Investment Q&A

Q: I submitted this question on Sunday, so now re-submitting...

Asking this question for a friend who is relatively new to investing (and may be a future 5i client:-)

She has $200k in a non-registered account and is contemplating a balance of 75% US ETFs and 25% US equities, any sector. The account is growth-focused, moderate to medium risk; no funds will be withdrawn for 3-5 years. Given these parameters, please suggest 4 ETFs and 4 stocks she should consider. Thank you.

Q: Hi. After listening to a 5i podcast about 4 years ago - in May 2021? - I purchased Ultra Clean Holdings. Since then, I’ve pretty much been underwater with that holding by 30% or more (34+ % today). The stock did bounce, I think once, but it was short-lived and I’m still holding. What is in the cards for UCTT if you don’t mind answering a question on an American company. Thank you.

Q: I have been advised to buy Ripple's XRP. What do you know about this crypto investment?

Q: Do you have any opinion on this company latest result ?

Q: Recently KSS has loosing its value significantly with mostly SALE recommendation. Do you have any opinion on this company? There dividend is way high to maintain it.

Q: My question is on Cerrado Gold, a Canadian company that was a spin-off from a piece of junk I bought a long time ago. Its symbol on the venture exchange is CERT but it is not in your database. I was planning on selling it to clean up my portfolio but after some initial due diligence, it seems like it might be worth keeping. I find its balance sheet confusing in regards to its debt level so I want your thoughts before I do anything. Its a very small position so not a factor in my portfolio.

Q: I have an enigma for you….
CALL.TO closed at C$4.13 today while CALL.U.TO closed at US$16.01.
If these are identical shares, both listed in Toronto, then the price difference should be the exchange rate - correct?
However, the equivalent USD shares are far more expensive than the CAD shares. This is the puzzle.
Could you explain this?
Which is the better buy, or would you not recommend either one?

Q: Good day. I’ve been holding my stocks for just over 3 years without much adding subtracting and balancing. I have a few stocks that have declined quite a bit over that time. I think it’s time to sell a few of my losers and reinvest in better companies. The two equities in question are in a RRIF account. Magna is down 53% and CSW.B is down 31%. Each represents about 1% of my portfolio. Do these companies have a hope over the next 12 months or should I sell and move on. Can you recommend a replacement equity to purchase with the proceeds. Thanks

Q: Here is a challenge for investors to beat financing charges. The financing is 2.4% for 36 months and I need better than 2.6% to pay taxes on unregistered account. With a ladder of tbills, bonds and strips one can obtain 3.1% with very little risk. If one could live with a bit more risk ( say possibility -5% over the term) are there any other options such as a low volatility income fund or preferred shares?

Q: These companies caught my eye recently due to their broad exposure to infrastructure, energy and engineering. The 1 yr chart for MTZ is pretty good as well. However, some of MTZ's fundamentals I look for seem inconsistent (equity, EPS, free cash flow and operating income). I'm not sure what to make of this one, and see others (eg:PWR, J) in the energy infrastructure/engineering as also looking promising.

I'm not beholden to either of these (and please propose others), but now that I know such companies exist, can you recommend a few options for a "catch all" for exposure to electrical demands (AI, data centers) and upgrades (utility), other energy infrastructure (solar, hyrdo, transmission etc) and even communications (cell towers, etc). Perhaps a wide range here, but curious what comes back from 5i!

I'm particularly interested in your comments on management effectiveness

Q: From recent articles I've read, It appears that sentiment in REITS is shifting from residential and industrial to retail and senior housing.
I currently hold CAR.UN and DIR.UN. I find this hard to believe but should I be considering a switch to REI.UN and CSH.UN or something else that you support?

Carl

Q: I am setting up a TFA for my son. As the initial amount is less than $10k i will be investing in ETF/Index funds.

60% of amount will go to broad based fund such as VFV
20% of amount will go to Div paying fund such as VDY
20% Of amount will go to global large mid/large cap fund

Question:

1. I noticed some p/e ratio for various S&P 500 funds vary greatly . The PE for VFV is currently 32 but last week it was 22 ?. Any S&P 500 fund that you prefer over VFV suitable for TFSA?

2. Any suggestions for a global fund geared to mid/large growth companies suitable for TFSA long term?

3. Does my allocation seem reasonable ?

Take whatever credits required, thank you for great service

Q: Can you please recommend a few few USA treasury bill ETFs?

Carl

Q: I need to consolidate some of the riskier stocks in my portfolio. Of the following on my chopping block, could you rate which would be keepers for the long term (with a hands-on approach) - best to worst - KSI, GLXY, AVGO, AXON, IESC, ROAD, COIN, APP, CRWD? Also, I hold both GSY and PRL. Is it reasonable to let one go in a consolidation? If so, which one - thanks!

Q: Hi there,

I’ve done ok with these stocks but I want to raise some cash for diversification - in what order would you reduce/sell?

Ok thanks!

Q: HOOD I have noticed ads targeting the wealthy investor in addition to their meme/crypto traders. This seems to be a new company that is firing on all cylinders- time to add
to the recommended list?

Q: Good info from 5i on recent lackluster BEP.UN stock performance.

I've noticed that historic trends for this company's Revenues and Operating Cash Flow seem to be fairly positive / consistent. However, Operating Margin took a hit last year, and Free Cash Flow has been negative the last three years. Is this a concern to you? Is the projected annual 5%-ish dividend increase in jeopardy (next increase is coming up shortly ! ).

Acknowledging the negatives you mentioned in your recent Q&A responses, would the current yield not soon theoretically help stabilize the stock price - especially considering this is a Brookfield....despite as "complicated" as the company is?

Q: From a value perspective, what are your top two non-bank financial stocks these days?

Q: As irrational as it seems,Trump may impose tariffs soon after his inauguration just to appease his voting base.A likely “knee jerk “reaction would send these stocks lower.Do you think this would create a buying opportunity?Are there others in your portfolios that could be affected? Some of this uncertainty must be already be priced in,but CLS seems immune to this.

Q: I have read the question history on Quantum related companies and have noted that these 4 seem to be most well known.

Are there any publicly traded, earlier stage (not yet pumped) companies that are worth monitoring for future potential? Not companies you buy today but companies with interesting concepts/potential in this field that could be "next".