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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: In a Smith Maneuver portfolio, is it advisable to allocate a percentage in gold? If so, could you please provide some top picks?

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by dan on July 21, 2020
Q: top 3 american, top 3 canadian, banks to invest in ?, and a reasonable projection and why, or do you not recommend banks at this time?

thanks
Read Answer Asked by eddie on July 21, 2020
Q: Hi 5I team,

If I have to pick one among the 3 above, which one would you recommend and why?

thanks,
Read Answer Asked by Irene on July 21, 2020
Q: Would you please rank these companies in descending order of their dividend reliability.
Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by David on July 21, 2020
Q: Looking at the top ten holdings of the TAN solar etf...can you comment on some of them based on your 5iresearch criteria....sedg, enph, fslr, run, Dq, csiq
Read Answer Asked by James on July 21, 2020
Q: I need some advice on this fund and industry sector as a whole. I was intrigued to hear there was indeed a fund or a strategy around egaming. Frankly I had not given it any consideration other than it drives me crazy how much my kid plays and the explosion of online egaming. Its gotten to the level that this industry can sell-out Madison Square Gardens for a competition or the launch of a new game. NCAA colleges have progressively moved into this sector as well where faculties are being built around the theme. So its becoming hard to ignore.

What do you see as a strategy to be exposed to this market? Is the above ETF a good start or do I look elsewhere? What sector would you assign the eGaming industry too? Consumer Discretionary?
Read Answer Asked by Patrick on July 21, 2020
Q: Dear 5i team:
Your software indicates our family’s investments are too Canadian-focused. However, I prefer our “home bias”, for three reasons:
(a) most of our assets are non-registered, and the dividend tax credit is especially favourable for Canadian source dividends in a province such as ours (Ontario);
(b) I like supporting the companies that I invest in (e.g., we buy Peller family wines, since we own their shares);
(c) but most important, many of the “Canadian” businesses we own are surprisingly international; among our top 20 equity holdings are:
Alimentation couche-tarde (Circle K is world-wide);
Brookfield Asset Management (globally focused company that invests wherever the opportunities are);
CGI Group (revenues are 84% outside Canada per 2019 annual report);
CP Rail (significant U.S. revenues);
Fortis (65% of earning are in U.S.);
Manulife (growing Asian revenues);
Restaurant Brands International (most of Burger King and Popeye’s restaurants are outside of Canada);
Shopify (not sure, but suspect international revenues are growing faster than Canadian revenues);
TC Energy (dropped “Canada” from its name to reflect its growing U.S. presence);
TD bank (substantial and growing U.S. presence);
Anyways, the above-listed 10 stocks represent about one-third of our overall equity holdings (in absolute $ terms), but I would not consider these companies as being “100% Canadian”. I wonder whether your software could be rejigged to reflect the relative percent earnings (or revenue) contributions, broken down per Canada, U.S., Europe, Asia, and so forth. I suspect our home “bias” is not nearly as substantial as it appears.
Ted
Read Answer Asked by Ted on July 21, 2020
Q: I assume that the share price fall has resulted from the short seller claims, and that the law suits could go against the short seller if those allegations are false. I further assume that the short sell attack is opportunistic rather than a valid critique of the company. But
I do not know the project history. Do you know if there is substantial validity to the short seller claims, or if there are substantial impediments to the projects success?
Read Answer Asked by Mike on July 21, 2020
Q: Hi,
In my TFSA ..Im holding ECN ,PKI , REAL , SIS , XBC
I have some cash to buy 2 more cie ,, can you recommend what I should add.

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Costa on July 21, 2020
Q: While it is difficult to pull away from my tech holdings, to diversify some US holdings I am considering purchases of Treehouse and Northrop Grumann. Even though these are USA stocks, if possible, would you please give your analysis of whether these companies are good investments at this time...are they a buy or not, and why? Thank you for your excellent service.
Read Answer Asked by Leonard on July 21, 2020
Q: I am considering buying LIFE, or maybe HHL. I understand the "withholding tax" issue is best handled by having these ETFs being held within ones RRSP.

A clarification question = If the foreign country withholds income taxes, is this reconciled at the time of filing ones income tax? I thought there was a tax agreement or tax treaty that ensured there was no double taxation. So if one paid taxes to the USA on a certain investment, then you didn't have to pay taxes also in Canada...in other words...no double jeopardy. Or...is my understanding incorrect?

The reason I ask is I like the way my portfolio is constructed and have the funds available to purchase either of these ETFs from within my Cash account.

Thanks for your help...much appreciated...Steve
Read Answer Asked by Stephen on July 21, 2020
Q: Can you please compare the current valuations of these stocks with their historical/average valuations? Can you also comment on whether there appears to be any parallel to their behaviour now as compared to during the last financial crisis, and if so, what happened to their share values after things returned to “normal” then? My concern about investing in the consumer staple space now is that they might suffer from a rotation out when the outlook for other sectors eventually start to improve. Do you share that concern to any degree?
Read Answer Asked by Stephen R. on July 20, 2020
Q: I'd like to adjust the split between the Canadian and US equities in my employer-sponsored RRSP. Currently the portfolio is 81% in a Canadian equity fund and only 3% in a US equity fund (the remaining 16% in an international fund). What would you consider a more appropriate Canada-US split than 81% vs 3%? Also, ongoing contributions are being made 100% to the Canadian equity fund. As with the existing portfolio, what would you suggest as a more appropriate Canada-US split for future plan contributions going forward? Looking at a 3-5 year timeline and more potential opportunities and growth on the US side of things. Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Bruce on July 20, 2020
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