have reached their target price of $44.98 or higher by the end of 2014. Presently, the debenture is priced at about $40. If the shares do not gain further value in 2014, do I get $1000 in cash at the end of 2014 when the debenture matures or does the company change the conversion ratio in order to return the value in shares? Is there a negative impact; i.e., a significant dilution, on the stock price when the company suddenly releases all those shares to pay back the debentures? What is meant by the premium on the debenture? Is it the difference between the present value of the debenture and the value at the conversion rate? I thank you for your information and look forward to your reply.
Read Answer Asked by richard on December 14, 2013
Q: Hi Peter,
Could you offer an update on Artek Exploration (RTK)? What would be an attractive price to add to my current small position?
Many thanks, Peter!
Read Answer Asked by Scott on December 14, 2013
Q: Hello Peter
Olympia Financial Group just declared a $10 per share special dividend. So now we have to work out what will happen to the stock price right away, and also after the dividend is paid. Does the share price rise now in the expectation of the dividend? Does it stay at the present price after the dividend is paid or does it drop $10 after the dividend? The company may be "dividending" out the profits to the large insider shareholders [and the rest of us]in preparation maybe for selling the company to another bank who might just bid a higher than current price to get it. What current strategy would you advise?
Thank you for the excellent advice. Paul
Read Answer Asked by Paul on December 14, 2013