Investment Q&A

Q: Hello 5i,
One of the comments has prompted me to write and say "Thank You!!!" for a very valuable service that I find indispensable. While on occasion I shake my head at some of the questions, I remind myself that there is never a "stupid" question and that the answer is the important part. Not everyone has the same level of knowledge, experience or risk tolerance and this will be reflected in the questions.
So, to keep this short, Thank You!!! You are much appreciated!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all at 5i and the 5i community.
Cheers,
Mike

Q: Peter; I think I saw some babies being thrown out with the bathwater this morning - what do you think? Rod

Q: Seems Mr. Market is underwhelmed or not paying attention to the SYZ announcement as shares are up only the amount of the special dividend on 100 traded as of the time I write this. Have they made a habit of specials in the past and do you agree with the CEO's statement that, "...our relative company value remains a fraction of our peers."? Which peers does he refer to? Thanks, J.

Q: The company can attribute a great deal of its success to its remarkable culture. Are we still in the early innings of this transformative behemoth.

Q: This sector is incredibly exciting. What's your take on medical devices please. Thanks.

Q: Another stock that you recomended and I am down substantially.
why is this stock down so much?
And can you tell me again why I shouls hold?

Q: Wondering whether a Kinder Morgan type dividend cut could happen to Cdn pipeline cos in a sustained low price environment. With negative sentiment in the sector and depressed share prices companies will be hard pressed to raise capital to fund significant cap ex programs. If they cannot fund growth organically they may need to cut dividends to free up capital. I realize Kinder's situation was exacerbated by an untimely large acquisition but the need to fund large cap ex programs remains in a depressed share price environment. Your thoughts please. Thanks..

Q: Please give us an update on BUI's management stewardship and your general thoughts...Thank You

Q: I am a bit surprised that there isn't more talk about the potential effect of lifting the U.S. oil export ban on WTI pricing, and of course, by extension, on Canadian oil. My thinking is that it narrows the gap between Brent and WTI favourably for WTI. I have read the recent EIA report which suggests the effect will likely be fairly neutral but I wonder what your thoughts are and if you know of any good links on the subject. Thank-you very much.

Q: If you were to buy a couple or rate-reset preferreds, what might they be and why.
Is it a good time to get into them, considering "negative interest rates" have come up as a possible option to deal with economic issues?

As always, thanks.

Q: In the past you have suggested a 30% weighting outside of Canada. If using vxc or xaw for said international esposure and the remainder 'canadian' stocks from the balanced and growth portfolios(atd,csu,cxr,bns,cxi,phm,mg,mda,enb,it,bos,sj,wsp) is 30% still appropriate today? Assuming this is a young investor that would work toward 20 names from the 5i portfolios as funds become available. Thanks

Q: hello 5i:
I currently hold small amounts of TRP, ENB AND BIP. I also hold a full position in BEP.UN, and a smaller position in FTS. Dividend Growth is important, as are present dividends. I am considering taking a full position in BIP.UN. To do this, I'd have to sell the TRP and ENB holdings. Can you compare the stocks, and does this seem like a sound move for a portfolio that has too many holdings?

Q: Please provide your general insights about this company, the insider ownership levels and the quality of the stewardship, thank you.

Q: What do you guys think of this company?

Q: TA has been a destroyer of asset value for many years. How will buying assets from TA benefit RNW? How can an investor know that assets are being sold at fair market value?How much overlap is there on the boards of the two companies. If there is a high degree of overlap, I see little reason to expect RNW to be a better managed company. TD has a price target of $14.50, which seems very aggressive to me. Your comments please.

Q: What do you make of the QuickDraft app that the score has come up with. What is their business plan regarding the new App.

Thank you
Clarence

Q: Hello Peter,
I have a very small position in QHR within my registered account and some available cash. I could either buy some more and have a small position or sell and use the proceeds and cash to take a small position in Tio Networks (TNC) instead. Or I could just have very small positions in both. With your past experience in portfolio management what would you suggest?
Regards.

Q: Just wish to second everything Lance wrote with one addition, if you think it is too long, go directly to the answer, it may tell you some good information and in most cases you may want to go back and read the question then.

Q: Hi there

I know there have been some heavy losses this year in the preferred space, and new preferred shares are being issued at slightly more favorable terms but I really am perplexed by their short term movements in price given the market knows the direction for interest rates. I bought BAM.PR.M preferred in mid October for 16.50, in short order it was over $20 and now it is back to $16.10 today. I could see this in a market where the direction of interest rates are in some question but everyone know there is an interest rate coming in the states, we have know that for 1/2 a year other than the timing of it, and it is expected that rates will continue to go up. So nothing has really changed since September of 2015 yet preferred shares prices move around like crazy (I own others like Brookfield). I have owned preferred for quite a while but have never seem this volatility. Can you give me some ideas why at this time the prices move around so much and another question - are these solid investments for long terms income still and will prices recover somewhat?

Thanks

Q: Peter et al.

With the current OPEC decision to raise the production ceiling to their current production level of 31.5M BOPD what is your current viewpoint of a timeline for a turnaround. We have had the following occur:
1. $200B worth of capital shelved worldwide in 2015 and it expected to be the same for 2016.
2. Rig counts at their lowest since 2010.
3. Production starting to decline in the US to about 8.7M BOPD
4. Inventories still at record highs of 487M barrels in the US.

When will these reductions start to appear. Heavy Oil in Canada has never made any sense to me economically as it gets a lower price (~$15 less than WTI) and it costs more per barrel to produce. It is impossible for non-Opec counties to reduce production because they are privately run so OPEC expecting this is impossible. This is reminding me of 1998 - 99. The worst part is I am heavily invested in the oil industry percentage wise and also it is where I work as well. What should I expect?

Thanks,

Brendan