Investment Q&A

Q: Hi,
My son is taking a break from active stock picking and has gone with this ETF model: VUS(15%), VBU(5%), VCN(22.5%), VAB(5%), VI(22.5%). His investing horizon is very long (10-20 years). Your thoughts on the individual ETFs? How about sector & geographic diversity? Any other concerns?
Thanks!

Q: XT-N
iShares Exponential Technologies

I am looking for an ETF that follows emerging new technologies. One that seems to fit the bill is iShares Exponential Technologies (XT-N). What do you think of it? Is there another you would like better? Are there any traded in Canada?

Q: Could you comment on Pot? Is the dividend safe? I'm looking to add exposure to the agricultural sector. Do you have a favourite name in this space?

Thanks!

Q: HI TEAM :
I own ZWE and like it could you give a current assessment on it as well as a list of similar ETFS that offer geographic diversification out of US and Canada. Thanks
Yossi

Q: Good morning,

Could you please offer your opinion on Mullen Group in light of their recent earnings and guidance.

Thank you,
Brad

Q: I'm considering a 2.5% investment of my portfolio in TIO Network[TNC]. Is this too much or too little?Since you began covering it last Oct., it has run up from $1.40 to a close of $2.39 yesterday. Is that too expensive for a buy or has it grown enough to offset that price increase?What are its short & long term prospects for growth? As always, your imput is much appreciated.

Q: My question concerns fuel pricing and specifically, profit margins. Prior to ATD.B's last quarter results, concerns were raised about a potential decline in profit margins from gas sales. However, I thought retail gas price margins were quite stable and that it was the underlying price of oil that caused gas prices to gyrate. In fact, I thought retailers were helped by fluctuating oil prices because they are quick to raise prices when oil goes up (thus selling lower priced inventories gas at a higher price) but slow to lower them when oil drops. Is this thesis correct? If I am at least somewhat correct, it would therefore seem that overall sales is not that important a metric for these companies.

How much do gasoline profits contribute to these companies over all profits? Or are in store sales more important?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: In your research reports, I really like the "Report Card" section that contains a summary of company financials on the first page. I have two questions about it:
1. How are you calculating ROE?
2. Where are you getting the financial data? Does it come directly from company filings?

Q: On Friday, July 22 there was a pull back - some of my holdings came back approx. 1%. CXR sold off 5%. Any reason. X dividend - sell after x dividend date to capture dividend? Buy before x dividend date to capture dividend date? Thank you, Dennis

Q: Hi, Ceapro Inc has garnered a lot of attention in recent months, with mentions of Nutragena, J&J and Jennifer Anniston. Stock appeared to have settled around $1.75-$1.80, but after Mr Peter Imhof made it one of his top picks on BNN, last week, it has shot up by another 25% in 3 days. Bob Mcwhirter mentioned on BNN that co. has built a new plant and would need to grow its revenue 10X to justify market expectations priced in the stock. Could you please provide some perspective on this co. and comment if it deserves this valuation and is worth starting a small position? Thanks

Q: While I realize that no one has a crystal ball, do you have any thoughts regarding the possible timing of a possible sale of the company or, if not, a decision not to sell for that matter? I wondered if it might be around the next quarters(August 12 ) results when there may be a better understanding of the impact of Brexit on the company's finances. Or do you think that this might require another quarter or so to sort itself out? Any thoughts on the probability of a sale actually happening? At this time the market seems to be discounting any potential sale!

Q: I note your recent comments on the risks associated with the present contracts for NIF but my understanding from one of the noted brokerages is that the Co has a "break up" value of somewhere between 3.50 and 5.00, which of course is well ahead of the current pricing and worth a wait for this to be realized. Could you comment please. Thank you.

Q: Another 5+% decline today on no news that I'm aware of. I am now off 33% on this thing on the advice of 5I to hang in. Is this a matter of having the fortitude to stay with it thru the volatility or is the writing on the wall that it's not returning to more lofty P/S.

Carl

Q: In numerous answers to investment questions you refer to the Q&A Section. I cannot find this section.
Please tell me how to get there. Thanks
Mike

Q: I am looking into adjusting the Energy Sector of my portfolio which is at 5% of total equities. I have SU, ECA and CVE. Would you recommend switching any or all of these to PKI and RRX or stay the course?
Thanks for the great service!

Q: Hi, CCL Industries stock price has stalled lately after touching a high of $249, few months ago. Recent acquisitions, including Checkpoint systems should be positive to its business and profitability should only go up. Even when markets are hitting new highs every day, stock price seems unable to move out of its narrow range although most analysts have price targets between $275-$285. CCL.b is almost 8.5% of portfolio and I am considering scaling it down. What is holding its price performance, in your view? Based on the recent Winpak results and other information/indicators, is it prudent to wait until quarterly results are released or act now to avoid risk of a surprise on the downside? Thanks

Q: I am a retired senior managing and living off his dividend portfolio.

What do you think of using leverage- no more than 10% of portfolio value?

Can you seeing selling some of these equities when new highs are reached and re-investing the after-tax proceeds?

At the moment it's just buy and hold.

Thanks.

Paul

Q: At canadianmoneysaver.ca/events I would like to register for your
Canadian MoneySaver Day. The Register button takes me to the main MoneyShow registration page. Do I register here for your Canadian MoneySaver Day?

Q: Healthy 93 year old has enough cash flow from pensions, GICs, etc to cover all long term care expenses. We have a million in fixed income such as Gic, 3 year bond ladder. We have $200k in prefered shares. We are purchasing $10k positions in the income and balanced portfolios. Any thoughts about this approach to managing our fathers money?

Q: BCE.PR.K
Assuming AK is the same as A, this does not seem to be a reset according to the BCE website. Please confirm details and your opinion for income (fixed).
Thanks