Investment Q&A

Q: Looking at some of the construction/engineering stocks. Since early summer of 2023, the larger companies STN and WSP are up about 50% and 30% respectively, but the smaller companies ARE and BDT have been massive winners, as ARE is roughly 4 times what it was then, and BDT is roughly 6 times what it was, gains of about 300% and 500%. Is the vast outperformance from ARE and BDT just a case of smaller companies being able to grow faster, or is there something fundamentally different in their businesses? Dol you think that ARE and BDT will continue to outperform STN and WSP?

Q: Long term owner of WSP, with a full position. Started buying WSP in 2014 @ $37. Long term believer that WSP will rebound from it's current price of around $220 and resume it's "up and to the right" trajectory.

Going to trim some (again) from my Cash account for a capital gain. At the same time, I plan to buy some in my TFSA. My understanding is there are no CRA issues with this plan, as it is a capital gain and NOT a capital loss situation.

Please confirm....thanks....Steve

Q: Do you see many blatantly mispriced equities in the North American market today?Granted there have been strong price pullbacks in several sectors but could some of this just be multiple contraction on overpriced stocks that investors were previously chasing to overpriced levels?

I'd like to ask if you have 2 ideas of Mega or Large Cap US Technology stocks that are blatantly mispriced (too cheap to explain) and also the same for 2 Non Tech US or Canadian stocks Large Caps.

Thx for your help.

Q: Energy is obviously trading at a premium, given the current conflict, and with this in mind I was thinking of taking advantage of the bump and trimming my CNQ and SU positions. While I don't have any concerns about the companies, it would seem to make sense to monetize some of those gains. That being said, the current conflict has obviously impacted other sectors and companies negatively. What are some opportunistic buys (in your opinion) of companies that are currently depressed by the current conflict, but whose balance sheets and business models are sound, and who will probably do fine over the next 5 years.

Q: The VIX continues to climb.Do you see this as a signal to buy start buying beaten down stocks such as WSP or others?

Q: I bought ATRL late last year. For a while it was gaining bit by bit. Now it is losing steam. It looks as if it should be a good buy. What do you think?

Q: Overall, my portfolio is very balanced, but I have gone with higher growth in my TFSA. I hold GOOG, META, NVDA, NBIS, BN, AXON, MELI, LMN, and ZEO. What is the max percentage of the TFSA that you would hold in GOOG and NVDA? Could you suggest some new stocks with good momentum that would balance out my holdings? Thanks.

Q: What are your three best midcaps and large caps with reasonable dividends? Am i too late to the parade?

Q: Hello Team, Can you please rank the above companies in order of what you think will give the best returns over the next couple of years. Thanks.

Q: Recently we have seen many blue chip stocks that had done really well pull back.

Companies like RBC, TD, BN, SHOP, MFC, CNR, CP, JPM, GOOG, MSFT, BRK, and others…

What are your favourite five Canadian and US large cap names that have pulled back recently? Would you be a buyer today or would you wait until the market settles a little?

Thanks
Tim

Q: What is your top 5 Canadian buys in order at today's price for each
Small cap
Mid cap
Large cap

Thank you

Q: Long long term holder of WSP, trimmed multiple times. I have their non-Canadian allocation at 82%. What is their exposure to the middle east? Any significant risk? Thanks...Steve

Q: If you owned BRK.B and were thinking about moving out and adding two other companies such as ATRL & WCN to a portfolio what would your thoughts be?

Q: When I think about the large impact AI has had on these companies I can't help but think some contrarian thoughts:
> Even if AI can replicate some of the activities of the engineering firms, there is a lot of liability on these projects they work on which require human intervention / approval / oversight
> Companies would not have the requisite engineering resources in house to verify if what the AI is doing would be safe/reliable for large construction projects
> Infrastructure as a whole will continue to be needed especially if AI growth continues which reinforces the project pipeline
> AI can be used by WSP, STN in-house to lower costs and become more efficient so they could turn around projects faster or cheaper and reduce labour on projects
> Wouldn't AI also allow them to develop more insights/data which in turn could be used to better manage projects / highlight risks or use data to better quote (which in turn reduces losses) etc

I see AI as an enabler of these companies but not necessarily replacing them - maybe on the low-end side of their business where liability/risk isn't high but on big projects you would think working with an outsource 'expert' will still be required

Am I way off in my thinking?

Q: Hi Again. Similar to my last question, with consolidation in mind, would you please rank the above holdings in order of "sell" to "keep".

Carl

Q: Hi Guys

I hold Stantec and WSP and looking to add to one. Looking out 5 years would you have a favorite today?

Thanks Stuart

Q: Can you comment on results from both WSP and TOI after calls (not sure if TOI has a call). Were there any surprises good or bad? Looking forward, where do you see each 6 months out?

Q: These 3 companies: STN; WSP; TOI reported year end and quarterly financials today. I'd be interested on your thoughts regarding the results for each and going forward. Three questions in one. Deduct as many credits/ points as needed. Thanks.
Robert

Q: 5i provided subscribers with 2 very interesting article recently. One on HALO companies and one of Canadian Companies With Accelerated Topline Growth Rates.

Would you take it one step further for us.

Of the 4 segments of HALO stocks that were highlighted can you pick your top 2 choices from each of the 4 segments and list them from strongest choice down.

Also can you pick the top 5 stocks from the Growth rates list that you think would provide the best growth over the next 5 years from strongest selection down.

With thanks from all of us.


Sheldon

Q: Hi,
Seems Anthropic is causing quite a few disruptions lately and today their COBOL tool has hit IBM and others. Do you see any reason to wait it out and hold if this could be used as a tax loss in a cash account? I am also concerned about yet another fairly large drop in the price on WSP. Is there any further news regarding it today? Unfortunately I hold that in a RSP account, so am not sure whether to sell or hold, and would welcome your thoughts on this as well. Many thanks for your continued good advice - it is always appreciated!
D