Investment Q&A

Q: Bonjour, my broker suggested an ETF with very low trading volume. But she said that the volume was actually much bigger. Is it because of in-house market or transactions between brokers that do not show on regular exchanges? Not knowing bid/ask, I’m somewhat wary of not getting a fair price for what I buy or sell. I would much prefer an ETF with some steady volume. Comments please.

Q: Hi 5i Team,

I have held a balanced Canadian Couch Potato Portfolio with the above etfs in my son's RESP which i started when he was born in 2009. The portfolio has done pretty well (in my books at least) at 8% annual return. I am now looking at a 6 year time horizon for when he will need to begin to draw from the RESP. I am thinking of starting to rotate toward more conservative holdings as the timeline for needing the funds draws closer. Under "normal" circumstances from what i have learned this would mean moving more into bonds at this point but I am having trouble believing this is appropriate in the current market. With interest rates and inflation both rising i am wondering if low debt dividend stocks might be a better bet to hold onto purchasing power in this time frame? Maybe something something like CDZ vs XBB? I know you can not suggest specific portfolio recommendations but looking for suggestions/best bets for maintaining value and keeping up with inflation over this time frame.

Thanks,

Q: Gatekeeper has had a nice bounce up last 30 days. Are you aware of anything that may have supported this.
Thanks John

Q: I don't know anything about technical analysis. However, looking at the chart of XBC over the past week there appear to be clear levels of support and resistance at 1.80, 1.95 and then at 2.25, Presumably this relates to investors either taking profits or exiting at a reduced loss following the recent uptick. My question: does this chart tell us anything about future levels of support or what we might expect moving forward? Thank-you for your insight.

Q: This seems to be trading at a good price lately. Their last report showed about 58 cents per share of cash flow, which translates into about 7x cash flow on an annual basis. Is this correct?
Seems like COVID and other risks are already priced in. Is debt the main concern? I note that that did come down somewhat in the last quarter.
Thx

Q: AKT.A has been showing better momentum lately, but I'm still way way down on this stock. Would you continue to hold or sell and use the funds to average down on Xebec?
My other 2 options are to either sell Knight Therapeutics, or use up some of my cash to top up Xebec.
I sold both TBRD and UNS near their lows only to watch them Rocket later, so this makes me hesitant on selling my losers, i often get it wrong.
Thanks

Q: I searched the i5 questions history and found that the last question was close to 6 months ago. I looked at the latest numbers and like that the margin % has increased and their balance sheet looks good except a for a recent large increase in inventory. Am I wrong to think they are ramping up production for unannounced orders and that the stock looks good?

Q: Please comments on EFR, is it a hold or sell?.
My question on MGA last month, I forgot to ask you is it a sell or hold as well? Many thanks

Q: In a taxable well diversified account would you take a loss on SQ to buy PYPL or any other US stock in which case please make 3 suggestions. Currently hold AAPL, GOOG, CRWD, CROX. Looking for growth with medium risk. I'm a patient investor but could use some capital loss this year.

Q: I own both MAWER New Canada-MAW107 (since 2004!!) and Mawer Global Smallcap-MAW150 (since 2011) in a taxable account. Both funds declared very large capital gain distributions in 2021, much more then I experienced in the last years.. Are the capital gains really from 2021 -not the best year for MAW150 ?

I’m probably dead wrong but is it possible that after many years of good performance (let’s say 10 years), the mutual funds are required to distribute some capital gains, so that investors do not cling to them forever, and make CRA happy ?

Thank you.

Q: Just read an interesting Barron's article on Equinor, a Norwegian company. It appears that this company might strongly benefit from the shortages of oil and gas in Europe being so close to this market. How would you assess this company and its capacity?
Thank you!

Q: Great webinar Peter. I was pleased to hear you reinforce the ‘basket’ approach in small cap investing. Not only does it make sense, it helps one sleep much better. Thanks again.

GM

Q: Hello 5i Team

I need to trim back my holdings of TD Bank and potentially purchase shares in Bank of Montreal.

If I sell TD Bank on Thursday April 07, please confirm that I will receive the dividend as April 07 is the ex-dividend date.

As the Federal Budget is scheduled for release after close of the markets on April 07, would it be reasonable to assume if an increase in the Capital Gains exclusion rate was implemented it would be effective April 08 or at a later date?

I tried to research the previous increases in the Capital Gains exclusion rates, however it last occurred in 1987 and most government press releases are not digitized from that era.

Thanks

Q: GSY: I've been thinking about buying this stock; however, concerned about the BOC aggressive stated policy to increase interest rates quite quickly. This and the recent report from RBC on housing service index that is high and getting higher - higher % income required to service mortgage debt. Concerned about a recession; especially, if I own this stock which probably would get killed, I would think? Comments please.

Q: I would like to get 5iR thoughts on the following March 31, BEI.UN trading activity. BEI.UN high for the day was 59.11. At 3:49 PM the price was 59.00, volume 200. At 3:53 I bought 140 shares at 58.80. Between 3:53 & 3:59 the price varied between 58.78 & 58.87 with individuals volumes less than 1000. Then just before 4:00, 69,000 shares were sold & bought at 58.79.

So my question is, what is 5iR thoughts on why, just before the market closes, shares of BEI.UN previously trading at volumes less than 1,000 shares per trade, an investor sells 69,000 shares (much more than previous individual trades) at a price close to the day’s low. I know you can’t exactly know the sellers thinking, but do you have any thoughts on the seller’s strategy. (69,000 x 58.79 = $4,056,510) Thanks … Cal

Q: Are there any indicators a recession coming?

I ask as nothing makes much sense at the moment. I run my own business, and there is a lot going on right now and feel the sand shifting underneath me.

COGS is going up like crazy, there is wage inflation, inflation in general, and interest rate increases on the horizon. I notice retail customers are bit slower than before and shipping is going up.

I don't get a good sense that things can continue like this.

I know inflation doesn't normally cause recessions, but interest rate increases can.

Should I not worry about it and just let my balanced portfolio go through the process.

Or do I position some Cash or more recession proof companies into my portfolio?

Sorry lots to unpack, but the Tea Leaves aren't giving me anything yet my gut feels something;)

Thanks Colin.

Q: When do they release their next earnings results?

Q: Hello, I am using Portfolio Analytics and it's suggested allocation is to increase Consumer Cyclical, Industrials and Utilities and increase in U.S. exposure. What is your suggestion for these categories for investment into TFSA & unregistered with a 10-15 year timeline? stocks or ETFs? thank you

Q: Peter; With the sale announced today is CSH.UN winding up - if not what do you think they will do with the proceeds ? Thanks. Rod

Q: Good morning,
I understand that Valens announced a deal yesterday where "underwriters have agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis, 10,613,207 units of the company at a price of $2.65 per unit." The stock plunged 25% yesterday on the news to $2.16. I am sad to admit that I am ignorant to why this stock dropped so much on the news - any insights you can provide? Also, I bought this stock with a 5-10 year hold plan - still a good long-term company?