Investment Q&A

Q: Hello 5i,
As a pensioner who requires dividends for my income, I have been looking at the above names to potentially add over the next year or so. It is my belief (uneducated guess) that it might take that long before we see any solid bottom and subsequent recovery begin.
In that vein, out of the above, how would you rank these based on the following:
1. Safety of company through a one year to 16 month recession.
2. Safety of the dividend through this same period.
3. Confidence in management team
4. Sector vulnerability
5. Value at current levels
6. Any other considerations, warnings or caveats for any of these ??
i.e. some of these have a decent 5i rating (B or higher), but the rating dates back to 2019, some as early as the summer.
And, finally, are there any suggestions you might have that are not on this list that deserve serious consideration in place of any of the above?
I am in no rush for an answer so take as long as you need to consider this question and deduct as many credits as you see fit - I should have enough to cover it. I hope that this question might also prove beneficial to other 5i members who rely on dividends for income.
All the best to everyone in this very trying and uncertain time!!! Be safe above all!!
Thanks to all at 5i!!
Cheers,
Mike

Q: Dear 5i team,
Would you have concerns to buy a really small number of any of these, say 50 shares, none are in my portfolio. The prices seem very attractive and I have not sourced key info that would say ‘no’ but I’d like to check in with you in in case I’ve overlooked something.
Which would you say is best, and no worries if you consider them all a ‘no’ right now.

In the energy arena, in light of several posts about bankruptcies, could you enlighten further please:
- are there any that stand out as being at greatest risk of that happening
- for big/medium names like ENB, CNQ, SU, KEY for example, would you consider them solid enough to be ‘immune’ to bankruptcy (assuming they are not in your group of ‘greatest risk’)

As a dividend investor, do you as a team ever produce a list of stocks most at risk/greatest likelihood of cutting dividends? Are most investors surprised by dividend cuts or is there a set of clear indicators that a cut is coming?

Thank you!

Q: Hello,

When I look at Canadian stocks traded on the US exchanges, why is there a yield and p/e discrepancy? Even after factoring the exchange, the Canadian stocks on US exchanges look much cheaper. Why is this? And should we be choosing the US exchange due to higher yield and lower pe?

Q: Hi, I'm a retired, dividend-income investor. I took some profits and losses (to wipe out potential capital gains) over the last 5 weeks and am now planning on reinvesting the cash to top up some of my existing equities, up to my desired asset allocation. I want to leg in, in probably 3 waves over the next couple (?) of months, to top up ZWC, AD, AQN, AW, BNS, BCE, LNF, NWC, RY, TRP, WSP.

Can you please indicate which of the above equities you would allocate into which wave (in other words, does it look like the equity is "ready" for an investment OR should I continue to wait for a while)...or not at all (not worth any further investment).

Thanks for your help...Steve

Q: Which Canadian bank looks most attractive right now?

Q: Why is TD Waterhouse rejecting my trades? I was trying to buy Royal Bank at the open, and now, even a market trade for 100 SHOP got rejected?

Q: What do you advise about investing in banks given current market environment. What are the tipping points - pro and con? Which 2 or 3 banks [Canada or US} would you put on a watchlist?

Q: Are you aware of any research that provides detailed analysis regarding oil patch exposure of the big 5 banks?

Q: What would be the top 3 Canadian banks have the best/quickest rebound potential ? thanks

Q: Retired, conservative dividend-income investor with a "buy-and-hold & trim-add around a core position" strategy. At times like these, I take a fresh look at my holdings and ask two key questions. #1 = are there any of my equity holdings that have alarm bells going off? #2 = how safe are the dividends (knowing that no dividend is 100% secure)? The portfolio capital may rise or fall, but it is the continuation of the dividend that is more important.

For asset allocation purposes related to individual stocks (as opposed to sector allocations), I use the following:
5% targets = AQN, BCE, BNS, PBH, RY, TRP, WSP
4% targets = AD, AW, CSH, NWC
2% targets = LNF, MG, NTR
ETF targets = roughly 3-7%

Q#1 = are there any of these equities that you hear alarm bells?
Q#2 = are there any of these equities where you foresee dividend risk?
Q#3 = any thoughts on how I have my asset allocations set up (knowing it is a very personal decision?

Take a bunch of credits. Thanks for your help...Steve

Q: Thoughts on the CN banks? Low rate environment; Cdn economy hampered economically due to low oil and lacklustre mtg/productivity . How does this factor for growth in our banking oligopoly? I would think the 4-5% dividend yield is relatively safe but I cannot see where the stock price growth would come from other than wealth management divisions and perhaps trading which is somewhat risky. Thanks.

Q: Assuming we get a rate cut of 0.5% by Poloz tomorrow, or, over the next few months, how bad will that impact CIBC's NIM and can we estimate the hit on their earnings? Is one bank more exposed to NIM than others? Regional banks are not reacting well right now. Thank you.

Q: Hi...just read your March 1 email....very timely. I have been evaluating some of my current equity holdings from the point of view of topping up some or all of them over time...to reach my asset allocation targets. I do a monthly review of all of my holdings using metrics like P/E, P/BV, P/CF, ROE, Beta, Analyst targets, charting vs 200 mda and higher highs-lows. Mid-Feb I raised roughly 5% cash (basically trimming oversized positions that also appeared to be stretched) and could direct it to the above list. I am a retired, dividend income investor.

The 4 BNN Market Call guests on Thursday-Friday indicated that legging in to this buying opportunity should be considered, as, in their opinion, the market is extremely oversold. In your past life as a Fund Manager, what metrics did you use to guide your process on whether to buy or sit on your hands? For example, "when the VIX is high, it is time to buy"...the VIX is now at 40.

If this is a fair question, could you rank the above 9 equities for topping up to existing positions? My process, for example, has identified LNF as one of the priorities.

Take as many credits as you think appropriate. Thanks...Steve

Q: Hi Guys,
Bought some puts on the above as insurance a few weeks ago and so far so good, they are the 104$ strike that expire in June, not sure if I should grab the profits now or wait a little longer. I know you boys trade options in the US so any insight would be appreciated as I'm relatively newcomer to options.
Thanks
Anthony

Q: Hi 5i,

In my non-reg account I prefer to hold stocks that I can hold onto for a minimum of 3 to 5 years and possibly 10 to 20, that have a yield of around 3% to 5% with the stock price growing +/-5% annually.

Having said that, I am looking to add a stock that would be equal to approx. 1% of total portfolio value.

I am considering adding to my renewable utility stocks (BEP, AQN, INE and BLX which currently total 7.5% of total portfolio value), bank stocks (TD and RY currently 6% of total portfolio value) or telecommunications (Telus or BCE currently 0% of total portfolio). My concern with T and BCE are the current CRTC talks and what may be the market reaction to any deemed negative outcome.

Other than the above listed stocks do any others come to mind that you would recommend at this time?

Please deduct for multiple questions as you see fit.
Thanks!

Q: Good morning, what are your views on Canadian banking industry, and what 2 banks would be your top picks?

Cheers!

Q: Can you name 8 companies with good balance sheets that I can buy long term bonds in. I may go out up to 25years.

Q: These canadian banks represent 20% of my portfolio, I would like to sell CM as it consists of 25% of the financials and is mostly in Canada . Your thoughts please.

Q: If you were to pick 1 Canadian bank for a long term hold (10 - 15 years), which one would you choose? Also, what order would you rank these banks?

Q: What banks were the best performers and worst performers in 2019?