Investment Q&A

Q: hello 5i:
please share your views on the Price/Sales ratio, and what that would look like for one of your A rated stocks versus a B or C. Or, would it be easier to give your guidelines for mature vs growth companies? 5-year ratios for this metric are easily obtained, and I've always TRIED (not successfully) to use Ben Grahams' <0.9. Very difficult to find nowadays; is that just because the market valuation is so much higher?
thanks

Q: hello 5i:
re: RME.TO
I note that no questions have been asked since the September quarterly report. After the big miss the quarter previously, does the last earnings report make you more or less positive on the stock? It still appears to be trading far below the valuation it deserves imo. Thoughts?

Q: Hello Peter and team,
We took profits on TD bank and would like to reinvest that money in financial related companies. We were considering BNS, Davis and Henderson, Home Capital, Carfinco, or Equity Financial. I like BNS and my wife likes Davis and Henderson. Could you please give us your thoughts for a 2 year investment .
thanks for your great service

Q: Good morning Peter :
On Nov 27th you suggested : "We would be comfortable with SLF in the mix, but would prefer it be substituted for something else (bonds or the others financials) to keep your exposure from becoming too big". We recently sold 1/3 of our gold miners and added BTE, BDT, CJR.B, CSW.A, PKI, and FTS to the mix, somewhat diluting our exposure to banks.

I currently have a "Pembina Pipeline Corp Conv Unsec Sub Debenture due 11/30/2020 5.750% MN 31" with a current market price of $123.00 [our ACB is $100] so there is a nice 23% unrealized capital gain.

Would selling this for no taxable gain [as I have current offsetting losses] and buying SLF with a current yield of 3.90% be reasonable at this time? I know the dividend is less but with the dividend tax credit and the hoped for growth of SLF over time [I have a 10+ year horizon] would this switch be the right thing to do? I gather that you prefer SLF [P/E 28] over GWO [P/E 16], or MLF [P/E 13.6]. Do you have any other suggestions?
Thank you, your comments are always immensely appreciated........ Paul

Q: Good Morning,

I am wondering is there a single location I can find out which Canadian Companies offer DRIP plans and what is the percentage discount offer. Also is there any other key facts I should be looking at when considering a drip plan also could you discuss the merits of a drip in or out of a tax free accounts. The TD securities rep did know where to look. Thank you again for the excellent service.
mike

Q: I was looking at aya, boyd and GC. Aya is in your model portfolio but the other 2 seem to have much smoother charts with gc having really taken off lately (perhaps too much?) Would GC be more steady as it has casinos in both Canada and the US? What are your thoughts on these three companies? Is aya in the portfolio because of the dividend?
Thanks for your advice.

Q: KLH- Stellar Biotechnologies.
I am considering purchasing some shares.
What is the long-term outlook for this company
Thanks
Wolfe Mielke

Q: Hi Peter,

Correct me if I am wrong, One way to judge a stock is to see the return on equity as the equity holders will receive a dividend after all the debt and prefereed shareholders are paid. NOw gs.to has a return on assets 49% and return on equity 93%. would this company be a great buy.

Thanks
Paul

Q: Hi Guys. As a new member I have started to invest in your model portofolio ie sold UEB and bought CGX. I have about 600 shares of CPX which I bought at around $24.00 most of it is in RRSP and TFSA. Should I hold or sell and deploy the money to other stocks. I,m thinking buying GWO to protect against rise in rates. Also have about 4000 shares of BNS in investment account for income I,m not happy with the concentration but it has been good to me for the last number of years. Thanks for your advice. I,m really happy with you service .

Mike

Q: I am thinking of selling the Canadian portion (15%) ETF (XIC) of my portfolio and replacing it with the 5i model portfolio, any thoughts.

Q: With Avalon having a positive feasibility study and environmental assessment completed for the Nechalcho project would this be a good time to invest on the ground floor as the sector rises. It sounds as though they have the largest potential source of rare earth outside China. It also sounds as though China is going to need to start importing rare earths. Thoughts?

Q: What is your opinion MCAN Mortgage(MKP) nice dividend 8.7%, seems to be in the right spot along with Home cap. Equitable group etc. both of which are going gang busters but MKP stock is way off it high of a few years ago.

Q: Hi Peter, The 12 months return for XRE is down 8% (including dividend) is it time to get in? For a 10% position in a portfolio (retired), is it best to buy 3 or 4 individual REIT or simply buy XRE? (Riocan/H&R/Callaway/maybe another one...all equal weight). Also,I would include BEP.UN within the 10% allocation
Thanks

Q: Re WIN.... With the CAD significantly challenged against the USD how does this affect WIN. Since it reports and collects in USD but pays in CAD is this not a game changer in thinking just like a commodity play? Are not most expenses for WIN are in CAD? What currency does it hide under its bed?

Thanks

Q: I am wish to buy a half position in either HLF or CLR. I am looking for growth with a one to two year time horizon. Which would you suggest. Thanks Ian.

Q: Hi, could you please indicate your criteria for your Park & Hold List selections? Thx, Gary

Q: ETFs don't seem to form part of your conventional review. Do you have suggestions for high dividend Canadian ETFs?

Q: I read the US has passed legislation designed to discourage patent trolls from filing law suits. Will this put further pressure on WIN. Is it time to get out even with a 40 % loss? Thanks

Q: I got a question regarding my LIRA. I have 26 stocks in the account and I am just curious if I have too many or now enough. Also if I am diversified enough or to heavy in a certain sector. MY one rule I have for this account is the company must pay a dividend.

The securities that I own are as follows:

ALA, AGNC, ARX, T(AT&T), BTE, ZWB, BNP, CNK, CPG
DCI, DFN, DD, FTS, FRU, HR.UN, IDX.UN, JNJ, LIQ
MRT.UN, PPL, PKO, POW, REI.UN, SBUX, SPH, WJX

I am above on almost all stocks and have held most of this since April 2011. My lowest holding is 1.15% of portfolio and my largest holding is 10.81 % of portfolio. My general rule is no one stock should be over 5% of portfolio. (SBUX and JNJ have gone up and now break this rule)

What are your thoughts on this portfolio and if you recommend selling anything what would I replace it with long term (15 plus years)

Thanks.

Q: I am concerned about Chemtrade Che.un, still being an income trust. My impression is that frequently the conversion is made at "conservative" values. I don't really trust fairness opinions.