Investment Q&A

Q: In a January 21 answer to a member’s question on SHOP, you stated that the P/E for SHOP was well over 100x, whereas the poser of the question thought it was close to 30x. I think the confusion is rooted upon 5i basing its calculation on adjusted earnings, whereas the member was likely considering GAAP earnings. I raise the point only because I have recently seen others state the P/E of SHOP as in the 30s as well, including in the G&M, and I think it would be helpful for 5i to be clear about which earnings it is using for its calculation. (I hope I am not wrong in my understanding of the situation).
Personally, as a DIY investor, the P/E is often one of the top 2 or 3 data points I use when making a buy/sell decision, and I would be tempted to guess this is true for many other members. For what it’s worth, I agree that the adjusted earnings are more relevant in the case of SHOP. I would very much welcome any further comments or blogs by 5i that discuss adjusted vs GAAP
earnings.
Thank you for your more than excellent service. Hardly a week goes by where I don’t at some point read all the Q&A , reports and updates on your site. I have learned much.

Q: Appreciate the uncertainty @ the moment. That said, how do you feel about the next 5 years for this company? Is the current valuation as attractive as it seems to me?

Q: Hi All at 5i! Was the market run up in 2021 in anticipation of the pandemic being over, now contracting because the recovery is dragging on? Cheers, Tamara

Q: Hi Peter/Ryan as an investor and not a gambler who's tried to make a buck over the years doing what's right, investing in good companies having a properly balanced portfolio to not risk loosing it all, what chance do we have when this Jeremy Grantham comes out and makes a statement about the stocks collapsing. That alone can cause people to panic and sell, no? Thanks, Nick

Q: Hi 5i Team - There has recently been a lot of attention paid to Jeremy Grantham's prediction that the S&P 500 will drop to half its value and that we have been in a super bubble. Apparently he has predicted the collapse of this type of bubble before. Could you please comment on Jeremy's statements and predictions. I'm not sure we have been in any kind of super bubble and the sell-off at least in growth stocks has already been happening for some time. I find these types of statements disturbing since they create even more fear in a market that already has a good dose of it. Thanks.
Rob
P.S. I much prefer to read your comments on market volatility. They're level headed and take a common sense approach that I'm sure is much appreciated by your subscribers, including me.

Q: Do you see a level where Topicus is attractive.?It’s been pounded badly

Q: Hi Peter, & team,

Thank you for that timely "One of the hardest things" message banner on the member page. I was going to ask that very question. I am going to read that thing every time I want to press the sell button.

Thanks.

Q: My only oil/gas exposure is via the pipeline stocks listed. I am virtually at a break even point on PPL and up on TRP and ENB. I am thinking that some exposure to a oil producer is a good thing. I am thinking of selling PPL and using the proceeds to buy SU. Thoughts?

Q: What is your view on the downfall of Shopify? It's dropping way more than the market weakness. I believe the fundamentals are solid but this market and shop's performance makes one think twice. What is your take on what's happening? What support level will kick in and stop the bleeding? When does it report next and what does it need to report to be classified as good results? What do you anticipate? I have a small position that is getting smaller each day and am thinking of increasing my position.

Q: What do you guys think of the crazy fall of SHOP ? When will the knife hit the floor ? All there fundamentals look fantastic there P/E is down to about 30.

Q: For a speculative position in a Tfsa which would you recommend and reasons for choice? Thank you.

Q: How does NCX look for a copper play?

Regards,

Nick

Q: Good morning
A question was recently asked concerning your preference between msft and Nvidia. You said you preferred Microsoft. I was wondering if you could elaborate on your reasons for that decision? I ask because I hold the two of them and have been thinking of selling Microsoft in order to reduce my technology component.
Thanks

Q: Re your response to John, January 17th, you answered "it's hard to beat a single great company that compounds year after year".
Could you please recommend 5 Canadian and 5 US companies that fit into said catagory that have declined recently due to the tech sell off, and represent a good buy/nibble point,
Please include a mix of larger e.g CSU and Google, along with more recent up and comers e.g. Shop and Roku, which seem to be among your most obvious favourites.
Thanks Peter.

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team,

Like many members as well as 5i, I am increasingly frustrated with PKI. For example, it dropped 5.2% on January 18. :(

We hold PKI in both my wife’s and my RRIFs. Both holdings are still up, but I’m considering exiting PKI while we’ve still made some money.

I was considering equal purchases of SU, CNQ or CVE, TOU, and KEY for each RRIF (2 for each RRIF). Would you be OK with such a move? Please rank these 5 stocks for safety and upside.

Another move I was considering is to raise our US exposure by buying Vanguard’s ETF VDE. (According to Portfolio Analytics, we’re underweight in the energy sector, as well as USA). Would you endorse this purchase, which would be for our non-registered account? Am I correct in assuming that any withholding taxes shouldn’t prevent this purchase in a non-registered account?

I also manage our son’s TFSA, and unfortunately his holding in PKI is down by quite a bit. I intend to hold it, but would certainly exit it if 5i drops it from the Balance Equity Model Portfolio. Is 5i considering such a move?

Please deduct sufficient credits, and thanks as always for your insight and guidance.

Q: I was wondering about your thoughts/comments on Jeremy Grantham’s comments that a huge crash is coming. I know people say things like that all the time, but obviously Jeremy has quite the background and history. Thanks

Q: For the aggressive part of my portfolio I have 1 to 2 percent positions in TTd, crwd and unity. You mentioned these are still expensive and I was wondering about taking that 5 percent and allocating it to shopify now that it has been cut in half and it’s PE is in the 30’s? Could we still see the possibility for significant drawdowns on Veev and apps, or could one or both of those be options for a less aggressive play for some of that money as well? There always is the option to do nothing with the rest of my portfolio being balanced. These moves would all have no tax consequences being part of a registered plan. Thx as always

Q: Hi 5i,

I am a new member, joined last May 2020. Since joining, I have been learning quite a lot on this site. We purchased about 70k (my TFSA) based almost exclusively based on your Balance Portfolio with some minor additions of other stocks. Despite the recent market looses, my portfolio is stable, luckily I don't check on it daily.

This week, we moved some funds around, we are looking to invest another 100k in the stock market, we have an investment horizon of 5-10 years for this fund. I have been told repeated that it's not about the timing, but the time in. Yet with a retirement horizon of 10 years, should we be concerned with entering the market this week?

If you were to buy 3 stocks today, what would they be?

Thank you!

Q: Hello. Thoughts on these two funds? Advantages, disadvantages and which would you chose and why? Thanks!

Q: Could you please give your analysis of this ETF and your thoughts on suitability in the current market environment. Thanks, Brian