Investment Q&A

Q: I noted an earlier answer that preferred life companies over banks at the moment, for a new investment. I am currently overweight financials and dont want to leave the probable dividend stream. However, should I be thinking about divesting banks to a degree and buy life cos? If so, which banks to punt ( don't be shy, I have them all) and which life cos to buy? As always, appreciate your collective calm.

Q: Are the Lifeco's in general going to be hurt badly because of relatively high death claims due to Covid,
or is this possibility already priced in ?

Q: Which of these 2 companies do you consider to be the better investment on a long term basis. I am attacked to MFC's Asian business but you seem to recommend SLF frequently. I currently hold MFC but could switch to SLF or add SLF to portfolio.

Q: Can you please provide me your top 6 Canadian financials that you would buy at this time. Please rank:
Thank you

Q: I hold 2 % weighting of this company and am a little nervous about the Covid effect going forward for IGM. I am down 30 % on it. What might be a better company, in any sector going forward to recover the 30 % ?

Q: Your preference has been for SLF over MFC - is that still the case. At $17 do you think MFC has a good entry point?

Q: Hello 5i team,
I greatly enjoyed your report on Covid 19 and investment themes. I have a pretty good idea as to 10 to 20 names of stocks that could fit into those themes.
Could you name just 10; I'd be curious to see how close I am.
Thanks,
Antoine

Q: Thanks for your flash report. Much appreciated.
Without doing a full review, which of the above would risk being downgraded if you were to do a full review? Thanks. Your service is great!

Q: Hello 5i Team,
Thank you for all your guidance throughout this type of market. I'm sure all the Canadians are greatly appreciating your impeccable work for us DIY investors.

If you have ~$20k of cash today and your goal is to appreciate this into a much larger amount not too long after coming out of the other side of this market (i.e. after a recession), which 10-15 Canadian equities would you go after with a good sector diversification?

Since I am younger and my nest egg is still small, I'm not too concerned or rely on dividends. I'd much rather have stocks whose valuations may appreciate greatly rather than going for the slow and steady dividend aristocrats and blue-chips.

I have been eyeing the large discounts on Canadian equities such as the following: AC, CAE, SLF, GSY, LSPD, PLC, GIL.

Q: Hello,
Is it a good time to buy TD and SLF?
Thanks

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: POW has now fallen to a price giving a similar yield to ENB, around 8%. For a senior living on dividend income, which of the two has the safer dividend for a long term hold? You have tended to favour SLF in the insurance/financial space, so would you still recommend SLF over POW for dividend safety and growth, despite its lower yield? If you don't like any of these three stocks, what's your top Canadian pick for a senior looking for a decent safe yield, with some potential for long term growth?

Q: The current volatility and fear in the market has lead me to believe there will be some companies that will unnecessarily be punished/caught in the crossfire and therefore offer a great risk/return
could you please list out companies in your mind that have decreased significantly unfairly and/or offer a compelling risk/return in the US or Canadian Markets
thank you

Q: I am aiming to have a portfolio with 2 solid companies in each of the 11 sectors. Do you feel SLF and X would be sufficient for allocation to the financial sector? Or would you suggest adding a bank (RY) to provide better diversification? Thanks in advance.

Q: Hello 5i, if you had to choose 10 companies out of the USA or Canada for a 5 year hold what would you choose?

There is no need for additional comments, the money isn’t needed in 5 years that’s just a timeframe that should hopefully allow for success vs the virus and recovery economically and adapting to the changed world ( going cashless, online shopping, deliveries, remote work etc) Risk is not an issue and neither is sector diversification. thank you !

Q: Assuming markets will tank again, which would you suggest be purchased for a long-term hold at that time: BAM.A, SLF or TRI? Retired investor looking for dividends with some growth.

Many thanks to the entire 5i team for your collective efforts to provide us with timely, thoughtful information and a much-needed balanced perspective during this most challenging of times.

Q: Would you add to SLF at $37?
Any reason for the recent weakness outside a bad market? Would they have higher than usual insurance liability in this environment? (Such as business interruption clause or other). Thank you!

Q: Why are all the insurance companies getting slaughtered? Because of ultralow interest rates? Good buy at these prices? Think the dividends are safe?

What would be your favourite?

Q: I am a buy and hold investor with 5 to 10 years of time horizon.
Have the following 7 stocks in Canadian financials in the order of their weights in our portfolio. Financials makeup roughly 7.5% of the total portfolio including cash positions and we like their dividend. TD, RY, BNS, BMO, SLF, CM, and MFC. I like to reduce exposure to financials and also like to reduce number of different shares. Two questions:
1. Is 7.5% a reasonable weight considering the current situation?
2. Which one of these I should sell to reduce financial weight and to reduce the number of shares in financials?

Q: Hi- you mentioned SLF was one to pick at being signficant value. Why lifeco over a bank? What are the risks associated so say a BNS verus SLF and why do you prefer SLF.