Investment Q&A

Q: Do we have any idea of the succession plan for Mark Leonard, brains behind CSU? All I can determine is he is 35 years into his career, with nearly 25 at Constellation.

If nothing has been addressed can we expect something in future?

Q: Hi 5i: Constellation Software seems to buy small but excellent software businesses endlessly. Does it ever sell any of them? Thanks!

Q: comments please on the latest quarter? Thx

Q: Hello. In monitoring my equity investments, I note that SHOP is now 8.3% of my total stock portfoliio while CSU has reached 7.5% of that same total. My question is whether it is too risky to let these run -- or trim them back now. Thanks!

Q: I have gains that account for two 8% positions in my TFSA in both CGI Group and Restaurant Brands. I was thinking of selling either CGI Group or Restaurant Brands and replacing that one position with three smaller positions in Constellation Software, Enbridge and Brookfield Infrastructure.

Would this be a move you endorse to increase dividend income and eps growth potential, and if so which of CGI Group or Restaurant Brands would you sell?

Thanks.

John

Q: Hi, Could you please post the earning estimates for the quarterly results expected later this week. Thanks

Q: Constellation Software now exceeds 10% of our total accounts because it has and keeps doing well. What would a reasonable reduction be, say down to 7%.? Given we are only 2-3 years requirement what stocks would you recommend as a replacement? We own Open Text and Kinaxis already. Thank you, Bill

Q: what are the estimates for csu and when does the company report?

Q: Are you aware of a company in the US that is comparable to CSU in Canada, in terms of its outstanding management, strong long-term growth rate, high ROE and generally superb performance over many years? Any industry would be fine, not just tech.

Q: Your Analytics program has provided a convenient tool to see the weightings in my overall portfolio. From this I have learned that while there are some with larger percentages I have many positions between 1 - 2% weighting. Sometimes this resulted from my having initiated small purchases and sometimes from falling share values. In any event, I wonder if I am spread too thin? I guess one part of this is that the small positions will not move the dial. On the other hand, quite often your members ask what you might recommend when looking at choosing between 2 stocks and the answer suggests having both, for better diversification.
1. So my first question is whether positions of 1 - 2 % are too small or is this good diversification?
2. In this context, my next questions are about positions of 1.57% and 1.42% in Enghouse and Kinaxis; are these positions too small and if so, which would you sell and which to keep / add to? And similarly, positions of 1.39% and 1.18% in Parex and Suncor. If these positions are too small, which to sell and which to keep / add to?
3. In a similar vein, I have one or two positions that have suffered from considerable declines in share value and there is .36 and .56 of a position. What should I do if I do not want to sell, either because I still believe in the prospects or because it is too painful to sell just now. I often see your answers suggesting you do not believe in averaging down but holding such a small position seems not effective.
4. My last question is about Constellation Software. It is of course one of the better performers and partly as a result presently I have a weight of just under 3.5%. Given its success, would you recommend adding to have a larger position, and if so, how much?

Thanks for your excellent service.

Q: Hi Have my TFSA in these tickers. Doing very well (THANK YOU), I'm thinking I would like to park it, small growth, dividends, capital preservation comes to mind.
Would you please make some suggestions (stock, etf, etc) to help me accomplish this.
Thank you 5i!

Q: I currently am a holder of the following three companies. I consider CSU as an A+ quality, legacy wide-moat company and an A+ capital allocater. Conversely I consider Brookfield of similar nature in reinvestment skills, but as more of a B+ ranking. I consider Broadridge as a legacy wide-moat company, but once again I would rank it as a B+ here.

My question is if you know of any other companies that have these wide legacy moats and strong reinvestment skill similar to that of CSU. Especially down in the U.S. Perhaps you could list out 4-5 possibilities?

Thanks,

Liam

Q: I bought CSU in 2012. I made some share transfers for philanthropic purposes in 2015 and 2017, but still have a return of over 1300%. I am trying to decide whether to take some profits or to hold. I would appreciate your advice.

Q: Hi,
Is the Volaris acquisition significant ? The press release mentions neither the name of the acquired european company nor the cost involved. Any idea what it might be ?

Thank you

Q: Hi,
I need to increase my Technology Sector. I started with full positions in CSU, which has doubled, and KXS (which is flat), and a half position in Open Text.

What would you do hear to increase my sector holding by 50%?

Thanks,
Robert

Q: Hi group are BYD.UN and CSU both showing some weakness due to falling US dollar ( I think ?) - (please do not tell me how much they are up on the year- I already know that) . My question is it a good time to add or wait until the US dollar stops dropping. Do you have an opinion on US dollar weakness going fwd. Thanks

Q: I am showing an increase in debt from 30.1% of capital last October to 51.86% now with CSU. Does this agree with your numbers and would this be of concern to you?
What do insiders now own in CSU? Thanks.

Q: I’m looking to hold not more than 8 names that you think I could keep for a multi year timeframe.I am not especially looking for income....just the very best quality total return prospects .Names could be American or Canadian and multisector

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team,

In our combined portfolio (RRIF, RRSP, TFSAs, and non-registered account), we are underweight in Information Technology. 5i's latest recommendation for this sector's weighting is 15%, but we are at 13.4%.

We hold these stocks/ETF followed by their weighting:
CSU: 5.67%
ENGH: 2.38%
KXS: 1.09%
OTEX: 2.50%
SYZ: 0.92%
XIT: 0.91% (We use it to park cash as it's a commission-free ETF for us)

My wife has a preference for holding dividend payers (even a small dividend) in her RRSP. In her RRSP, she holds a 1.51 % position in CSU, and the full 2.38% of ENGH. In order to increase the IT weighting to 15%, she needs to invest $19,500. There is sufficient cash in her RRSP for this purchase. What course of action would you suggest? Should she top up her position in ENGH? Or should she start a new position in ET or OTEX?

Please deduct sufficient credits for this rather convoluted question. Your guidance is very valuable to us.

Q: Looking to deploy this years tax return in my TFSA. I'm lacking tech investment. Looking for long term growth (10+ years). Could you recomment top small, mid, large cap in Canada.