Investment Q&A

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

Q: I am looking for equity diversification outside of the Canadian market. Small portfolio.
What would you suggest given the current value of the Canadian dollar? How would your response differ if our dollar was higher relative to the U.S.?

Q: Hello Peter
I can't believe the price for some of these stocks,the banks, the pipelines, etc. etc. There are so many of them.
If one has some cash, is it better to wait for better opportunity or buy and collect the dividend and wait.
RRSP and TFSA season will soon be upon us. Is the world coming to an end or is this just a good buying opportunity.
If there was a sale like this at Best Buy or Apple Store or other major department stores, we would be running there in an instant. You understand these thing better than I do. What is your opinion? Would you wait or buy??
Merry Christmas to you all.

Q: From the current questions it appears you prefer US options to CDN ones. Is there a US site similar to m-x.ca? Sites such as those at CBOE don't help with either implied or historical volatility or any other parameter.

Q: In light of current oil prices,how safe is the dividend ? What is their payout ratio.
Thanks,
Phil

Q: Are there any screaming buys for income investors that have emerged through this tax loss sell-off period? Please list 5 best buys.

Q: Do you think the Paris Climate Accord and the new Liberal government's apparent commitment on climate change makes Questor a buy at this time.

Q: Your current view on CGR (ETF- ishares global real estate index).
Your top choice in this sector (ETF), for the next 5 years.
Many Thanks .
P.

Q: Are you sure about your last answer on the amount paid out by this company in dividends last quarter? You may have taken the market cap instead of shares outstanding to calculate the $11 million you quoted.
I checked two sources and one shows 111 million shares outstanding and the other shows 112 million.
The last monthly dividend annoucement was for 0.01854 per share.
This should works out to about $2 million per month X 3 months = $6 million paid out per quarter, not $11 million. Big difference!!
Once the full effect of the new royalty deal comes into play, this $6 million should be fully covered.

Q: I know that you don't cover US stocks, but you answered questions re BX.US a few times before, so I'll give it a shot. Your last comments re Blackstone were quite favorable, but the stock has been falling and now it is down 30% from June high. I hold some (to the total of 3%) in my non-reg account, and I am thinking about averaging down and buying more (to add another 2%) after current sell-off. What's your opinion? Do you see it as a buy, hold, or sell at current prices/situation? You mentioned before that "it a decent alternative investment, but one that needs to be held throughout a cycle". How would it perform in the short-to-mid term with the US rates rising? - Thanks