Investment Q&A

Q: Not a question, but a suggestion for an enhancement to the 5i site. I was pleased when the forums were introduced, but I think they are more lightly used than I had expected. I was hoping that they would become an active focal point for the collective knowledge of the 5i community. I wonder if the following technical update could be considered, possibly just for those questions that pertain to a single company. Add a "go to forum" button next to the company name in the question, or if there is no existing forum, substitute a "create new forum" button. If a forum thread already exists, include the date of the most recent comment next to the button. I think this might encourage people, including me, to easily "toggle" back and forth between questions, which I read every day, and the forums, which I check much less often. Thanks for everything you do and the consistently level-headed advice that is of such benefit to us all.

Q: I have positions in all 3 of the 5I Portfolios. Income(70%) Ballanced/Model (20%) and Growth (10%)portfolios. My Question is on the DRIP strategy and whether I should use it as part of my reinvestment or take the Dividends and utilize them as part of my annual Re-balancing Exercise. My outlook is on a long hold of 10-15 years, minus any sells you suggest on the portfolios themselves.

Also when publishing your Summary of Stocks Covered, I wonder if you can add which stocks offer a DRIP plan. Thanks again for your advice and knowledge. Ben

Q: Now that there are 11 sectors in the Toronto TSX what would be your Sector allocations for a Conservative dividend and some growth oriented 45 year old investor.
Thank you.... Paul K.

I was wondering if you would advise the same weighting as you recently advised Paul K below* for a 63 old man's dividend growth portfolio in Canadian stocks. I would like to add that I like to avoid real estate related investment stock since I own rental properties and of course my home and therfore consider myself over weight in real estate. And what is your general perspective for investors with a lot of personnel real estate. Is this a good reason to avoid real estate related stocks. Thank you for your great service.
mike
*As a 'general' guideline:
Financials 15%, utilities 10%, telecom 10%, info tech 10%, materials 5%, energy 5%, real estate 5%, consumer staples 10%, consumer discretionary 15%, industrials 10%, health care 5%.

Q: not a question, just a big thank your for your suggestions to my question and for all you do for us.

Casey

Q: I can't seem to find the forum section. Where do I find it?

Q: On today's date you answered a question from"Shawn" regarding Stock to sell. While I agree on most, I would like your rational on the following which were included in your SELL list - TCN, BAD, MDA & WCP. Thank you.

Q: The Globe ran a piece on assessing 231 Canadian Corporate Boards of Directors according to 35 criteria. A number of 5i portfolio companies such as SJ, WPK, DHX, ENGH, CSU, KXS, ATD, and PBH were in the bottom ranked third of the list, do you have any comment about that assessment? The way the criteria are structured, it would be easier for larger companies to properly diversify their Boards and get a higher ranking, but I was quite surprised to see names like GWO, OCX and FFH quite close to the bottom. A glaring stat is that only 12% of Board members are women.

Q: I noticed that when I tried to find the stock 'Capital One' that it came up under the 'Symbol' search button. If your system accepts 'Symbols' and 'Stock Names' perhaps you can change it to 'Symbol/Company'.

Cheers,
Graham

Q: Could analysts at RBC sold shares and then issue a downgrade, shake out the small investors since most trades are small, and then buy back the shares? In any case who is buying those shares today? Maybe we should not panic here. Thank you for your comment.

Q: There are a few Multi-Asset ETF available in USA such as DWIN, PCEF, IYLD, CVY, and GYLD. The Beta of those funds is about 0.50. Do you recommend any of them? Are there any Multi-Asset ETFs that are based in Canada?

Q: Hello. Where can I find Dividend Growth metrics for Canadian companies? Is that information available at no cost on the internet? I've searched but no luck so far. Thanks. I appreciate your help or input from other members.

Q: HI guys .if I hold US stocks in my TFSA ; do I have to pay US tax's on any profits or is it exempt like my RRSP or rif's as always Thank you GARY

Q: Good afternoon,

My question pertains to holding US equities in various accounts. Can you please validate or refute the following:

Cash account: US dividends are taxed as interest-50%, and a 15% withholding tax is applied which can be redeemed during tax season.

RRSP: US equities are supposed to be capital gains and divends tax free. However, I have noticed that some equities, such as limited partnerships have their dividend taxed at 38% with an additional 15 % non redeemable withholding tax. Can you confirm this, and are their any other types of US equities that are Exempt from RRSP tax sheltering?

I have also been told that US equity ETFs that are listed in the US are also have their dividends taxed. Is this true? And would this be the same for US equity ETFs that are listed in Canada (ex: those listed on black rock Canada website )?

Thank you for bringing some clarity to the issue. Any other tips you may have would be well appreciated.

Cheers,

KR

Q: From what I am reading/watching there's a strong possibility that Italians will vote 'no' on December 4th.

If this is the case do you agree that financial turmoil will follow?

Can you recommend a way to short Italy, in particular Italian banks? Preferably on the TSX. Thanks!

Q: Hi 5I team, please rank Tck.b, Hbm, Mpv and Fm risk and reward? Thank You.

Q: Now that there are 11 sectors in the Toronto TSX what would be your Sector allocations for a Conservative dividend and some growth oriented 45 year old investor.
Thank you.... Paul K.

Q: Peter and Ryan, appreciate all that you do both with this service and with your blogs and bnn segments.

My question/comment is valuation based. I began investing a few years ago and was taught/told and preached how important valuation plays as a factor in stock picking. A few years later said value/cheap stocks I got in generally underperformed while all the higher valued companies continue to appreciate. Just this past summer I held off on such stocks with strong fundamentals such as BIP.UN, CSU, NVDA, RBA and MTY because of "expensive" valuations only to continue to watch them go higher as I've seen this story play out time and time again since I began investing. So now I concentrate on fundamentals and technicals for confirmation and not so much valuations. I know you guys don't mind paying up for quality and growth generally so just wanting your thoughts and comments on the matter. Thanks.

Q: I am considering leaving my current financial advisor and going to a self directed rrsp Can you provide me with the steps i would need to take or provide me with a web site where i would be able to obtain this information thks marcel

Q: Comment on the odd lot fill for a board lot order: the same thing happened to me on a thinly traded US stock and I protested enough that the broker offered to charge just one commission instead of multiple to fill the order. One more reason to trade just US very liquid stocks and TSX stocks where this isn't a problem.

Q: I have a $700,000 portfolio 50/50 including a mix of ETF's and stocks - blue chip value /dividend. I also have $60,000 in a GIC ladder with Oaken many at 2.5%-2.75% in TFSA accounts. There is $200,000 in a cash account, $50,000 with Oaken at 1.75%. I am 70.
I am expecting an inheritance of $300,000. Should I put this in more GIC's with Home Bank and Oaken or start a new series with your Income Portfolio or is there another suggestion?