Investment Q&A

Q: Your thoughts on recent earnings release for Brookfield Infrastructure? Thanks.
Robert

Q: hello 5i:
a question about weightings and diversification.
Presently, have the above: BAM 2.5%, BN 2.5% and BIP.UN 5.0%.
First, is there too much of an overlap between the companies?
Second, IF we were to sell half of the BIP.UN, bringing it to a 2.5% weighting, with 7.5% overall invested in Brookfield companies, would that raise any alarm bells?
Third, if one were to sell BIP.UN, what would make a sensible replacement, either in utilities or industrials. Low to moderate risk profile, with dividend income being an important factor in portfolio management.
thanks
Paul L

Q: I must progressively restructurate a non-registrated portfolio, recovered in early 2022 for self-managing... Here are the percentage of each stock vs all portfolio, and also indications (+/-) if they are at a profit or at a loss on paper. stocks at profit are: BIP.UN (8% of portfolio), CM 5%, DIR. UN 3%, BIPC 1%, BCE 5%, ENB 2%, SGR.UN 1,5%. Stocks at a loss are: BN.PF.D (5% pf portfolio), TRP 1.5%, VET 1.2%.
My objectives are in order: stability, dividends, and some growth if possible.
Some stocks represent a probably too high percentage of the portfolio, I would not sell them “only to rebalance the portfolio” if they are still safe (to avoid non necessary capital gain tax), but I shall sell if they represent a risk. On the other hand, I would not sell stocks with a loss if they respond to my objectives.
I have already balanced a good part of this portfolio with ETF and a selection of stable dividend stocks. Those are the remaining stocks from the original portfolio..
Please give me suggestions for each stock according to objectives as : keep, sell, or sell partly. All of your comments are always greatly appreciated.

Q: These are my current holdings and I am looking forward to 2023. They are held in relatively the same quantities in 5 different accounts, a RRIF, 2 TFSA's and 2 Non registered accounts. I am retired an enjoy the income. Do you see any issues with these holdings or have any suggestions looking forward. The only non dividend holding is AR.
Take any extra credits as necessary. Thank you in advance. Enjoy and appreciate 5i'S help. Happy New Year.

Q: Can you explain the difference between the above three and which one you prefer.
Thank you.

Q: The spread in price between BIPC and BIP.UN has continued to widen to over 30% now. Do you think it is likely that Brookfield will convert more BIP.UN shares to BIPC at some point? It seems like this would be in their best interests if there is not tax or other issues preventing it from happening.

Q: I recall once seeing a link to an explainer on all of the different Brookfield offerings. Can you please repost this. Is it up to date with the new BAM / BN thing?

Ideally hoping to see a tabulated summary including:
name of holding
nature of business
yield
ideal account type to hold in for optimal tax efficiency
closest competitor names

Which offering would you recommend for green energy income investment in an unregistered CDN$ account? Any comments on when is a good time to buy given recent structural changes and interest rate changes.

Thanks,

Jim

Q: In my RRIF I own shs in Bip.un and Bepc.
Would It be better for a combination of growth,income and more variety of assets to switch the above to Bam?

Q: Why the big volume today and continuously falling price for BIP.UN of late? Any insight?

Q: Do I have this straight ? As a ( Canadian ) holder of these two non American ( Bermuda )stocks, effective January 1/23, when I sell them, I will be subject to a 10% withholding tax and will be required to file a US tax return ?

WOW !

Q: Hello Peter, Apologize as i know you have addressed this but i am still confused. I would appreciate it if you can answer each of my concerns to clarify.
1. I hold both bep.un and bip.un in RRSP and TFSA. Will there be withholding tax as of Jan 2023 in both cases and if so, is the 10 percent tax on dividends and capital gains only ? If this is the case, I am assuming the brokerage would use the ACB to calculate the gains.
2. Would it better to sell both of these and redirect monies into BN and BAM
3. If i decide i don't want to deal with the tax , can i simply exchange both for bipc and bepc and if so, am I not losing as the prices of bipc and bepc are much higher and dividends are lower yield wise
4. Lastly if there is withholding tax on tfsa and rrsp, how do we recover it..
5. Could the tax just be on tfsa and not rrsp as rrsp is normally exempt from any withholding of dividends etc
Sincere thanks and happy holiday season..

Q: 11:23 AM 12/13/2022
It seems that the Brookfields are nothing but trouble from a taxable perspective and the new withholding tax may make it worse. The brokers will naturally take the withholding tax and it will be a fight to try to claim it back.

My question however is about the exchangeability of BEP.UN and BIP.UN into BEPC and BIPC. Can these exchanges still be made?

If I get my broker to do the exchanges does this become a taxable capital gains event? If so it is prohibitive for us as we have huge capital gains in both BEP.UN and BIP.UN which would prohibit the exchange.

Any suggestions on what to do?

Thank you......... Paul W. K.

Q: Will these be subject to proposed tax if held in tfsa?

Q: I hold the above stocks in my RRSP. I understand that as of January 1, 2023, the IRS will require a 10% withholding tax when Canadian residents sell a limited partnership. Does this only apply to US based partnerships? Would it apply to BIP.un or BEP.un? Does it apply to partnerships held in an RRSP? It appears this could apply even if you sold at a loss. Thanks for your advice.

Q: Just received a letter from my discount broker advising of changes to US withholding tax on distributions and dispositions starting January 1, 2023 that "might" apply to Canadians holding publicly traded partnerships in any account, including RSPs. As a long-term holder of both BIP and BEP, I have significant capital and gains on both. These are held in an RSP, so I have never been concerned about any tax implications. But now . . . ? The Brookfield site advises that they "do not expect" non-US investors to be subject to any withholding tax, and there is also a letter from their tax lawyers with the same claim with a bit more positive wording, but it ends with a disclaimer (hey - we could be wrong!)

I do not want to sell either BIP or BEP, but it would annoy me more if I ended up losing the withholding tax on distributions and (particularly) dispositions. Not sure how the IRS can withhold tax on a Canadian selling a non-US based company, but obviously there is a way, as the letter came from my Canadian big-bank brokerage which also has a significant presence in the US. Also assume that with the stocks being in an RSP, there would be no means of recovery through tax credits.

I would appreciate any comments you have on this matter. If the stocks should be sold, it would have to be done this year. Would this problem also apply to BIPC and BEPC, if I just did a switch?

Thank-you, Grant

Q: Hello, I know your are not tax expert, but I risk myself asking because I am sure other members will receive a similar letter from their online broker. This is about the new US regulation code 1446. The letter I received today says:

Changes to the U.S. Taxation of Publicly Traded Partnerships.

New US regulations taking effect on January 1, 2023, will result in new withholding taxes for sales of publicly traded partnerships by non-US account holders.

Once these rules take effect in 2023, when a non-US national sells an interest in a publicly traded partnership, 10% of the gross proceeds of the sale will be withheld. The withholding taxes will be remitted to the US Treasury, and the non-US national will be responsible for filing a US income tax return and claiming any potential refund of the amount withheld.

Not all publicly traded partnerships will be subject to withholding. However, at this point it is difficult to say which publicly traded partnerships will and will not fall within the scope of the new rules...

I did phone my online broker to know more. I was told that I have two companies in my account affected by this: BEP.UN-CA and BIP.UN-CA. Even if they are held in a RRSP, these will be subjected to the new tax if I sell after January 1, 2023. I argued that these are Canadian companies, but they replied that because they are limited partnership and trade on both the Canadian and US markets the new 1446 regulation will apply.

According to what you know of Brookfield, is that true that this new tax will apply on both BIP.UN-CA and BEP.UN-CA starting from January 1, 2023? Thank you,

Q: A full analysis please. In my opinion the metrics are not good however it is being rated a buy by analysts. I am curious as to your thoughts versus theirs. Thanks

Q: Hi, further to your answer to Nick on Dec 2nd, it is best to hold BIP.PA in a registered account (TFSA, RRSP, RRIF) as,, it is an LP and pays distributions (not eligible dividends like most preferreds) which are subject to onerous tax reporting if held in a margin account.

Q: What's the reason why BIP.UN drop so much this week? Any bad news coming? Thanks.

Q: I hold these in an RESP with the following weighting (BIP 18%, Goog 18% VGRO 23%, XAW 41%) and I am considering selling to purchase a 3 year GIC as my eldest child is approaching post-secondary education.

Which holding would you reduce?
Can you rank these holding in terms of risk?
Is there an alternative security other than a GIC that should be considered?

Thanks!