Investment Q&A

Q: I have a portfolio of 25 individual stocks (diversified among most sectors) with no ETFs. Within this portfolio I own companies that trade in CAD and the US but have operations and/or varying degrees of revenue in other countries such as CLBT, AXON, TOI, VHI, UBER, BKNG, WSP, TRI, BN and some of the MAG 7 with their worldwide reach such as GOOG. I often wonder if this is adequate international exposure for a healthy portfolio or should I have a specific international ETF?
I have not been a fan of ETFs due to the often wide exposure that can include "the best along with less than the best" (and they are boring, :), haha). But for long term growth and healthy diversification I often consider opening a position in an international ETF such as VIU.
But then I face my conundrum. In the past 5 years the return on VIU has been 41.4% (Yahoo Finance). Perhaps my expectations are out of line, but I would not be happy (and I would be bored, :), ) with the same return from VIU in the next 5 years. Even a conservative Canadian bank with some international operations such as RY has done 90% in the past 5 years (Yahoo Finance). It seems to me that I must give up too much possible growth in order to achieve a healthy level of international diversification through the instrument of an international ETF.
Perhaps this is a conundrum that need not be solved, but do you have any thoughts that may lead to a wiser investment perspective or a needed tempering of my expectations?
As always, thank you for your excellent service.
Cal

Q: Hi 5i,

I am Canadian and holding the above stocks. I am so upset that brk.b not do well these days, because I am holding 2/3. 1/3 are holding the rest including RY, TRI, CNR, CP, ENB, DOL. would you please comment above stocks. I am not an aggressive person but look for re-balance to get better sleep.

Many thanks.

Q: I hold these equities in my grandson's RESP. He will need to access funds in 2 years. He will enter grade 11 this September. I just sold half of the CLS holdings at 120% gain. Above % represents post sale. I am thinking of putting cash into BEP.UN or BIP.UN. what additional adjustments would you make at this time?

Thanks for all your help.

Mike

Q: I hold these in roughly equal amounts totalling around 30% of my RRIF where income is more important than growth. Should I consolidate these or just leave alone ? Thanks . Derek.

Q: Senior, in 80's, have full positions in these 5 dividend paying stocks already, and have cash to invest in another 5. Suggestions please for safety first. Don't need the income; reinvesting all dividends. thanks for your help.

Q: Re: DRIPS; for a well balanced retirement account what are your favorites DRIPs ? What about for a young persons TFSA that may not be touched for a long time ?
Thank you.

Q: Looking for some growth and a good dividend. Which two CDN banks would you go with?

Q: Long term holder of Royal Bank. Thoughts on quarter please? I read an early report of how RY beat estimates and was up 6% in the pre-market....now when the market is open it is down 3%. Any thoughts....people expected better? Concern over loan provisions?
Thanks...Steve

Q: If I were to add two of the big five banks - TD, CM, BNS, BMO and RY - to my portfolio for yield and long term growth, which of the two would you recommend?

Thanks.

Q: RY has had a nice run over the last month. When you look at its fundamentals, will it continue to run a bit more? Would you buy now, at its current price?

Q: Whats your current favorite financial in Canada ? 2nd choice ? How does IFC fit in ? Thank you.

Q: Hi, I'm considering adding a Canadian bank. I only hold TD. Which bank would you consider to be the best to add at this time for a longtime core holding? I'm thinking of doing a quarter position at this time and build that position over time. Also I started a quarter position in ATD recently and I'm watching it at the moment. Would you consider ATD to be fairly safe at these levels and an attractive stock to increase that position at the current price or wait to see if it's still in the bottoming process. Thank you as always for your expert advice!

Q: I have above stocks in my RRSP I like to drop FFH and trim CSU LMN (i'm up 150% on both), like to add AD.UN DIR.UN or T, trying to increase my income as I'm retired, the idea is to preserve capital, is it a good time to add this new stocks ? thanks

Q: My wife's non-registered Canadian stock fund is invested conservatively, primarily for income. However RY now exceeds 16% of the assets. I know this far exceeds your recommended level for any one holding, but selling some shares will generate very substantial capital gains. What is your advice in this situation? Thank you.

Q: Thinking of switching from TD to RY since RY has dropped recently. The EPS and PE looks much better. The dividend pays out on April 24. When would I have to buy the stock to get the dividend. Cheers Steve

Q: Could Trump force the Canadian banks & insurance companies close their operations in the U.s. and sell the proceeds to their U.S. competitors?

Q: Would you advise accumulating Royal Bank on weakness here? What entry price would you look for to add my remaining half position.

Q: In the context of Return on Equity (ROE), what is the ideal ROE? I am asking because, when we examine company profiles, we can see significant differences in companies’ ROE. For example, here are the figures for: RY-CA 14%, DOL-CA 104%, and HD-US 405%. Why is there such a disparity? Thank you

Q: I am an 80 year old income investor with some growth. I have $20,000 to employ. The above is a list of my losers out of 50 winners in a portfolio of mostly the Income Portfolio plus 15 yield maximizer ETF's like UMAX. Should I:
1. wait for your monthly advice before acting
2. distribute evenly accross the losers
3. add to the winners
Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Please take as many credits as needed.
Thank you

Q: I believe the current market downturn provides opportunity. I would like your insight into the following two questions; along the lines of "be greedy when others are fearful".

First, recognizing a 2-3 year hold is very, very short term thinking, what are 3 companies with dividend bearing stock that you feel would be in the top 10% of performers as the market recovers.

Second, what 3 companies do you feel provide the biggest stock price recovery and growth opportunity for a 5+ year hold.

Thanks as always,

Dave