Investment Q&A

Q: I have heard on BNN market call that Telus pay out ratio is higher than its cash flow. Also that the BCE significant profit is derived from landline phones which will be declining. In such case an investment in these two telcos at this time would be of questionable value . Would you agree with such statement?

Q: In a portfolio where the priorities are capital preservation and some income, these 7 equities represent about 45% of the total value. The other 55% is in sadly low paying GICs. The TOU is a left over from more positive times with a very small weight and kept with a hope for natural gas. The other 6 have weights of about 3% (TD) to 10% (BCE). My question is about how these would hold up if we had a very significant downturn with re-test to recent lows (or lower) with a much more prolonged recovery; do these stocks have some resilience? Are the balance sheets sufficiently secure to see less of an negative impact? Is there sufficient diversification with these holdings? Thanks for your excellent service.

Q: Hello Peter,
Is Well health technologies taking a hit due to the financing that was lower than the current price? If so, is it a good time to add to it.. Why are companies like fortis and other utilities and telecoms taking a hit . I thought lower rates would favour utilities and with work from home, companies like BCE would benefit as more people use the network. Lastly, do you feel it is time to add to LSPD or take a break given recent surge.. thanks very much

Q: What do you think of Lincoln National? Is the dividend "safe", Do you see it moving back to a pre-Covid level, are there better choices.
And, what stocks do you see thriving in a low/negative environment?

Q: Hi 5i,
Would you recommend buying SRU.UN at the current price for a 5 year minimum hold? Same question for JPM please.
I currently have BCE and considering adding a new position in TMUS, Thoughts on the addition of TMUS at current price for a 5 year minimum hold?
Thank you
Terry

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

Q: Hi Peter: When I sit back and take a look at the big picture and review how my portfolio performed during COVID-19 (so far), I try to see what lessons I can learn, then turn to how to apply those lessons to make my portfolio stronger.

I am a retired, dividend-income investor. I am a huge believer in asset allocation and have designed a portfolio, in my opinion, to be reasonably well diversified, although heavy to Canada. It WAS roughly 70% equities (including 32% foreign content) and 30% fixed income (roughly 15% insured annuities, 15% Fisgard Capital...both averaging in the 5-6% pre-tax range and minor cash). My equities are mostly blue chip, dividend payers, as you can see above. The 3 mutual funds are a very minor part of my portfolio, especially Eric's Energy Fund (<2%). I also receive a company pension and CPP-OAS which, when included, drops my equities to roughly 32%.

I use various metrics to monitor my portfolio, such as P/E, P/BV, P/CF, P/S, Beta, ROE, Div growth, Payout%, technical indicators like 200 mda. I am normally a buy-and-hold investor who trims/adds around a core position.

Periodically I measure how "at risk" my portfolio is relative to the overall market. I do this by prorating my portfolio using Beta. Based on equities only, I averaged 0.68 and for my entire portfolio I averaged 0.44. So, one would think that if the overall market (TSX) was to drop 30%, then I would have thought my portfolio would drop 44% to 68% of that, being in the range of 13% (overall) to 20% (equities only).

In actual fact, my entire portfolio dropped 27% from peak to trough vs the expected 13%...over double! I understand that EVERYTHING was sold off...almost no exceptions. So what do we learn from this and what changes should we consider? Do we accept that "sxxt happens" once in a while...you can't predict every event, accept it and move on? Should we consider increasing the cash component as a buffer? Or...is there something else to be learned here?

Thanks for you help...much appreciated...Steve

Q: Hi 5i - Retired income investor but also interested in growth. I have been holding FFH.PR.K:CDN for a number of years. Decent income but limited growth opportunity. It represents 1% of my portfolio. Portfolio analytics indicates I should increase my exposure to communications services. I've been thinking of selling FFH and buying BCE which I don't hold or adding to my current Telus holding (at 2.5%). Other options could be adding to Fiera (only 1% holding) or to TD (3.6%). Appreciate your thoughts and other options that provide relatively safe income with a greater long term upside. Really appreciate the good work you guys do!

Q: Hello 5i,
Thank you for providing a clear and modulated message through the past 2 months.
For a 5-10 year hold could you rank the top 10 highest (TSX) yielding stocks with the safest dividends. ( strongest balance sheet, lowest payout ratio, historical dividend growth, etc).
Could you also rank them separately in terms of bounceback / growth potential over the next 2 to 3 years?
There may be redundancy in this question vs others asked and the 5i portfolios - so please take as many credits as necessary.
Thank you

Q: For an income play is this saver than Enbridge? Do you have a preference?

Q: bce or telus, what is the best pic? brenda

Q: I would like your help putting together a yield portfolio of between 15 and 20 names.
This would be the entire investments for my wife and I. We are both retired and now live full-time in the U.S. And at some point I expect my Canadian newspaper pension to disappear, so I am looking to replace that money.
I would like your opinion of the above names with regard to safety of the income and overall diversification.
I would also appreciate some additional ideas and would like to know if I`m off base on any or all of these names.
I am currently only invested in CM, BNS and BMO and DIR.UN.
Please take 20 credits (or more).
Thank you in advance for your invaluable assistance.

Q: How Much of a threat is spaceX starlink to these companies?

Q: If I buy say BCE preferred within the 30 days of selling the BCE common, do I negate my capital loss? Seems like a good place to stick the money before rebuying.

Q: Of the 3 major Telcos what would be your long term pick.
Does the Telehealth division of Telus appear to be growing and does it have a meaningful impact on the Revenue and Earnings?

Thanks Valter

Q: If I am enrolled in a drip, is the stock purchased at a discounted rate or the market price of a stock. I own the listed companies; are any of those are eligible for a discounted drip purchase price? or do you need to buy them directly from the company to qualify for the discount.

Q: Hello you Guys,
My question is as follows :
A number of years ago (3 or 4?) on a portfolio review it was suggested I buy VOX as I had no telecommunications exposure. It has been up and down and currently down. Would it make sense for me to sell the VOX and swing into either Telus, Bell or any other holding you would suggest at this time? And while I have you, is there 1 particular stock you would say is a diamond in the ruff? I'm pretty well diversified so sector stuff not so important, just a really great company that you guys really like. Bet you hate these questions but you never disappoint!
many thanks.

Q: I plan to retire in 3 years and want to set up a portfolio of dividend paying stocks for my retirement in a non- registered account. Can you please give me your thoughts if I buy the following in 20% amounts at each S&P drop of 3-5% over the next 1-3 months. CM RY, NA, CWB, BCE, T, H, BIP, BEP, BAM.
Are there any others you would recommend today?

Q: Hi guys, I am looking for small and mid-cap companies with a great balance sheet and high likelihood of sustaining their dividends. Would Evertz and Corby fit the bill? Also, any others that you like for that criteria? Thanks Rob

Q: Hi, I think, Monday's 10% stock price decline, could have been as a result of company's press release after close of markets on Friday March 20th. The NR for MTN Debenture issue NR had a paragraph on " COVID-19 Update ", which read as follows.
" Due to the speed with which the situation is developing and the uncertainty of its magnitude, outcome and duration, we are not able at this time to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 situation on our operations or financial results; however, the impact could be material. "