Investment Q&A

Q: We have an unregistered account with 74% cash and want to buy some index funds (my wife read Millionaire Teacher and is convinced index funds eliminate some human error with stock selection). We are considering XIU, ZSP and perhaps ZDB; we do have a significant bond holding with Phillips, Hager & North and not sure if bonds should be part of this unregister account? Long term investments 7+ years. Thanks you very much for your comments on index funds.

Q: Dear 5i,

Can you provide some ideas where one might invest some cash if we have negative interest rates.
Should we be borrowing money to take advantage of negative interest rates?
Do you think negative interest rates would inflate the Canadian real estate market prices?
What observations have you made from European negative interest rate policies?

thanks

Q: Most of my son's assets (all tfsa) are in the etfs zwb, vgg and vee. Would you suggest substituting any other etfs at this point with an eye to catching the rebound? Thank you.

Q: What are your thoughts on BBU at these levels? And what would you rank this compared to the rest of the entities in the Brookfield Group?

Q: Hi. I have held BABA off and on and now considering easing back into it as a proxy for Chinese consumer growth. I was wondering what your thoughts are on this thesis and if you have alternative that you like better. Thanks, JR

Q: I have been hearing more and more about the possibility that renters (and small businesses?) will be able to forgo rents for at least a while, should they be short of funds, without risk of eviction. . Given the skyrocketing rate of unemployment, I am wondering if my four reits (internet, granite, CAR, Minto) are at risk to lower their dividend. If so, can you rank them in terms of the risk to their dividend?

Also, what is to stop any renter from not paying their rent, even if they can? Do renters have to "apply" to have their rent waived or can they just do this their own accord?

Finally, is there any possibility that the government (federal or provincial0 will pay the rent?

Q: Hi,

May I get your opinion on EGHT?

Thanks,

Q: Hi Peter and Team,

I'm wondering if it's time to start picking away at names like New Flyer? I thinking that they are building public transportation and Electric Buses which should still be desired following return to normalcy from this virus and may be more desired following the recent big drop in air pollution from the economies shutting down.

Q: What is your opinion of the mortgage rates which are rising as the Bank of Canada cuts rates down to .25% and bonds are also losing ground ? We are due to renew our mortgage in 3 weeks and are very concerned that the current pressure from mortgage deferrals re covid19 is causing the banks to raise rates for those of us that are financially strong to offset the costs of covid19 costs. Will the government allow the banks to not only refuse to pass the reductions in interest to consumers but also raise them ? Please advise what your thoughts are.

Q: The price of Sleep Country Canada (ZZZ:CA) has declined more steeply than some other stocks in the recent rout and has a good dividend. I've read your latest comments on this country from a post back in January.
Do you think that when the dust settles that ZZZ will be able to rebound quickly and reach its previous levels and is the dividend reasonably safe at current levels.

Q: Given the oil price shock, there are a number of Companies that have seen their share price nosedive to below $1. Some of these of more directly impacted (oil producers), some less impacted (gas producers) and others even less (pipelines). Can you recommend some stocks that are below $1 that have decent balance sheets and good leverage when normalcy returns. Birchcliff comes to mind. Do you like it? Are there others you prefer? This is for a TFSA and a small speculative position.

Thanks,
Jason

Q: Someone came on BNN who used a technical indicator to call market tops and bottoms
but I never wrote it down. I believe it was a breadth indicator that seemed logical.
It was when a certain percentage of stocks(15%? 50%?) go over a moving average? like 20 day? 50 day? after a bottom. Going below the moving average after a market top would give a sell signal.Does any one know the name of that technical signal?

Q: Hi 5i team,

I follow the DOW stocks a lot as they are a barometer on the market. They form the core of my portfolio and I add and trim around them. You mentioned in an earlier question that big caps are likely the quickest to recover. Earlier I lightened up on some high beta tech names and have some dry powder. On the Dow, which ones do you see as are the top 3-4 names having the potential for the strongest recovery over the next year or so. I manage my portfolio closely, so I am not concerned about sectors or weightings here. There are a lot of candidates and some have really been beaten up and others not so much. The financials have been beaten up, but I stay in Canada for those anyway, and I have no interest in the oils.

Thanks again for the insight on the DOW stocks. Thanks for your great work, as some days you are turning out answers faster than I can read them.

Dave

Q: Can you explain why VFV is outperforming VOO (by 7% on a 3-month chart comparison, and by almost 5% over 1 month)? Aren't they basically the same, other than the currency they trade in?

Q: If you were to invest in only 2 Specific Big Canadian Banks at this time, which are the most solvent to weather the storm. Which would you avoid?

Q: I am considering selling my shares in ENB and using the funds to top up my holding in BAH. What are your thoughts on this move?
This would be in a registered fund. There is no tax loss advantage. I am interested in total return whether it be dividend or capital gain over the next 2-3 years.

Q: Hi,

Could I have your analysis on Pivot's latest results ? Do you consider the dividend to be safe ?

Thanks

Q: I thought that a drug had to be on the market for years before generics were allowed to enter the market. Help me understand what’s happening.

Q: This is a supply company for personal protective equipment. Does it have debt? Is it a buy?

Q: What is the best strategy to follow when you want to sell a stock but it is coming up to its ex-dividend date? If you hold the stock until it is ex-dividend you get the dividend but doesn't the stock price falls to reflect this? If you sell before, you don't get the dividend of course. First, am I correct that stocks do normally fall after going ex-dividend? If so, do they fall by the amount of the dividend? Do they tend to return to the pre-ex-dividend price within a few days? Or is every situation so different that there are no rules and you just take your chances?
Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.