Investment Q&A

Q: Would you recommend buying Berkshire Hathaway in lieu of holding extra cash in case of a market correction this Fall? (my theory being that they would be holding cash for me). Thanks!

Q: Buffet has purchased a stake. Is it time to buy in?

Q: Good Morning Everyone,

I’ve heard a stat that claims that ~80% of the returns since “liberation day” have come from 10 stocks. (MAG 7, PLTR, ORCL, AVGO)
Is this true? Is this unusual?

May I have 10 each of your favourite CAN and US value stocks to look at please?

Thank you!

Q: Hello 5i
I am starting to move from a strong growth approach to a defensive position. I still want growth but a little less risk. I have a more less balanced portfolio and am in my mid seventies. I don’t need the cash and want to avoid dividends. Capital gains instead. I am thinking about increasing my holdings in the stocks mentioned above. What i am trying to figure out is what percentage of total port can I go up to with these. I already hold about 5 % of each. I keep thinking of your recommendation of holding only 5% in each stock. I would like to have more in these stocks for safety reasons. But, is it a good idea to do so? And up to what levels
Thanks as always for your excellent service
I asked a question earlier about percentages of a portfolio some big, stable companies could take. I neglected to add csu to the list. Possible to add it in ? Also, implicid in the previous question, if not clearly stated, is the question of what happens to the percentages of all the other companies, if these take 10 or more percent each?

Q: Please Kindly advise the result. Berkshire Hathaway shares dipped after Warren Buffett's conglomerate reported a small decline in operating earnings, while continuing a stock-selling spree and a buyback halt.

Q: Any reason that Berkshire Hathaway don’t buy back due to the stock price still too high?

Q: I purchased a 3.5% position in BRK after the announcement that Buffet was stepping down. I chose BRK over FFH. I am down 6.5% so far.

I can take this as a buying opportunity and increase my position in BRK to 5%.

I can also sell half of my BRK position for a tax loss and buy an equal amount of FFH.

I can also do nothing. I am a growth investor in my late seventies.

What would you do in this situation?

Thank you

Q: Greetings - To postpone tax liability from income, I would like to develop a balanced portfolio of stocks and ETFs for the medium term (3-10 years) that do not pay dividends or interest. Rather, I would prefer to incur the tax liability upon selling the holdings (capital gains). I am aware of Global X Total Return ETFs and stocks like BRK.B that do not pay annual dividends. Do you have any other suggestions? Thanks

Q: If Apple is an opportunity, would you buy the shares themselves or get exposure through Berkshire B which has also lagged over the last quarter or so? Thanks!

Q: Back in May, Craig had asked a question about BRK.B and its current valuation, and the response was:
"Historical multiples have been in the range of 17X to 33X, with an average in the low 20s. It is 25X right now so on the high side of history."

A few questions:
- was this referring to a PE ratio?
- now that it has declined a bit, what is the current valuation multiple?
- is this ratio listed in the BRK.B "profile" page on 5i?

Q: If Brk.b may not that good in these days, should I sell 50% to buy KO instead? Do you think KO is good for long term comparing to BRK?

Many thanks

Q: Hi 5i,

I am Canadian and holding the above stocks. I am so upset that brk.b not do well these days, because I am holding 2/3. 1/3 are holding the rest including RY, TRI, CNR, CP, ENB, DOL. would you please comment above stocks. I am not an aggressive person but look for re-balance to get better sleep.

Many thanks.

Q: Hello 5i Team,

What are your top 12 more conservative or dividend-generating US stocks to buy in an RRSP for a 3-5 year hold?

Thanks in advance for your always helpful advice!

Q: I am very concerned with the performance of Berkshire Hathaway since the announcement of Buffett's retirement—it is down 11% in the past two months, while the S&P 500 is up 12% during these two months. Thanks to BRK-B’s performance in the past few years, it is the biggest single holding in my taxable portfolio. I am considering biting the bullet, paying capital gains taxes, and replacing it with the FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF (BUFR). Can you share your thoughts on this?

Q: Dear Peter et al:

I understand that JPM won a case against regulators and got their SCB-Stress Capital Buffer reduced from 3.3% to 2.5%. Apparently this frees up 18 B from their reserves and they can invest it wherever they want. I understand that they have announced a share buy back (50 B) AND a dividend hike! (1.50$: 7% increase over the last time).

1. Is this true? If so, is JPM a buy over other banks/Financials? Especially BRK.B?
2. If you don't fancy JPM or BRK.B (you don't like their cash position is what I see in you previous answers), which other large financial would be your pick?

Many thanks.

Q: Hello,
Over the years my portfolio has been going up well when the markets are good and they drop (sometimes significantly) during downturns. What is the best way to manage downturns? Or in other words how to lose less during downturns? Is it by taking money off the table when things are good..is there some thumb rule to manage downturns. Thanks.

Shyam

Q: According to Grok: “Over the past ten years, the technology sector’s share of the S&P 500 has grown from ~18% to ~32% (or ~40% including tech-related firms), driven by the dominance of mega-cap companies and innovation in AI, cloud computing, and software.”

Do you think BRK has a reasonable prospect of outperforming the SPY given that BRK has a low level of tech exposure. I am concerned that BRK will underperform going forward unless they gain greater exposure to the technology sector.

Thanks.

Q: If I buy BRK.B in my TFSA (my US account), are there any tax implications that I should be aware of?

There is no dividend, so that is not a concern.
And any capital gains are tax-free in a TFSA, so no concern there.

Thanks for your help.

Q: I know this is not a fair question given industries, FX, etc....BUT if you had to choose one with a 3-5 year time horizon, which one would it be, BRK or BN?

Thanks as always.

Q: In a recent question you listed your top 5 North American stocks. What would be your next 5 best picks?