Investment Q&A

Q: I presently have these underwater stocks in a RESP. BCE, BEP.UN, ENB, FTS, LMN, XIC, ZEB, ZRE. The RESP will not be need for the next 10 years. I would like to sell some of these underwater stocks. Which stocks would you recommend keeping & which stocks would you recommend selling. Thanks … Cal

Q: No-one who ever bought BCE (including me) expected a >9% yield. If the fear is due to potential dividend cut and/or lack of growth, wouldn’t it be better for the company to just cut the dividend by 50% now and move on?

A 4.6% yield is still decent and maybe investors will actually make more in growth than they would have in income.

Q: We own Emera, BCE and Telus in a dividend portfolio and notes these three stocks were down today by around 3 percent. Should we be concerned holding any of these three over the next three years primarily for dividend income? Are their dividends safe and valuations reasonable to hold and/or accumulate?

Q: I have heard many times not to buy a falling knife. I currently own BCE and after many years I am now at an overall loss position. I am a senior and dividends are very important. What should I do, Buy more, or put a bag over my head and hold my breath, or sell?
thanks

Q: Given that these two companies control apx. 65% of phone and internet use, what change would reverse the course of their stock price? Does the concentration of ownership and reliance on their services not bode well into the future? Thanks

Q: Thinking on getting a position in BCE A bit for growth but mostly long term dividends
Is it a buy,hold or sell ?
Do you like it for the long time

Thank you 😊

Q: Your thoughts please on the offer from TRC capital for BCE shares. Offer is above current trading price. Thx

Q: Both BCE and Telus are down significantly today on high volume and both have broken support levels. Is there any recent news to explain today's drops. Are their dividends safe

Q: I'm certain that our family's cellphone experiences are not unique. Even though we own BCE in our combined portfolios, and our rationale for continuing to hold it was that the dividends would pay for the monthly bill, but enough is enough! Without warning, Bell Mobility increased the monthly fee by $4.00 for a very basic plan. (We are seniors who rarely need data since we rely on WiFi.) Our other cellphone had been on Virgin (owned by Bell) who did the same thing, although they did 'warn' us about the impending $4.00 per month increase. After researching options, we opted to switch to Freedom Mobile, since the price was a lot less, and the basic plans were much better than we had with Bell Mobility and Virgin. My point is this: BCE will, in my opinion, continue to languish due to their predatory price gouging. Yes, it's an oligopoly, but Freedom is rapidly increasing their customer base, while I suspect that Bell/Virgin will continue to lose customers.

Thanks for all you're doing for the retail investors, and Happy Canada Day to everyone at 5i and our fellow members.

Q: So, Canadian Telcos are hurting……

The three control the Canadian market. Canadians pay some of the highest prices for their services. Their networks are vital infrastructure for businesses, government, and everything else.

I understand that capital investment is large and that interest rates have risen, however….. rates aren’t that high and look to be on the way down. Also, would it not take some time for increased borrowing costs to catch up with these companies?

Income….could it be any higher?

Is the problem excessive expenses? Forays into non-core businesses? Aren’t their problems easily solvable?

I’m having trouble seeing how the current low prices are not an incredible long term buying opportunity.

Comments?

Q: In a recent question from Michael, regarding the Communication Services sector, 5i responded by stating “we think investors are better off without having too much capital invested in these fields”. I agree that owning BCE and T lately, especially for long-term holders, has been very frustrating to say the least.

For our combined portfolio, Portfolio Analytics indicates that our holdings in this sector have dropped to 5.9% (understandably) but PA still suggests a weight of 7% in this sector.

Two questions: (1) In light of sector weakness, which will probably continue for some time, what would be your suggested Communication Services sector weight? (2) Would you endorse some tax-loss selling of BCE and/or T but put the proceeds into another more promising sector?

Thanks as always for your insight.

Q: I recently sold my shares of bce that are in my non registered account at a loss with the intention of buying the shares back 30 days later. However I also recently purchased bce shares in my registered accounts. Can I still repurchase the bce shares in my trading account and claim a tax loss in the process. Thanks steve

Q: Hi,
Comparing Telus, BCE and Rogers to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile over the last year, the US companies seem to be outperforming (granted this is a short timeframe and others in the US top five: Comcast and Charter Communications aren't doing well either).

I was wondering if you have any thoughts about why the top three in the US are doing so much better lately than the top three in Canada. (Take credits as needed please.)

Thank you, Michael

Q: Good afternoon,

I know there has been much angst here with Telus. And your responses in recent months have been very well thought out and helpful (rates; competitive/regulatory environment). I have a 2% weight in BCE, 1% weight in T. So not massive by any means. But the slow steady drip downwards in price is getting frustrating, and now seeing the price today lower than where it was in the depths of COVID in March 2020 is concerning. At what point do I just take the 1% in T and add to BCE?

Q: Have some new money to put into one of these 4 stocks. Which one would you choose and your reason for that choice? Thanks Ron

Q: Hi 5i, I recently sold VZ so looking for your direction on a replacement. Was thinking either Telus or T-Mobile unless you have a preferred suggestion?
Really appreciate your help.
Ralph

Q: Hello,

I have done very well and am very happy with my investment in CSU - thank you.

I would appreciate your insight on characterizing the return one receives from a co. like this.

Einstein called compound interest the 8th wonder of the world and IMO the return from CSU seems to be a phenomena beyond that.

With SHOP your return is based on capital appreciation. If it goes up you win - goes down you lose.

With BCE your return is based on a dividend and possible capital appreciation. Almost a paid rent for your money invested and with a hoped for capital gain.

With CSU the actual dividend (rent) is miniscule, however the spin-offs are like a special dividend (equity rent?) with a shared equity multiplier plus capital appreciation of the mother co.

In the past 4 yrs my CSU stock has tripled in capital value and spun off co's that their current value works out to 16% annual return. The annual growth of these co's are also expected to grow.

You have long spoke positively of CSU and maybe now, with some data, I am just seeing why.

Thank you

Q: I was watching an interview with David Rosenberg and Ed Devland. They were stating that the Canadian interest rates are going to have to be cut several times due to economic conditions. Can you recommend investment strategies to benefit from this . For example bonds going up in value because of the inverse relationship of interest rates and bond values. What bond etf's ect. Can you give US recommendations also, as it sounds like the Us will be later than Canada.

Thanks

Q: Sold both for tax loss.
Wondering about proxies for both. Could you suggest a couple? If the proxy goes up in the 30 days, I presume you would keep the proxy until it changed direction. What is the thinking on this process. What if it goes down?
Thanks on your thoughts
John

Q: What is your opinion of Rogers Comm. today. How have they performed compared to the other Cdn. telcos. Is their future any different then BCE/Telus?
Would it effect their performance if they divested of their sports teams. Are the teams a distraction? or do they add to the bottom line. My opinion is they should concentrate on the telco business.
Thanks