Investment Q&A

Q: I am concerned about the risk associated with investing in large non Canadian bank stocks. Using Barclays as an example The shareholders’ equity in Barclays is $84bn, sitting on top of $2 trillion of assets. Putting that into perspective, the equity is 4.3pc of the total assets. It doesn’t take much of a movement in the value of those mortgages and loans written all over the world to cause serious problems for those holding the shares. Since the shareholders equity is the difference between two very large numbers the shareholders can easily be wiped out by small movements in asset values. In the case of banks like HSBC (HSBC.US) the exposure to places such as China makes the value of these assets questionable.

Do you agree with the analysis here and does any of this reasoning apply to Canadian or US banks? If so which banks are risky?

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and 5i Team;
Please share your opinion of the Americas Silver Corp. (USA) regarding leverage to the silver price, management, and valuation?

Q: Hi Team,
Given IT is undergoing a strategic review, do you have any idea what it might sell for if it were to be acquired?
Thank you, Michael

Q: I'm keen to watch top managed companies in totally out of favor sectors, to buy when business conditions improve. I'm not looking for a relief rally on overlevered stocks for a short-term profit, but rather for stocks I can hold for a signifiant time as business conditions improve. BDI is one of the companies I'm interested in.
What would be the signs that BDI is a good "risk-return" story? What do I look for?

Q: May I please have your opinion on DR for a 2 year hold.

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and 5i Team;
Is it possible that demand could significantly increase for Uranium in the next few years? I am interested in your preference between DML and CCO. There may be more bang for my investing dollar with Denison?

Q: Today there is high volume on Athabasca oil. Any news? Can you give an update on the company and joint venture with Murphy Oil? Would you average down?
Thank you.

Q: Hi 5i team,

I have owned Viacom for a couple of years in my rrsp. I continue to be very disappointed by the share price. It has bounced off the bottom today. Is it time to cut bait?

Tks for your advice.

Q: What are the prospects for Kirkland Lake Gold - many gold companies seem to be doing well in the present market.

Q: Of the two ETf's as listed above would you comment on the timing and prospects for these ETF's in the current economic environment with both the US and Canadian governments emphasis on infrastructure spending. With thanks, Bill
XMA and VAW

Q: I have managed my own registered portfolio for the past few years(with valuable input from 5i). I have sold my GTA house and will have this house money during a 2 year relocation period and then will likely be buying real estate again. Any advice for managing registered vs. non-registered investments during that time. Also, any allocation ideas related to type of stocks, fixed income or other investments keeping in mind the two-three year time frame with the new money. I currently have a registered portfolio with a number of dividend payers. Am i better to switch the registered funds too a more growth oriented approach and buy some utilities/banks/telcos in the non-registered.
Also, are Canadian based ETF's that hold non-Canadian stocks eligible for the dividend tax credit?
Thanks team

Q: SVR is up strongly in last couple weeks. Is it a good time to buy for a two year old or do u have a better suggestion?

Q: Aegon,a Dutch insurer.
What are your thoughts on this company?

Q: Today you responded to a question comparing CVD to CPD. You discussed the potential capital gains of both, but you did not compare their income. Income from CPD is treated as dividends, and so takes advantage of the dividend tax credit. It occurred to me that CVD distributions would be treated strictly as income and so would not be as tax efficient as the income of CPD in a non-registered account. So would you agree that to maximize income, CPD would be be the best choice? Thank you.

Q: Do you have an opinion on RET?

Thanks,
Nick

Q: What do you like about DBO? As you made room for this by removing CXI, I assume that you must really like this name.

Am I right in understand that the technology needs to be integrated into a film during the production process and can be quite labour intensive? Will this make it difficult for them to get a wide adoption of the technology?

Q: Agriculture stocks maybe starting to get a bid. Please rank in order how you view the following US symbols: AGU, CF, DE, MON, MOS and POT. Best, Don

Q: I received some shares of Exact Earth as part of the COM DEV buyout by Honeywell and wondered what your thoughts are about the company's prospects. Would you recommend the company at current valuation?

Q: Good Morning, Your ROE calculations show a 5yr average of -4%
in the report. Scotiabanks research shows an average of 29% ROE.
Why the huge difference? Thanks Gordon

Q: I would like an opinion on a couple of stocks. My goal is to get a solid dividend and moderate growth over the long term. The stocks are:

BCE
BEP_UN ( I see is held in the income portfolio)
RioCan

Thank you
RioCan