Investment Q&A

Q: What is a good alternative to BEP.UN? Due to the late reporting of tax information from BEP I have chosen to sell my units as I just received two $100 penalties from CRA.

Q: At the beginning of the year I had to liquidate 30% of a taxable portfolio. I managed to sell stocks that minimized my income taxes, however, as a result I sold all of my Financials, Materials, Utilities and Energy stocks. I now have 10% to add back and will be contributing another 20% sometime later this year. I do not think I will be needing these funds anytime in the next 5+ years. I am looking at taking half positions in PKI; GSY; BEP.UN and AEM. Your comments about my stock selections would be appreciated.

Q: I have stayed away from LP stocks due to worries about tax issues. Do you have any general comments on LP stocks? for example, If one holds BEP.UN on the TSX, should one purchase it in a registered or non registered account? Are there tax concerns....or is that only a problem if one purchases on the US stock exchange?

Thank you so much for your comments on this issue.

Q: Hi 5i

First a comment-it is puzzling why you get so many questions outside of the stocks on your coverage list or portfolios. With the results BE port has achieved it seems to make sense to follow your advice rather than making our own picks. Similarly if you get less questions on uncovered stocks you will have more time for the ones you recommend.

My question is I currently have about 4% in BEP.UN (42.58) which has done great. 2.5% in MDA (63.93) down 25% as I bought just before you removed from BE. 2% in HR.UN (23). And less than 1% in AVO (15.20) bought near peak so down 50%. Also own more than half of BE plus 5% AAPL and GOOGL, 4% DIS and TD.

Don't yet have SYZ,GUD,AIF,CLS,CSU,KXS,NFI,PBH, or TOY. Should I get rid of any of the stocks listed in first section? And which of the BE I don't have yet should I get soon? Have enough cash that I could add 3 and risk tolerance is high.

Thanks, Greg

Q: John Heinzl discussed MLP's recently and hinted that they are taxed unfavourably.

I hold BEP in a non registered account, can you help me understand BEP's distributions in particular the effect of ROC ?

Is this good or bad ROC ??

THANKS

Q: Regarding the recent question on Brookfield renewable, it is a TSX-listed company and the distributions are treated as Canadian rather than American for tax treatment.

Q: BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE PARTNERS L.P. is, I believe, the legal name for the Brookfield business with TSX symbol BEP.UN. Is BEP.UN a U.S. Master Limited Partnership (MLP)? An article in the May 27 Globe Report on Business discusses the risks to a Canadian investor holding U.S. MLPs, including a 39.6% withholding tax on payments to non-residents (according to the article, the tax applies to both registered & non-registered accounts). Is this applicable to BEP.UN.? Thanks for your reply. Edward.

Q: Both these companies report in USD. They are listed in NY and Toronto. Is the Toronto price basically a function of the rate of exchange?

Do these companies have a hedging strategy to protect the Canadian shareholders?

I suppose that an investor concerned about foreign exchange losses should examine the hedging strategy of any company holding assets outside Canada.

Q: Would you swap BAM for BEP ? Why, why not? Thank you.

Q: I currently own BEP.UN and BIP.UN. Thinking of adding BAM.A.
Are these companies linked in such a way, that really bad news would bring the other Brookfield stocks down?
Thanx
Saw your response on rating the order of the Brookfield stocks on the 17th. Noticed you put BAM.A ahead of all the Brookfield stocks.
What makes it better than the two I have , in your opinion.

Q: Please rate these Brookfield companies in order of you best choices for growth, valuation and risk.
Thanks,
Terry

Q: Can you rank the stocks best to worst in your opinion. These are the stock s that are in my utilities sector which is 3% of my current portfolio. Would you add, swap or remove any of them? My portfolio holdings/thoughts are very similar to your BE Portfolio.

Q: You have indicated a recent buying preference of BIP over BE. I notice that the analysts predict a 10% price reduction for BIP in 2017 but stable for BEP. Does this affect your preference?

Q: how do you feel about BEP.UN latest results and current valuation?

Q: Hi,
I'm young and have good income, good risk tolerance and no need to withdrawal any of my investment dollars anytime soon. I'm looking for long term growth mostly. Currently I hold the listed stocks, do you see any names that jump out as really bad/ should sell? Is anything really lacking and maybe should be added? Right now everything is held in a tfsa.

Thanks!
Dave

Q: Could I please have your comments on the recently announced earnings of this company? Thanks

Q: Over the past two years I have acquired all three of the above companies and they now (together) comprise 10% of my portfolio. Do you see any problems with this? My portfolio is well diversified.
THANKS!
Bryan

Q: Which stock would be your choice at today's valuations, $bep.u or $bip.un?

Thanks Valter

Q: Are Brookfield Renewables and Brookfield. Infrastructure not " black boxes" to an investor unless he is able to analyze the assets that they own?

Q: At current depressed level,is it a good candidate for buy and hold? If not what are your suggestions for 2-3 others?