Investment Q&A

Q: Stagflation is beginning to be mentioned as a medium term possibility. What sector(s) provide best protection against this and could see growth? Can you recommend an ETF or two (if a handful of individual companies would be better, please recommend a couple instead). Thank you in advance.

Q: Hello team,

I have the above companies in a TFSA. I have some cash. Could you recommend and rank three new positions as well as three existing positions to add to?

Thank you so much,

Q: Hi. I have the above stocks in my TFSA and have some cash to deploy. Could you please give me 3 suggestions and rank them. Thanks.

Q: In a portfolio where the priorities are capital preservation and some income, these 7 equities represent about 45% of the total value. The other 55% is in sadly low paying GICs. The TOU is a left over from more positive times with a very small weight and kept with a hope for natural gas. The other 6 have weights of about 3% (TD) to 10% (BCE). My question is about how these would hold up if we had a very significant downturn with re-test to recent lows (or lower) with a much more prolonged recovery; do these stocks have some resilience? Are the balance sheets sufficiently secure to see less of an negative impact? Is there sufficient diversification with these holdings? Thanks for your excellent service.

Q: What do you think of Lincoln National? Is the dividend "safe", Do you see it moving back to a pre-Covid level, are there better choices.
And, what stocks do you see thriving in a low/negative environment?

Q: I hold full positions in ENB and TRP, which I deem as utilities based on their function as transportation of energy products rather than exploration/development. I have been looking at AQN for a while now, and I am debating on selling one of ENB or TRP to start a position. ENB has taken a fair hit in the last couple of months, but it pays a strong dividend, and as far as I am aware, is still committed to increasing its dividend over the next couple of years. TRP is a solid company and steady performer, which is why I am somewhat reticent to make a switch. AQN could potentially offer more growth, but ENB and TRP are known commodities. The dividend yields between AQN and TRP are quite similar, with the yield of ENB being much higher, but if AQN is poised for greater growth, which, of course, is a big "if", I would be willing to forego a higher yield for greater growth. Would AQN act as a better holding than either ENB or TRP?

Q: Can you please rank these stocks in terms of current valuations / market timing?
I am planning on purchasing 2 or 3 over the next few weeks and am wondering where to start.

Thanks.

Q: There was an announcement a couple of days ago that BC Hydro was idling some facilities due to a reduction in demand. In the current situation I would guess that there must be a significant reduction in the industrial use of electricity. The prices of AQN and FTS have pulled back a bit. NPI is up today, perhaps on decent results. What does your crystal ball tell you about the demand for electricity going forward and the future prices of utility stocks.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Ian

Q: Can you please compare/contrast AQN and BIP in terms of what they do, valuation, and growth. What do you prefer?

Q: What wouldyou think of a switch from ENB.PR,F into AQN as i am looking
for growth not just a dividend.Ihave a large loss on ENB.PR.F ,but i dont think it will give me much capital gain.
Thanks Phil.

Q: Hello 5i team,
Thank you for your help today- what I’m hoping to get some perspective on is tactics one could do to grow a portfolio- what you’d think wise or stupid, please.
In TFSA, two holdings happen to be up: AQN by 35% and NPI by 21%. Everything else is in the minus by -30 to -35% due to the current situation as generally they’re ok businesses, like two banks, phone co, etc.
Tactically, would it be an idea to sell the two that are up, and buy a few which are quite down now, then in due course replace what was sold?
I was thinking of more banks like BNS or BMO, and PPL, CNQ,SU, and KEY.
The idea being that the gains over time would be more than the growth in price of the two being sold, thus netting an overalL growth in funds.

In RRSP, two are close to break even, just a couple hundred dollars each in the red, namely T and NA.
If sold, I was thinking of BIP, BPY, and maybe SU, CNQ, and BMO- fairly similar to the TFSA idea.

I like dividends, I know SU just reduced; I’ve not heard if these others have/plan to. I think I’m fine with a 3-5yr estimation of recovery period for these ‘down’ stocks, if you think that’s likely.

I’d appreciate your counsel on this, thanks very much!

Q: Good morning,
I own AQN and I have noticed that since the beginning of May, BEP.UN has been trending up while AQN has been trending down. Usually they move together. Any idea why we have this recent divergence.

Q: I am looking at buying a regulated gas and electric utility company. I am considering AQN and FTS. Which of these would be your favourite and why? Is there a company that you prefer more than these for a long-term hold?

Q: Hi, Could you please comment on Algonquin Power earnings. Thanks

Q: I have a little money. Aqn or cae for growth over the next 3 years or other suggestions.
Is it time to cash in Gil . Did Gil drop their dividend. I follow your BEP
Thanks as always for your great guidance.
Steve

Q: Hi Peter: When I sit back and take a look at the big picture and review how my portfolio performed during COVID-19 (so far), I try to see what lessons I can learn, then turn to how to apply those lessons to make my portfolio stronger.

I am a retired, dividend-income investor. I am a huge believer in asset allocation and have designed a portfolio, in my opinion, to be reasonably well diversified, although heavy to Canada. It WAS roughly 70% equities (including 32% foreign content) and 30% fixed income (roughly 15% insured annuities, 15% Fisgard Capital...both averaging in the 5-6% pre-tax range and minor cash). My equities are mostly blue chip, dividend payers, as you can see above. The 3 mutual funds are a very minor part of my portfolio, especially Eric's Energy Fund (<2%). I also receive a company pension and CPP-OAS which, when included, drops my equities to roughly 32%.

I use various metrics to monitor my portfolio, such as P/E, P/BV, P/CF, P/S, Beta, ROE, Div growth, Payout%, technical indicators like 200 mda. I am normally a buy-and-hold investor who trims/adds around a core position.

Periodically I measure how "at risk" my portfolio is relative to the overall market. I do this by prorating my portfolio using Beta. Based on equities only, I averaged 0.68 and for my entire portfolio I averaged 0.44. So, one would think that if the overall market (TSX) was to drop 30%, then I would have thought my portfolio would drop 44% to 68% of that, being in the range of 13% (overall) to 20% (equities only).

In actual fact, my entire portfolio dropped 27% from peak to trough vs the expected 13%...over double! I understand that EVERYTHING was sold off...almost no exceptions. So what do we learn from this and what changes should we consider? Do we accept that "sxxt happens" once in a while...you can't predict every event, accept it and move on? Should we consider increasing the cash component as a buffer? Or...is there something else to be learned here?

Thanks for you help...much appreciated...Steve

Q: If the CAD tanks against the USD, what are 5 or so Canadian companies that are best placed to survive and thrive, ie CAD inputs and USD revenues?

Q: 5i guys!
Taxation clarity.
TFSA; Mostly hold Canadian dividend paying stocks and ETF's on the TSX.
Hold a Canadian ETF with US stocks. Withholding tax applies I believe.

RRSP; US Exchange American dividend stocks and ETFs.
My fuzziness.
TSX listed companies that pay dividends in USD.
Ex. AQN. OTEX.
As a canadian company purchased on the tsx is this tax exempt under TFSA?
Or does it fall under the withholding rules as an American stock unlike RRSP's exemption.
*take another question credit*

If in fact exempt. Does Questrade convert for free. I am curious if I should allow the conversion since I purchase with canadian in my TFSA. Or save up the USD and perform Norberts Gambit once in awhile.

Really enjoying everything you have to offer.
Fantastic and many thanks for all the investing improvements.

Q: Hello! First time question-asker and first-time investor, although I've been researching for about a year.

I'm looking to create a mixed-income portfolio leaning towards risk. This is not a retirement plan, I'm fairly young (under 30) and okay with some risk - looking at a 5 year timeline. The companies I'm considering most closely are above, with guidance from 5i I've landed on these. Question is, can a member of your team gauge the 'health' of this portfolio selection? Would you start with 14 companies, or a smaller number? Do any of the companies above strike you as over-valued at the moment and I should hold off? Would you even consider these selections high risk or relatively safe? Would you dump savings (>10k) into your first time investment with the above selection, or way too risky given the current climate?

Q: B of A Securities downgraded AQN to a Underperform with a $13 price target. Have you seen their reasoning on this and do you feel they have some merit in their analysis?
Do you still consider it one of the better utilities in Canada?