Investment Q&A

Q: I just read Phil Town's "Rule #1" where he argues, amongst other things that return on equity (aka book value), sales growth, EPS growth, Cash flow and ROIC are the strongest indicators for long term growth. He argues that, ideally we'd invest in companies that have at least 10% growth in each category for each of the past 10 years - a lofty goal to be sure.

Generally, how do you feel about the aforementioned metrics to assess the quality of an invesment. Would you keep them in the same order of priority and would you add any to the mix?

For the record, the only stock I can find that comes close to meeting the 10% increase per year threshold is CSU so maybe there's something to it!

Cam.

Q: Any idea why TH has been so weak lately. I know sales have been short of expectations for their new life saving drug but they are still rising slowly. Also their older drug Egrifta may have some benefits for people with NAFLD/NASH. Balance sheet is good.

Should one buy here?

Q: Morning boys:
In the pot space would this be at the top of the list ? Is is a good time to buy this one for a long term hold.
Thx
Mark

Q: Good morning. I've been riding this loser CHE.UN for some time and have noted your previous comments on same. I think I should sell now and take my lumps. Where should I reinvest in this sector, with dividends and potential for growth. Thanks

Q: In this month's MoneySaver magazine, there is an article by Rita Silvan titled "Spin-offs, Ticker Symbols and Other Investment Anomalies". In this article, she states that in the last 15 years, from 2002 to 2017, the Bloomberg US Spun-Off Index returned nearly 1,000% compared to the S&P 500 Index which returned 203.9%.

Are you aware of any ETFs which track this index? What is your view about ETFs which track spin-offs? Is this a strategy which you would recommend? I could only find the Invesco S&P Spin-Off ETF (CSD) and its returns appear to be 2.15% annually over the last 5 years, and is a significant underperformer compared to the S&P500.

Thank you again for your invaluable advice. This service is truly excellent!

Q: Further to my question about undervalued Canadian dividend paying "blue chip" equity, what do you think of Canadian Tire?

1. Does it fit the above criteria, if not why
2.Present value, is P/E the right way of assessing
3.Immediate risk of further decline for CTC specifically or its' sector

thank you

Ernie

Q: morning guys:
Is it time now in the cycle to buy this name?
Thx
Mark

Q: Hello, A friend told me about this company that is moving well with the market. This is a new name to me. What do you think about this company in terms of financial situations such as, cash flow, debt levels, etc? From risk/reward considerations, for a medium risk investor, is it buyable at this level? Thanks. Lin

Q: Hello,
Most of our Cdn equities are individual blue-chip dividend stocks and our US equities (25%) are mostly SPY. Those are doing ok I guess, though together only slightly better than our GIC's to be frank. Two of our holdings, which we've held for close to a decade, are still not good as noted below. When I asked about these before, I think you recommended continued patience as has our IA too. Your thoughts at this time please?
Holding Book Value Market Value DRIP
CIX $30k $16k Yes
MFR.UN $181k $154k ?

Q: Is the news about the activist shareholder M&G a positive for the stock? What are you feelings about these companies that try to "unlock value" from stocks? eg. MX, GUD, etc. Is it about short-term vs. long term gains?

Q: Could you please list several divined stocks (no banks ) that might do better in a prolonged recession especially with dividend pay outs. Best first on list please.
thanks

Q: Should we be concerned about market downturn regarding Brexit
Gail

Q: Hi, what do you think about this company: goosehead insurance?
All the best

Q: I am very fortunate to be a member of 5I,Thanks
I wish you were actively advising on US stocks meanwhile however
for me to start please suggest some US stocks or etf for not very aggressive
stocks with high volatility but something like BNS,SLF,td in Canada Income is not my priority but steady growth is in my mind not stocks like canabis?
I appreciate your sugestion and has always benefited from them
Nizar

Q: Hi 5i, I currently have 3 U.S. stocks now. Bank of America, Jpmorgan and Pfizer. Would like to add 1 or 2 more, thinking along the lines of a stock like Aqn ( just the quality doesn’t have to be in the category) just to let you know I’m up 117% on Aqn because of your recommendation sometime ago. So looking for decent growth, nice dividend and my time horizon is very long term.
Thx
Gerry

Q: Your income portfolio has very interesting companies. My question is which of these companies would be considered dividend growers and is it true that dividend grower over time have outperformed growth stocks...thanks for the great service ...Gene

Q: I hold HR.UN, SMU.UN and CAR.UN. Looking to increase my REIT exposure. Do you have a suggestion of either increasing current holdings and/or adding one or two others. I hold approximately the same amounts in each name.

Q: I have been looking at investing a small amount of US funds in a non-registered account in Japan.
I was all set to invest in EWJ, when I noticed a newer ETF, with a much lower MER of .15%. It is ishares EWJV, a Japan value ETF.
Would you have a preference between these two ETFS?

Thanks for all you do!

Q: Hi team,

Several years ago, I started moving money to the U.S. side for greater growth opportunities. I am now at 80% U.S. and with the weak Canadian dollar outlook, I won’t be going back soon. So, I appreciate your advice on the U.S. side, which I find to be very insightful, even though it is not your primary focus area.

To offset my tech risks, I like big cap and/or Dow stocks. DIS intrigues me for their many growth arms. I was not following closely all the wheeling and dealing among DIS, Comcast and others last year for Fox and other companies. DIS bought FOX and/or its entertainment assets and the deal closes early Wednesday morning. DIS was the worst Dow performer today (aside from BA). Did DIS overpay for FOX or is this just arbitrage on the stock before deal closes? DIS has a ton of content already so what does Fox add? I believe DIS now gets a bigger share of Hulu. Will Hulu become their primary streaming service or is something else planned by DIS to compete with NFLX?

I am just trying to better understand the outlook for DIS once the FOX deal closes.
Thanks for the insight.

Dave

Q: Do you know of an ETF that mimics the S&P/TSX Venture (CDNX) Composite Index?