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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Looking at these EFT's how would you rank them as investable in a RRSP for a long term hold.
Read Answer Asked by Kolbi on May 13, 2026
Q: A suggestion for 5i: Inclusion of "Buy Below" or Fair Value Ranges for Model Portfolios
I have been a long-time subscriber to 5i Research, primarily for exposure to the Canadian market. I follow only markets outside Canada and am unable to research TSX companies. While I find the quality of MOST (certainly not all) businesses in the model portfolios to be high, I believe there is a significant opportunity to improve the utility of these models for members by including suggested buy ranges or "Buy Below" price targets.
The Rationale: Value vs. Market Timing
Giving a price range that represents fair value at the time of a portfolio update is not "market timing". It would simply be a logical assist to a buy decision. Good companies do reach excessive valuations where they no longer represent a prudent entry point. If you would please provide a "Buy at or Below" guidance, it would really help.
Precedence in your Industry
Several highly regarded research services successfully implement this approach. For example, Crossing Wall Street includes a specific "Buy Below" column for every position, updated weekly by Eddy Elfenbein. See https://www.crossingwallstreet.com/buylist. AAII (American Association of Individual Investors) provides members a grading system across their model portfolios (Growth, Dividend Growers, Income, etc.) to signal to members whether a company is currently trading at a reasonable price.

In my own experience, while I have outperformed the S&P 500 in 9 of the last 11 years (luck plus my primary research), my Canadian investments following 5i models have struggled badly. I don't research Canadian businesses and follow 5i models. Losses and poor performance is largely due to buying good companies in 5i models at "awful" prices. An investment may be a success for a 5i model over years, but it is often in a "no-buy" zone for a new investor. Guidance on entry ranges would mitigate the risk of members (like me) buying at unreasonably high prices and waiting years just to break even-- this, even with good businesses (SHOP, KXS, PSI, BNS, many other).

I suggest you include a Price Range or Fair Value Ceiling for each business in the model portfolios, reflecting what represents a "fair price" at the date of the report. This would bridge the gap between identifying a "good company" and making a "good investment."
Thank you for considering this suggestion for future. :ao:

Read Answer Asked by Adam on May 13, 2026
Q: Anchoring 5i Responses with "Price at Time of Publication":
I have a further suggestion to improve the utility of the Q&A section. Currently, when browsing the Q&A archives, the interface displays the current (live) share price next to every response you give. Real-time data might be useful for active trades, but it lacks context when one reviews a response you provided weeks or months ago.
The problem is Contextual Disconnect:
Displaying today’s price alongside a historical response is misleading. If one reads your answer from three months ago, but the stock price you show is today's price (which may be 25% higher or lower), the original logic of your response is lost. Without knowing the price at the time your comment was written, it is difficult to assess what you were commenting on.

Other research platforms solve this by explicitly depicting the share price at the date the comments were made. This anchors the commentary to the market reality of THAT date , allowing a reader to see exactly what the analyst was looking at when they gave their opinion.
Proposed Improvement
I suggest that 5i include the Price at Date of Response (ideally alongside the current price for comparison).
Adding this historical data point would:
1. Improve Transparency (Shows how the business has performed since 5i provided insight).
2. Provide Better Context: Help us understand if a "Buy" or "Hold" recommendation was based on a valuation that has since changed significantly.
3. Enhance the value of the Q & A: this would turn the archive into a more meaningful and a more reliable tool to review past thesis points.
Thank you for considering this adjustment to the platform. :ao:
Read Answer Asked by Adam on May 13, 2026
Q: Good afternoon,

Just to follow up on an earlier question regarding HHL. I held this for ~ 2 years, mainly for income. I started to question relative underperformance several months ago, and then made a decision to exit. I did so not so much as a result of having a view on US healthcare, but more on the sustainability of the monthly dividend of $0.06. The yield is currently approaching ~ 11%, and I wonder if the YTD price action has more to do with general price decay as a result of not cutting the monthly dividend as a result of lower option premiums, and less to do with the individual stock holdings represented in the ETF.

Curious to know your views on this, and whether or not this is an inherent risk in an environment where option premiums can't always cover monthly distributions on their own for covered call ETFs. And at what point do the fund managers make a call to cut the monthly distribution to a more manageable level in order to avoid this price decay?

Thanks as always.
Read Answer Asked by Trevor on May 13, 2026
Q: Hi 5i,
I have about a half position in SHOP and a one third position in DOLLARAMA. Same question for both. (I know you can't predict what will happen with price but value your approach here.) Do you think I should add mostly now to either or both or add more slowly over the next one or two quarters? Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Tulio on May 13, 2026
Q: What are some of your top US small to mid cap picks for growth oriented investors right now? Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by Andrew on May 13, 2026
Q: Dear team,

As you can see above, I have begun buying broad spectrum EX-North America ETF's to diversify my portfolio. Could you please suggest a few more I could add to that theme ?

Thank you very much - Nick
Read Answer Asked by Nick on May 13, 2026
Q: Hi 5i team,

I’m considering swapping HOOD for SEZL. SEZL has beaten revenue and earnings estimates for four consecutive quarters and is evolving into more of a subscription service with a BNPL model.

HOOD just broke its streak of EPS beats in Q1, and the recent crypto downturn shows its continued reliance on the crypto cycle despite diversification efforts.

My question is, would you prefer SEZL over HOOD for a 3-5 year hold? Also, how significant is the Pomerantz investigation in this context?

Thanks!
Matt
Read Answer Asked by Matt on May 13, 2026
Q: Hi, in a previous question you replied with "These are not buy-and-forget stocks".

Also in the most recent Amber Kanwar podcast, the guest Dan Rohinton thinks "buy and hold" philosophyhas changed and that you can no longer hold stocks with 5-10 year horizon and instead should do 2-3 year due to how fast technology is changing/spreading into every sector.

I'm not sure if the former point is related or not but in general what are your thoughts on this... I thought all stocks should be buy and hold for the long term 👉👈
Read Answer Asked by B on May 13, 2026
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