Investment Q&A

Q: In your answer to a recent question from Tim about how to prepare for an inevitable market correction, you suggested holding stocks in defensive areas of Consumer Staples, Utilities, and Healthcare, Can you pls provide 5-6 names in each of those areas that you would want to hold. A mix of Cdn and US would be great. Thank you for your excellent service.

Q: Looking for best in breed in the energy midstream and distribution space, US geographically. For dividend stability and growth, which is a better long term play in a diversified US Rif. Duk is termed a utility and my take is that this may affect growth vs Williams. Your take?

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: Hi 5i, I'm looking at some US Stocks for my RRSP with a decent dividend yield , how would you rank these stocks. KHC RITM CVX, if you could suggest a couple more , thank you

Q: What are your top suggestions for the best positioned Canadian and US dividend paying stocks where dividend is safe and where the stocks have some potential for growth? Thank you.

Q: I currently own ENB (full position), SU and WMB in my RRIF. I am thinking I would like to increase my dividend income to help meet my annual withdrawal. I am trying to decide whether to sell WMB and buy more SU (more dividend income); sell WMB and replace it with CNQ (dividend bump and retain diversification) or stay the course and sell some shares if needed. I would appreciate your opinion which could include an option I have not considered.

On a different note, we had the misfortune of having our home broken into in Toronto. During the course of the investigation the officer suggested we download the images captured by our door alarm using their Axon app. I took the opportunity to ask the officer about Axon which I own (get a little intel to turn my lemon experience into lemonade maybe!). He said the officers love the software and they were looking forward to getting the upgraded Taser within the next few months. So it was nice to get that positive news.

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: Hi,
I bought this to hedge against the kind of correction that one is witnessing right now! As part of my non-correlated asset. BUT it has been dropping almost as much as the market. Today, Monday April 21st 2025) it is down 3.14 % as I type this question, nearly the same as the market! And yet my Canadian utilities are holding steady. (H,EMA,FTS).
Can you suggest about 3-5 US Utilities that hopefully will act similar to Canadian utilities. To act as non-correlated asset?

Q: What would be your top 10 US and Canadian stocks for a recession into 2028 with a 75% value ,25% growth protectionist portfolio strategy thanks

Q: Looking for a stable US stock with some growth/dividend. Please make suggestions

Q: How would you rate these today for a buy?

Q: Hello,
I am looking to add to my US non-registered account. Retiring soon and looking for safety & sustainable growing dividends. Which of these do you prefer and why? Is there something else you would suggest? I am building up my portfolio and have small holidings in GOOGL/JNJ/VICI.
Thanks, Leah

Q: I'm looking for a stable long term hold with some growth and a generous dividend to complement my Enbridge holding? These are all US holdings, do I have to worry about special withholding taxes? Are they suitable for RRSP's?

Q: Hello, I'm working on my current ALLOCATIONS. Please recommend CANADIAN and US : Healthcare, Consumer Defensive and Utilities.
Many thanks, Heidi

PS My sincere compliments for your excellent site and service

Q: These companies caught my eye recently due to their broad exposure to infrastructure, energy and engineering. The 1 yr chart for MTZ is pretty good as well. However, some of MTZ's fundamentals I look for seem inconsistent (equity, EPS, free cash flow and operating income). I'm not sure what to make of this one, and see others (eg:PWR, J) in the energy infrastructure/engineering as also looking promising.

I'm not beholden to either of these (and please propose others), but now that I know such companies exist, can you recommend a few options for a "catch all" for exposure to electrical demands (AI, data centers) and upgrades (utility), other energy infrastructure (solar, hyrdo, transmission etc) and even communications (cell towers, etc). Perhaps a wide range here, but curious what comes back from 5i!

I'm particularly interested in your comments on management effectiveness

Q: If as Satya Nadella says we are moving from being chip constrained to power constrained, what are the best stocks to play this theme? Would you look to data center power and cooling innovators or renewable energy and storage companies or something else?

Q: Is it advisable now to invest in REGULATED utilities, given that there will be a need for huge data centers with the growth of AI? If yes, can you list and rank the ones you prefer?
Thank you!

Q: With the ever increasing demand for power to fuel AI and tech, what companies would you suggest investing in going forward?

Q: Hi team, I would like to generate some income in US dollars.

Could you please recommend 2 or 3 dividend paying US stocks, together with a brief explanation as to why you like those companies. I would also be OK with an ETF if you think that is a better way to go.

Thanks as always,
Paula

Q: Hello 5i,

Could you please expand on an answer to V on the 20 stocks to purchase today if you were to start over? We are assuming that stocks/ETF’s are equal weight and the recommendation is considered a growth portfolio. If not, please elaborate. We were also surprised to see Prudential on the list.

If you were 70+ would you alter the list slightly?

If you were in your mid 30’s and 40’s now and have limited funds (30k-70k) would you recommend purchasing all the stocks/ETF’s equally and expand over time or are there specific stocks/ETF’s that would be considered a “starter pack”?

Thank you so much for your website and advice.

D&J

Q: I bought Hershey in my RRSP in mid-2024. While mostly known for chocolate, the company has been diversifying into non-chocolatey snacks. However, the stock price remains down due to high cocoa prices. Would you be content to hold Hershey and collect the dividend until cocoa prices drop? Would you have some other suggestions? I tend to go for boring US dividend payers that also have some growth potential in my RRSP. My top holdings right now are MSFT, COST, MA, BIP.UN, ENB, and O. I also hold VOO as an underlying holding. Thank you.