Investment Q&A

Q: I am a conservative investor who would appreciate your recommendations as to the best 5 US stocks/ETFs to own over the next 2-3 years. Dividends are not necessary, however preference is for low risk stock recommendations.

Q: There are not many Canadian stocks in the healthcare sector. Telus is now in the Electronic Health Records business, and Loblaws now owns Shoppers Drug Mart. Would you consider L and T to be partially healthcare?

Do you have any stock suggestions for healthcare in Canada? If not, could you recommend US or European stocks that would be advisable?

Thank you,

Fed

Q: ESRX:Q is going to be acquired by CI:N by Dec 2018 and holder of ESRX will receive $48.75 in cash and 0.243 shares of CI. In my case I will be receiving less than 25 shares. Hence I like to sell ESRX:Q before conversion and want to invest in some other US health stock. Should I keep odd number of CI:N or you have some better alternative in US health sector? I own ESRX:Q and BAX:N in Healthcare sector.

Q: This is for my wife's RRSP, she is now 70 and will soon have to start withdrawing. Have recently sold J&J and have about 17K to re-invest. For the US portion of her portfolio she currently holds: AMTD; FB; AT&T; MSF. For stability (preservation of capital), some growth and growing dividends which of the above which you recommend without regard to sector. If you can suggest another or even two securities with better overall qualities that meet my requirements, I would appreciate your suggestion.

Q: Thanks for my div. answer. Now with US Cash from my netflix sale to increase my div. income would you agree that buying some US div.payers would be wise. If so please advise some worthy candidates or div. ETF, to stay in the stronger US market. Thanks.

Q: I only own 2 USA stocks, JNJ and PFE. JNJ has grown over the years to 2 full positions so I need to reduce my holdings in JNJ. JNJ pays a nice 2.7% dividend and has grown significantly. What recommendations would you have for a replacement that pays a similar dividend and has some growth potential. I am retired and rely upon the dividends generated in my RRIF.

Wayne

Q: Recently, 5i has supported members' suggestions to switch out of JNJ into something else given the legal difficulties that JNJ faces. I generally like to hold indefinitely; given this anticipated time frame, and my preference for safety and a good/growing dividend, do you think I should switch as well? Do you view the alternatives I've listed as less or more risky than JNJ overall? Are there non-pharmaceutical alternatives in the US healthcare space that would provide an equally secure and growing dividend that you would recommend? Thank you.

Q: Good morning Peter n your wonderful team,
I sold my J&J shares recently due to the outstanding lawsuits against the company, I think of replacing it with Pfizer. What is your opinion on future of Pfizer’s earnings, growth n dividends, cash flow, pipelines of drugs, balance sheet etc. Or can you please suggest one or two drug companies that will provide some growth plus dividend income?

Thank again for your insight! Asked by Rossana.

Q: Good Morning,

I'm looking to add a few more US stocks to my portfolio. I'm adequately represented in tech and financial sectors. Could you give me 4 or 5 names in other sectors where above average growth might be expected.

Thanks for your help,

Dennis

Q: Good Afternoon,
I don't follow the US market that closely, I'm looking for a handful of safer blue chip dividend payers ? Such as AT&T , perhaps you can list a few other names in various sectors you feel are well managed companies with good yield.
Thank-you

Q: Greetings 5i,

I sock away a bit of cash for the summer months as i find there is always a few opportunities to pick up a good companies at a discount. I limit this to a small portion of my portfolio but would like your recommendations on your top 5 CDn (growth) and 5 top US Dividend Payers (need US income) that you would pick up on a dip or low volume during the summer months? Last August was a great example of picking up really good names at a discount. I realize there are no guarantees that we will see the same market but always on the lookout to pick good long term names to add to my portfolio. In the past i have picked up Visa, JPM this way.

Thanks for your advice.

Q: We have a 3.5% weighting in JNJ. We like it for its exposure to the USD, its steady dividend income, its blue-chip size and very modest share price growth. However I am concerned about the potential losses arising from their "baby-powder" lawsuit. We have owned the stock for years. I am thinking about switching out around 2% weighting into PFE. Its dividend appears to be higher and its chart seems to be better.
Reading over 5i responses on JNJ you seem fairly sanguine about JNJ so I hesitate to sell. We are retired but not currently spending our USD dividends - they are kept for foreign travel.
I must say I like XBI's chart. However its dividend is much lower so potentially we would need to sell stock if we needed USD. XBI should lower our risk profile as it is an ETF which is probably a smart move.
My questions are...
1) Would you recommend selling all our part of our JNJ or just do nothing?
2) Would you recommend purchasing PFE or XBI or both?
Please deduct as many credits as you feel my question(s) justify.
Thank you for your assistance.
Jim

Q: Hello 5i: Reading your answer today about JNJ and while you like it would maybe pick something else at this time, What would be your suggestions in the US,
Thank you as always. Barbara

Q: I have a small position in PFE (about 1%), and I am interested in increasing my position to about 2%-2.5% by selling off a similarly-sized position in BAC. My portfolio has about a 10% weighting in financials, while I only have about 4% in health care, which is why I wanted to make the shift. My question is whether I am better off simply topping up my PFE position, or selling PFE as well as BAC, and using the proceeds to buy either JNJ, MRK or GSK. I prefer to stay with larger cap names, and in this particular case, I am looking at US names exclusively. If you have another larger cap US name that may be worth considering, I would be very open to suggestions.

As an aside, I also have a 3% position in GUD which I plan to keep for the longer term.

Thanks so much for your time, and I look forward to your response.

Q: Looking for a US stock with a good dividend. I'm 80 so a little volatility is okay. I'm willing to hold for 3 years. If you had to pick one of the three which one and why or do you have a better choice?
Thanks

Q: I have Student Transportation in my US account. What would be some good US dividend Stocks and/or ETF's I could invest in to replace the lost dividends that I receive when it is sold later this month? I am looking at 3 or 4 stocks and 1 or 2 ETF's.
Thanks for the advice as it is always welcome.

Q: Hi Peter
Do you think it is time to buy back ENB.
What is your outlook for SHOP. I am thinking of adding to my position.
I don't have any health stock at the moment, do you have any suggestions?
Thanks
Margita

Q: Good Morning. I have US $ that I would like to invest. Would you please provide me with your top 5, any sector, growth but not too risky companies?
Thank you.
Cathy

Q: Could you please suggest 2-3 undervalued US stocks with dividend 4% or more.

Thanks,
Milan

Q: On further weakness, I will be looking to initiate a position in a solid lower BETA growth stock in US. The sort of steady Eddy for the long haul, like BCE in Canada. Would D fit that bill, or would you have any better suggestion?
Thanks