Investment Q&A

Q: I hold both these U.S. banks which I bought back when "everybody needed to hold a US bank" which was only several months ago but seems like ancient history. This morning BBT was downgraded from a buy to underperform. Can I get your opinion on whether to continue to hold or take my losses and dump them.

Thanks, Carl

Q: LNR has started acting better. Aside from portfolio weighting considerations, what are the main concerns here? I see a stock that is trading under book value and could move significantly whenever the sector becomes more compelling. Given a long time horizon do you think adding is warranted? Thank-you as always.

Q: I currently hold a global infrastructure f class mutual fund (CIBC Renaissance ALT062)in registered acct's. It has had poor resent performance with a big drop at the end of 2017. Cause?( It has a 15% investment in UK and top holding in Eurotunnel). Could you recommend an ETF or company as a suitable replacement. Also, would it provide more choice and liquidity if I converted to US dollars?

Q: Hi Gang,
Have some cash available and would like to know your thoughts on the above, looking buy 3 or 4 of the above.

Thanks
Anthony

Q: What is the lowest stock price and or market cap ever added to one of your portfolios ?

Q: If Canaccord as an example raises capital for a public company, and usually if not always obtains warrants, is Canaccord then allowed to make an analysis with a buy recommandation on that stock ?
Is there a time restraint at the onset ? Is there a time restraint at near a period when warrants are about to expire ? For a junior company particularly when any or few analysts cover such a stock, my feeling is that Canaccord could influence strongly the stock price . I welcome your comments.
Thanks.

Q: I am retired and have over the last year built a somewhat diversified portfolio that is geared toward income. I own 1000+ shares of the following of stocks and ETF’s.
Stocks : AQN, ENB (2K), BEP.UN, CVE, RY, SLF, BCE, CPG, IPL,NGD,BT,TD (U.S.),GE (U.S.)
ETF’S: ZEF,ZWE (3k),ZWU, CYH, REEM (2K),MFT (3K), XTR, ZMI (2), ZWP, ZDM, ZPW,ZWH.
I am presently holding an additional 45% in cash and feel that I am lacking in US exposure. I am thinking of purchasing either HEA or ZDY. I like the yield of HEA (6.46%) vs ZDY (2.96%). My question is should I be worried that there is not a lot of daily volume with HEA, in fact some days none. 2. How does someone go about buying 20,000 shares of an ETF with very little daily volume? Is there another ETF(income) that pays a minimum of 3% yield with a broad US exposure that you would recommend? Please note this is for a 5-7 year hold. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Q: I’m wondering what is an optimal % of fixed income to hold … In my case, 15% of my portfolio is in CBO, CLF, CPD, and XHY .. for a 60 yr old, retired investor dependent on portfolio income, is this advisable? … optimal? … not really neccessary? Or, is there a good argument to be made for leaning less on fixed income and more on “a diversified portfolio of banks, pipelines, utilities, consumer stocks, and other dividend-paying equities” (John Heinzl in Sat.’s G&M) .. which i do have (but I could be even more diversified by holding less fixed income) .. I understand that fine-tuning these percentages will be a personal choice, but I would appreciate your perspective. thanks!

Q: Hello 5I,
Last summer Peter wrote an article about 5 possible takeover candidates in the Financial Post. Wouls you still consider them potential takeover candidates today and have the rational / $ matrix changed for each of them?
Thank you very much!

Q: I am considering selling TCL and buying NFI to try and reduce downside risk while still having upside potential. Your thoughts please.

Q: what would you think of the following strategy?
instead of paying the high MER of ZLB i buy the top ten stocks listed under ZLB in the proportions listed and then at the end of each year I readjust to match their new top ten? i know this would involve some trading costs but even if all ten would have to be replaced (not likely) i would still be ahead. anything i am missing?

Q: Greetings 5i Team.
We are adjusting our accounts and looking to place 6% of our equity allocation in the Cdn ‘industrials’ category. If you were to choose among the listed securities, which names would you prefer for each of a one, two, three, and four name selection?
Thankyou
Sam

Q: I see that DISCA has entered an agreement with Play Sports Group. Do you think this will be profitable, or are there already too many competitors?

Q: Of the 2 mentioned above, which do you favour at the present
Thank you

Q: Long time, very frustrated, holder of GUD. GUD never tanked with the Dec carnage but has not rose much either, just seems "stable", which is OK except with no divy there is an opportunity cost in continuing to hold. What would you do? Swallow the frustration and give it more time, or switch to something else in the growth mode, maybe SIS or BCI?

Q: Could I have your current opinion on KEW? I have seen it highly rated on another company's recommended list.

Thanks..............Ron

Q: Dear 5i
What ETF`s would you recommend for a TFSA account with regards to CD and US equities ( re the TSX ).
Thanks
Bill C

Q: In this time of low returns for bonds and GICs, preferred shares are an option. Currently they have been under some pressure, like the rest of the market, but I would welcome your suggestions for a few Canadian preferred shares that are rate BB or above, with a decent quarterly dividend.
Thank You.

Q: Hi 5I,
I own the following stocks (approx 1K shares of each).
AQN,BCE,ENB(2K),BEP.UN,RY,SLF,CPG,IPL,NGD - U.S. - TD, BT & GE. My ETF's are anywhere from $1k-3K shares of each of the following:
ZEF,ZWE (3K),ZWU,CYH,REEM (2K),ZMI(3K),CYH,MFT (3K),XTR,ZWP,ZDM.ZPW,ZWH. - Also holding approximately 40% cash. I feel my portfolio is lacking U.S Exposure. Which of one HEA or ZDY would you recommend and what kind of weighting? I am retired and as you can see my portfolio is heavily weighted for monthly income. Looking at a 5-7 year hold. Any other suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Q: I'm rebalancing my RESP holding. As far as A US etf would you prefer purchasing VIG or is there a Canadian listed etf similar to vig that you would prefer?