Investment Q&A

Q: Happy Friday,

With the current dip and a further downside expected are there any income equities that you would classify as very attractive.

Looking for some new ideas. I have lots of banks, pipes, telcos, utilities, insurance cos, etc. but am not immune to buying more.

Anything in the US really strike you fancy?

Thanks very much and have a great weekend.

Q: Based on your reply to Paul on May 9th...."We think buying over a year will end up looking pretty good in two or three years". Of the following Companies that make up my portfolio what would be your TOP 3 conviction names to ADD to over the next year based on long term growth potential, good valuation, well run, good management, no brainer this will be a good investment type choice. There is opportunity here so don't want to miss the boat. Yes everything is down. Yes people are panicking. But it will go back up and simply want to focus my energy on the ones with more conviction. I don't need the money for the next 15-20 yrs but don't want to be a moron either and be happy with a bit of dividend here and there when I could see larger returns by making a good decision today. Thanks again.

Q: Would you please compare Manulife and Sun life. I have some Manulife shares. Would you recommend buying more Manulife shares or buy some Sun Life shares instead and therefore have some of both?

Q: The above stocks have declined significantly from 2021 highs. I would like to make 2 or 3 purchases from this list. Please remove any you think are unlikely to resume upwards momentum over next 12 months and show the rest in a priority list for purchase consideration from highest priority to lowest for growth or growth/dividend return. Many thanks. Jane Norton

Q: Hello Peter,
For starting TFSA position, i was thinking of Brookfield Asset Management, Goog Ne (CDR) and either Royal Bank or Sunlife.. What makes more sense for a conservative value oriented long term positions? Thanks very much.

Q: Two related questions. I purchased SLF several months ago as a hedge against inflation. Since then, the stock has done nothing but decline and I am now down 12%. Please explain why it is performing so poorly now and provide thoughts on how it could potentially be impacted by a recession. Still with finance, would GSY (despite its smaller size) have generally the same economic drivers as the Big Five banks? Thank you.

Q: Hello:

With some coaching my older sons (aged 15 & 17) have come to realize that money sitting in a bank account is losing value due to inflation. They have taken small positions in ZQQ which appeals to their interests and the market has declined a bit but the silver lining is that they learn patience and understand risk.

With part-time jobs they have some more cash to deploy. Of course CAD holdings are easier but what would you pick? A few I think of:

BAM.A - Canadian and should see stable growth.
SLF - Canadian, but too conservative?
COST - USD is messier with FX fees but also very stable growth.
GOOG - USD again, but is it still considered cheap?

Other options?

Thank you!

Q: Hi team,

Grateful if you could develop your answer to Chris April 19 and provide your full list of buy-and-forget stocks both in Canada and USA in order of preference and with suggested entry price.

With appreciation,

Jacques ISD

Q: I hate the idea of losing money in a TFSA for a number of reasons that are probably best dealt with in therapy. However, let’s say that we knew for a certainty that we were going to have a recession of unknown depth and duration starting in 2023. Come 2025 do you think you would have sooner held BCE, SLF, ENB, BAM.A, SMU.UN, and L (maybe 4% average yield with avg. PE in low 20’s) in a TFSA, or a 2 year GIC at 3%? Seems to me if a recession is deeper and longer than average I’m glad I had the GIC, if shallower and shorter, the equities?

Q: Can you name 5-6 Canadian dividend stocks that you think might be a good spot to ride out higher interest rates for a while? Thank you

Q: The current "supply and confidence" arrangement between the federal Liberal and NDP parties has resulted in the announcement of the intention to establish a national dental plan, for which there are very few specifics, save the $90,000 family income threshold, that this plan is for "Candians lacking dental coverage" (as per CBC report) and that coverage will be provided to Canadians under twelve years of age in this year, to Canadians under eighteen in 2023, with full implementation in 2025.

While it would be an impossible task to truly account for the potential impact to existing dental insurance providers, given the lack of any concrete information regarding levels of funding and range of services to be covered within this policy, could you offer any commentary (significant hedging of opinion is to be expected) on the potential near-term impact to the major players in the Canadian insurance space? Any insights you deem appropriate to share would be most appreciated. As always, I appreciate your candour and I look forward to your response.

Q: Hi
I owned BIP.PR.D for a couple of years and liked the steady dividends. I am looking at a) another Brookfield preferred that is similar or
b) an ETF that has mostly rate reset bons with a decent dividend or
c) another preferred share from a stable company, like fortis, bce, telus, enb, trp, etc
I would like something that provides 5%, has at least 2 years shelf life. Is it possible to provide maybe 5 choices, ranked that meet the above criterion?
As always great, Len

Q: I'm overweight financials - almost 20% of my total portfolio. In relatively equal proportions I hold: BAM, GSY, SLF, X and V. Should I trim across the board or do these stocks have sufficiently different economic drivers that being 20% overweight is not a concern? Thank you.

Q: I own a little ENB, I think I should add to the position of perhaps add PPl to bring the position up.
Also TD is my sole financial but want to add another bank or an insurer SLF or another insurer. currently non in my portfolio now.
Of the insurers what % of the insurers would you suggest and is Trisura a good way to increase the position in some way.
I dont own BAM but own BEP & BIF ... is adding to either of these positions the way to go or perhaps adding BAM at this time...
Which CdN bank stocks do you favor most-----
Thank you for your advice. Maureen

Q: Have held SLF a number of years(registered income producing account), and have a 67% capital gain not counting dividends. I am thinking of taking the profit and re deploying to POW. Rational: higher dividend, trading in the lower/middle of it's 1 year range and analysts giving it more upside potential, more global exposure? (Europe). Do you see this as a reasonable move or am I trading down in quality for the additional yield

Q: 8:57 AM 3/21/2022
Hello Peter:
We have to choose to add to two among these higher dividend stocks in my Cash account. These will be held for the next 20 years and want the best "sleep-at-Night" investments that hopefully never need to be sold.
I am looking for strong growing dividends plus decent compound 10 year share price growth of at least 6%.
BNS, RY, BCE, T, FTS, PPL, SLF, CNR.
I know CNR dividend is only 1.8% but it may be outweighed by growth?
Any other suggestions are welcome.
Could you please arrange them best first for safety and dividend growth
Thank you............. Paul W. K.

Q: In anticipation of a possible recession in the near future, I would like to slowly tweak a few of my holdings. Could you please list some of the best sectors to hold in a recession, and if possible, list a few excellent Canadian companies in each sector and perhaps some US stocks. What may be the worst sectors to hold in a recession? Sorry, this is a big question, but one that I think many members may be thinking about.
Thanks!

Q: I have a relatively small RESP portfolio that will have to change to an RRIF. I would like the RRIF to be able to generate enough dividends to cover the required withdrawals. If that is possible. Can you tell me your top ten highest dividend-paying Canadian companies or maybe even better ETFs or a combination that you would be comfortable owning?

Thank you.
David

Q: Of the 2 mentioned above , would you own both or prefer one over the other? (please explain why)
Thank you.

Q: Like a previous subscriber wrote, we also appreciate your most recent report: specifically, the numeric historical context of this current correction, the sectors affected and those most likely to benefit.
We are invested in each of the three of the 5i portfolios and over the next 1-2 months plan to make staggered and targeted contributions.
Could you suggest 3 or 4 companies from each portfolio where the winds of sentiment are excessively negative and would be attractive to purchase with this approach?
This is for a 5+ years hold.
Thank you