Investment Q&A

Q: I would like to get your opinion on Espial Group's recent contract win. Do you think it is material to the company? I recently bought a half position in ESP (3% weighting in a 15 stock small-mid cap growth portfolio) and I am considering filling my position. My other tech holdings are TLA, SVC, PHO, and WIN; however, SVC is also only a half position. Which would you prefer filling?

Thanks for the great service!

Q: Hi Peter and Team,
Could you please comment on LUN - Lundin Mining Corp. Is it still a buy?

Thanks

Q: I am in a quandary, Peter. Of my own making. I am due to make a RRIF payment later this month.I am fully invested so something needs either to be sold or transferred in kind. My winners are mostly 5i stocks that I bought for the long term and would like to keep. My losers are O&G (surprise) and it's here I thought I would make my selection. The two worst are Black Diamond and Twin Butte. Each would need to double or triple from here for me just to break even. (Please don't ask how I managed to get into the abyss as my response would not be suitable for "family viewing." LOL )So, what's the best course of action? Dump one or both and move on or transfer to the cash account and wait for the dawn of a better day?
Thank you and kind regards,
Geoff

Q: Hello Team
What do you make of Vecima networks these days. Do their fundamentals look solid and do you think they can maintain their performance.
I have a 3% position. would it be advisable to increase to a 5% position
Thank You for sharing your expert abilities with us
Clarence

Q: To Sell or Not to Sell, that is the question...Should I bite the bullet and take the loss and try to re coup the loss by buying westjet or ac or something that should do better in this low $ low oil price environment. I too believe that eventually oil will go up and probably fairly quickly when it does, but when of course, is the question. So while tog is in my rrsp I am more stuck but if you thought it was the worst of the three I may still decide it is worth selling and try and make up in a better category and then buy back into energy when it stabilizes somewhat. Thanks very much for your expert advice. I very much appreciate your service and what I have learned thru it.

Q: Is HCG a buy at these prices & could you give me your outlook on HCG going forward.
Phil

Q: I've had my eye on PUR for a while, looking for an entry point, it's off 17% over the last month, what are your thoughts?

Q: Would you consider the new IPO for NPI convertible debentures 4.75% to be an acceptable investment for aTFSA?
Thanks Guys

Q: Hi Peter & team, BNS and all banks keep falling....do you expect more downside? Also, if a stock trades in the US and Canada (like BNS does) do you check both exchanges to get a better"feel" before you buy/sell? I ask this because BNS in the US has come down to the level of February 2014.....are we to assume BNS Canada will also get down to its low of February which would be ~58.00?

Than you!

Q: I have some US$ to invest. What do you think about MFC, and would there be any negatives to buying it in the US? Jeff

Q: Would you consider any of the new Canadian Medical Marijuana Growers worth the risk of taking a position in. For example TWD.
Thanks John

Q: I was reading your answer to Les on June 23, 2014(the only answer I found)the price has moved up some $10/share I wonder if I should hold it or sell? Today the trading volume was high and the price has dropped $1.68, is this an alarm?I have two other US holdings :ABT & CVS. That is all I have in US$ portfolio. Thank you.

Q: My wife is keen on dogs and pets in general. She suggested that a company focused on pet supplies, food, medicines and other pet accoutrements might be a good and robust investment. Any ideas?

Q: I have been reading a lot of comments from fellow members about trying to pick an individual pipeline or utility stocks at these reduced prices, great if you get it right, not so great if your wrong. Instead would you have an ETF you would recommend that covers the pipelines and utilities. I have a small position in ZUT. I am just sitting on cash right now as it is just too silly out there to buy. Thanks always for you great and prompt responses to members questions, your team does a fantastic job.

Q: Hi Peter and Team,

I am often suprised by target growth rates (10%) some investors write in about and am wondering if i should be setting higher goals for my portfolio. I often struggle on how to evaluate my own performance as a manager of my own investments. I am hoping you can provide some guidance on my own positioning and whether my targets seem reasonable given my circumstances and my risk tolerance. I am approx. 5 years or so from full retirement. My first priority is to protect the assets i have and i do my financial planning based on a 5% overall return but set a goal for myself as a 7% average over multiple years. Since i don't pay any fees for someone else to manage I thought this seemed reasonable. i am almost fully invested in equities since i have a defined benefit pension plan that is fully funded with little or no risk.

Do you have some sort of metric that self managed investors should be looking at to evaluate their own performance. I would consider myself on the lower end of medium risk but not yet on the low risk side and income is not currently an issue. Any guidance or evaluation metrics you can provide for us or point us 'do-it-yourself' investors to would be helpful.

Thanks a million.

Cheers

Q: Which do you think are the strongest oily juniors during this oil price weakness? i am especially interested in how you think RMP will do relative to others

Q: Hello Peter,

Can I please get your views on NorthWest International Healthcare Properties REIT . It is a small company with a market cap of approx 172m and 400m of debt. It pays an 8% div and has properties in Australasia, Brazil, Canada and Germany with less than 20% revenue in Canada. My concern is it has lots of debt but the affo is increasing substantially. If you know of another international healthcare REIT that might be better to investigate.
Thank you for the great service

Q: I am not sure if the answer to my question is on your website. Anyway, I would appreciate knowing your criteria for selecting stocks for your review universe, and your criteria for including stocks in your portfolio.
Thanks

Q: Hi 5i team,
I get why oil production companies, especially smaller ones, have been hammered in this unbelievable oil price collapse. I don't get why the pipelines have also had big stock price falls, especially when you include consideration of the deflationary effect of the oil price fall. Eg IPL's stock has fallen 21.6% (37 -> 29 approximately).
Have stock traders overdone the pipelines selloff?
thanks, Mike

Q: Hello Peter and team:

Thank you for your great service. Is there any update on SW? How would you rate this stock? B or lower?
With M2M getting a lot of attention at the CES in Las Vegas would this be a good way to get into this stock?

SS