Investment Q&A

Q: Happy New Year to the great team at 5iResearch and thank you for the great advice I have received from you over the years. It has been very profitable. I have a reasonably well balanced portfolio with a small amount of AQN ( ~0.5%) but no PBH. I am considering selling AQN and buying some PBH as I am relatively low in Consumer defensives. Which of the 2 companies do you prefer?

Q: Can you provide your current top 4 or 5 canadian dividend picks? Looking to invest my TFSA contribution next week.

Thanks,

Joe

Q: I am underweight both. Which one??

Q: I know that you rate AQN highly, but why has this stock underperformed the others by like night and day in the last year. What is it that has held this stock back?. This has been a hot market for these stocks here in Canada and the USA.
Seasons Greetings

Q: Thanks for your very helpful and informative service. I have the following stocks in an RESP for three young grandchildren. Could you kindly suggest any of them that I should sell or add to along with three other names in order of preference which I could buy with new money. THX.

Q: I own all these in my utilites allocation (AQN 3.5%, BEPC 2.4%, FTS 2.5%, NPI 1.6%). I'm looking to pull some capital out of these to redirect towards industrials and consumer cyclicals for the upcoming year. Could you perhaps rank them on valuation, and/or suggest which way you might go, i.e. shave a little off each, equal weight them, drop one or more, etc. Thank-you as always.

Q: Today ,when I turned on my computer the above stocks each had matching bid ask for millions of shares at much lower than their closing price yesterday. Any idea what is happening?

Q: Hi,
In a recent question from Jacques about renewable energy, you respond:
We would suggest; BEP.UN, AQN, BLX, NPI
Where does FTS fit in this list?
I own BEP.UN and FTS and considering selling FTS and replace with any of the other 3. Would you agree with such a move? What would be your ranking of these 5 companies in order?
Thanks

Q: For the long term, which renewable power companies would you suggest for a RRSP and a TFSA?

Q: I plan on adding to the following positions within my TFSA. What would be your order of buying?

Q: I have a DOY balanced portfolio (Alpha-Balanced for guidance) , with less than 10 year timeframe.
I’m underweight communication services, and energy. Not a fan at this stage of oil or precious metals. Overweight in industrials and technology.
My concern is with my overweight in technology. Reading a number of opinion articles that refer to the tech boom as another dot.com. The reply often is oh but this is different.
Here’s my two cents worth especially related to tech stocks I own. First of all investors/traders seem to be jumping in and out of technology based on the latest COVID-19 / vaccine news.
Re KXS; will still be in demand long after Covid-19. LSPD; somewhat sensitive to Covid-19 but have done a good job diversifying and adapting restaurant services etc. Will do well in recovery.
Maybe more acquisitions.
SHOP; like Amazon will carry on even though the valuation is high. Younger generation will still shop on line.
Now comes the tricky part. WELL and VEEV. I don’t quite have a handle on. Not sure if the demand for their service will still be there post COVID-19.
Your comments and/or thought would be greatly appreciated. I have a feeling that many of your clients would be interested in what you have to say.
I’m an experienced investor but don’t have access to the kinds of info I once did. I depend a great deal on your unbiased expert opinion.
Merry Christmas

Roy

Q: Hi,

I have no utilities exposure at the moment. Looking or a Company with a nice yield that has part of their business in renewables since this is a trend going forward. I will also hold this name outside of my RRSP and TFSA for dividend distribution is ideal rather than other forms of return on investment. I am thinking of a 4% position given record low interest rates and the fact they MAY rise sometime in 2022 or beyond. My questions are: 1- Do you think 4% is a good weighting for the utility sector given current environment? 2- Which is your preferred name among these 3? I am leaning towards AQN for dividend level and the fact that it is paid as a dividend as well as the fact that some of the business is in renewables and they have a nice growth profile.

Thank you so much,
Jason

Q: Good morning - I am overweight Utilities and underweight Energy. I have large positions in BEP and AQN, both of which have considerable capital gains as well as FTS which has plowed along steadily but not much gain. I am thinking of selling FTS and buying ENB or TRP. In an earlier question you suggested that you liked TRP over ENB if you had to choose. Do you like any other energy sector company better for a long term dividend loving old timer? I already have a chunk of SU and Canadian Natural Resources. On the other hand, I am noticing analysts starting to love FTS. Should I stay or should I go, and to which energy company? Thanks for helping me stop going in circles. Al

Q: If I were to sell one of these stocks to purchase something growthier, in what order might you suggest? Are any of these potential recovery plays?

Thanks.

Brad

Q: Hi you made the following ‘generation vs distribution’ comment wrt AQN to Peter on Dec 2. Could you please expand on this a bit further as I mistakenly thought AQN was primarily generation. Could you similarly comment on NPI and INE re generation vs distribution. Thanks.

“The majority of its (AQN’s) business is distribution and has less exposure to generation already.”

Q: My wife has the above shares in a RRIF and we have to sell a few shares of one of them to provide enough cash for the monthly payout.
They each have, or have had their benefits but I'd be interested to know which ones I should start with at the present.
I've been inclined to sell losers as opposed to winners in the past and I am wondering whether to ditch ENB which is in the red, but if there were to be turnaround with ENB, the bounce might mean that BCE, which is a slow lumbering beast might be a better choice. Your thoughts?

Q: Hi guys,

I'm looking for potential opportunities in the energy space where the line between clean and fossil, as well as energy vs utilities seems to blur more and more. Also there seems to be increasing suggestion that big oil is interest to move into this space with investment and engineering capital.
Are these corporations good opportunities and if so do they look to be positioned as underpriced for growth relative to the current frothy players like npi and bep?

Q: I have no utilities exposure. I want to add 1 Company. I was looking at Fortis because I believe they are your favourite given their size and history of dividend increases. They currently are mostly electricity delivery (<90%) with some renewables and fossil fuel. By 2035 they expect to increase renewables from 2% to 7%. That seems like a long time for such a small increase. They are eliminating their fossil fuel generation. If I prefer to invest in a utility with more of a focus on renewables, would AQN or BEP.UN be a better bet. Shouldn't they do better as renewables become 'trendier'? Which do you prefer out of AQN and BEP.UN. BEP.UN has had quite a run recently.

Q: I read a report that indicated that short positions in Algonquin were increasing of late. Can you briefly explain the short thesis?

Q: Please rank these stocks in terms of safety of dividends and please provide payout ratio for each. Thank you!