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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: I have about 29.3% of my portfolio in financials. Is this too much? I'm above water on all except BNS with FSZ about even if I include the dividend. Which would you suggest dropping if I'm too heavy in this area & in what order? Thanks,as always for your wonderful guidance
Dave
Read Answer Asked by Dave on August 24, 2020
Q: In a straight-up comparison of BMO (Bank of Montreal) versus RY (Royal Bank), for a long-term position (non-registered account), which one would you buy, and why? (I've owned BMO for >25 years, never owned Royal, but because of ongoing portfolio adjustments, I'm in a position where I want to own one of these two banks, for the long-term. Note: I already have long-standing positions in TD Bank and National Bank, in my Canadian portfolio, so another aspect to my question is which one better complements my existing Canadian bank holdings. In my situation, there are no particular tax implications for buying BMO vs RY.)
Read Answer Asked by Ted on July 30, 2020
Q: top 3 american, top 3 canadian, banks to invest in ?, and a reasonable projection and why, or do you not recommend banks at this time?

thanks
Read Answer Asked by eddie on July 21, 2020
Q: Top 5 picks for monthly income please and thanks.
Read Answer Asked by David on July 15, 2020
Q: Re Fred’s question about longterm gains on RY
canadastockchannel.com has this info
If bought on Jan4, 2000, $1 worth of RY would be worth $12.46
assuming dividends are re-invested on a tax free basis (ex. RRSP)
If dividends are not re-invested, on a total return basis (including dividends, but still no tax paid) your $1 is worth $8.75.
You can enter different dates to get exactly what you want.
I personally find this type of analysis instructive but I know not everyone is a fan.



Read Answer Asked by john on June 15, 2020
Q: If I had put $100,000 into RY 20 years ago with all dividends reinvested, can you tell me what it would be worth today?

This is not a rhetorical question. I recently came to realize that a close friend put $100,000 RRSP into RY in 1989 as he has now retired from there. As he is an unsophisticated investor, he just left it there. But as there have been withdrawals over the years, it is difficult to determine the actual growth. It is now worth a tidy little sum. This is, in my estimation, a significant argument for a buy and hold strategy although most would also argue for more diversification.


Read Answer Asked by Fred on June 15, 2020
Q: BNS is up AFTER they posted loss, increased reserve provisions etc., BUT it seems ALL the banks are up today even though news about their future is still pending!
Should we "read" that "birds of a feather" phenomenon is operating here and the market has decided to ignore the pending results of other bans and is into a full blown buy mode!
Do you think it is risky or reasonable response to the current situation and one can buy bank stocks now? I know your favorites are RY,BNS,TD.
Read Answer Asked by Savalai on May 27, 2020
Q: Hi All:

With the negative feeling about banks for loan loss, etc. I wonder if I should let go either TD or RY or both and take the loss, then watch to buy back later. the total market value is about 3.7% of my total portfolio, and each one is almost equal in market value. The loss in TD is 19+% and RY 15+%. I also own NA with a gain and only 1.5+% in my portfolio.

Thank you.
L
Read Answer Asked by LOUISA on May 21, 2020
Q: What do you think the main reason for the current decline is among these banks. Is it fear of loan losses, fear of what the companies are to report next week or the sell in May mentality? How much pessimism is baked into these stocks already?
Thanks, Mike
Read Answer Asked by Mike on May 16, 2020
Q: Not only B of A (today's Globe) but quite a few analysts and BNN Guests say that Canadian Banks are going to take a hit b/c of earnings, poor reserves, Loan write offs etc., With that in mind is it worth selling BNS,RBC,TD and buy them back later ? In RRSPs/TFSAs. So, capital gains/loss is a non issue. I "lose" 60 $ in trading fees. But selling now can save me from losing a lot more if they tumble a lot AND I don't have to wait for a longer period of time for them to recover. ( You know the cliché, if a stock goes down by 50%, I have to make 100% to break even!)
Read Answer Asked by Savalai on May 15, 2020
Q: Can you please explain the losses in the big five Canadian Banks shares. I can’t for the following reasons so would appreciate your thoughts before I start to increase my exposure.

Their mtge portfolios are mostly insured , ultimately by the govt. the balance of their mtge loans are normally at significant discounts to the property values.

The new loans being made by the government will likely be backed by the government , not the banks.

They all have a long history of not cutting dividends, BMO has not in 190 years and BNS in 188 years and I expect the other three banks to be in the same approximate time frame of no dividend cuts . Unlikely you will find a US back or an Insurance company that can say the same.

They also over reserve their loan loss provisions in order to keep their profits from the wild fluctuations we see in the US.

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Robert on May 14, 2020
Q: Given that my Margin account has the 5 big banks and 2 Telecoms paying dividends on a periodic basis and that I'm not "too" concerned that these will cut their dividends, would it be wise to implement trailing stop loss orders for these in case there is another retest of the lows of March. Had I done that at the beginning of the year, I could have picked up the above at much reduce prices with resulting greater dividend yields. And would using the same procedure for my RIF account (which has mainly REITs) be beneficial to capture the current values to avoid further losses there.
Your comments. Thank you
Read Answer Asked by Brian on May 04, 2020