Investment Q&A

Q: I am building a portfolio of dividend paying stocks as a source of revenue for retirement in a few years. Am I correct that in the consumer staples area (where I am under weight), your top picks at this time would be ADW.A and PBH? Or would you go for something larger for more stability (e.g. L)?

Also, I observe that your sample portfolios run to two pages but I think you suggest 20-25 stocks is a good number for most of us. Have I missed something?

Q: Hello team,

Thanks as always for your valued insights.

Can you please comment on ATA in general terms and speak specifically to today's announce deal. Is this not the sort of deal that could give the name a serious tailwind?

Q: I have preferred shares in my porfolio :ENBRIDGE INC 4% SER-3 PFD (ENB.PR.Y-C) ,BROOKFIELD ASST4.2%-34 PF (BAM.PF.B-C) and RYL BK CDA NVCC 4%-AZ PFD (RY.PR.Z-C). These were bought before I took care myself of my portfolio. All of them are down 40 to 50%.
I am tempted to sell all those preferred and replace them with CPD to get the capital loss for 2016 and keep getting some income.
I do not know much on the mechanics of preferred. Is this a good idea? Should I buy back the same titles after the 30 days required to avoid a superficial loss are expired?
Thank you.
Serge Lacroix

Q: Hi there - can I ask for your opinion on PRA group? Analysts seem to have mixed opinions on the company, but it looks interesting based on some of the reading I've done. It's down heavy this morning after what looks like a minor miss.

Thanks much.

Q: Hi Peter and team - Could you comment on the recent agreement between Bankers Petroleum and Albania. Do you think that this is likely to have positive results and if so what might the timeline be. From your previous comments it would seem that BNK has the ability to pull through in the event low energy prices continue for a while but that the impasse with the Albanian government was a major concern. Also when I checked insider ownership with INK it seemed to be very low. Do you know what the insider holdings actually are. Thanks.
Rob

Q: Hello Peter, I need your help to rank the above with respect to safety, income and growth for 2-3-years.
Many thanks, J.A.P.,Burlington

Q: To Peter:

You may wish to respond privately, if you feel this question is too long, and not of interest to anyone else. For me, it is very important. If you do publish it, I apologize to those members who feel that some questions are "way too long". To them I say: please skip ahead to the next question. : )

I like to be an informed consumer in all aspects of the market, and that includes the Stock Market, so that's why I buy into 5I and its philosophy. You provide exceptional value in helping "the consumers" of the stock market wade through all the gobbledy-gook of business-speak. A very technical term, I realize, for industry jargon. In that vein I need some clarification.

I've bought into -- both literally and figuratively -- the growth stories of Constellation Software, Enghouse, and Open Text, with nice returns. Thanks very much.

However, I don't know at all if I'm participating in an act of "department of redundancy department", because the jargon is drowning me.

In your report on Constellation Software, you state that it is a "global provider of enterprise software ...[which] ... manages and acquires vertical maket software solutions."

Your report on Enghouse states that it "develops enterprise software for a variety of vertical markets" and "specializes in customer interaction software and services".

You do not cover Open Text, as such, but the most I could glean from its own website is that it specializes in "information management software ...[that] helps businesses attain a 360 degree view of their big data and analytics by streamlining organizational workflow."

Huh????

Wading through this miasma of language, given that I am not a techie nor an MBA, the closest I can figure is that Enghouse provides some sort of software to expedite functions in call centers.

The other two escape me completely. They're very successful at what they do, obviously, and I'm glad of that, but ... what DO they do? With all due respect, their websites are drowning in as much jargon as are your reports. I don't mean that facetiously -- I just think investors are drowning in so much "industry speak" that they don't often know what they're buying -- they just go on gut instinct, and the recommendation of trusted managers, if they are lucky enough to find one.

Could you provide a plain-speak response to this, please?

Apart from being interested in the companies themselves, I would like to know if I'm simply duplicating an investment strategy by buying all three, because they may all be doing the same thing, and all seem to be "leaders in their space" ???

Thanks so much!

Sylvia F.

Q: FYI re Wi-Lan activity and price appreciation. A lot of share buyback re NCIB from Feb 12 to 26. WIN bot about 1,000,000 shares in the range $1.78 to $2.31. (There goes 2 million of the 96). Last year they only bot a total of 125,000 total on the NCIB.
What I find interesting is the recent rights offers to insiders.
Jan 31, 2016 rights issued to Directors at $1.85 and
Feb 3, 2016 rights issued to the CEO, CFO & other officers at $1.63
By my calculations, Skippen gained about $170,000. & several other officers gained about $60,000. + in the last 3 weeks (assuming 1 right can purchase 1 share).
Why don’t right show in the holdings list for insiders?.
How can we find information on rights issues? I never see a news release with this info. How long do rights usually last and are there rules re pricing? The above gains are almost criminal after the dividend cut.
Appreciate your comments.

Q: It seems tornado damage is on the increase in US. I was thinking wef may benefit in helping with the rebuilding on top of any rebound in new construction. Are there any companies or etfs you would recomend based on this thesis

Q: I am thinking about switching out of DR to RNW for a little more potential growth while still receiving a good dividend. Would you consider RNW more conservative as well? Sector weighting I not n issue. Thanks, Bill

Q: I'm wondering what you think of putting a small position of the international part of my portfolio in an ETF that tracks India. I know that Ishares has one and it seems that it has been outperforming other emerging markets. If you like the idea, what percentage would you suggest investing? Thank you for all you do!
Pamela

Q: Was thinking REITS might be a good place to look for income right about now. I own Tricon and TGF.UN for about 2.5% of my PF and for domestic REITs HR.UN and SRU.UN for 2% of my PF. Are there any REITS that seem particularly attractive to you right now?

TIA

Q: Released numbers look good to me. Why did the stock drop 4%? Please comment. Thanks

Q: I am looking for investing in the packaging industry and I want your views on which of CAS, CCL.B or RPI.UN is cheaper and which has a better growth profile and which one should one invest at this time. Thanks

Q: Jetlines has announced RTO of Jet Metals on TSX-V. What are your thoughts on prospects for JET?

Q: Looks like the market is very disappointed with the conference call. Is $1.50 an overreaction?

Thx

Q: Hi 5i: I am overweight financials. Among others I hold C, JPM and WFC in the US, with SLF and EFN on the TSX. I'd like to drop 2 of these. Your advice would be appreciated.

Q: Looking at this--used to own it --paid a nice Div but had a lot of debt
But I think starting to look better--but no Div
Went to their WWW but learned nothing
What do you think of them?

Q: Enerflex reported today and practically everything, not surprisingly, is down. They do say, however, that they have a healthy balance sheet and are able to weather these times. Do You think it is worth buying, now, or wait?

Q: Could I have your opinion on this company please? It has done very well but is it getting overpriced? Would you consider it one of the better buys at this time? I always appreciate your information.