Investment Q&A

Q: Hi. Peter and 5I.
I have also, as Carl, noticed the significant increase of questions on ETF's. This is one of the numerous red flags that are started to pop up all over the market universe in my opinion.
I have taken action against what I consider a risk reward more and more tilted to the downside and am way more concern today about terminal losses (unrecoverable losses) than I am about simple losses on further potential gains(opportunities costs)
I consider ETF's to be purchased only where I cannot buy company stock in certain asset classes or I need to buy in a foreign market that reflects a potential opportunity.
I have a general question about ETF and how they work. If ''everybody'' is buying ETF's now, does that means that the underlying stocks will also grow no matter their intrinsic value. In other words, would it be possible that the ETF's buyer may have now a predominant impact on the market than ''all'' the direct buyers of the underlying stocks. Tail wagging the dog kind of...
A comment on the extract from A wealth of common sense that you mentioned.
If the 16000 mutual fund are buying ETF does that not add to the overextended existing situation?
Passive investing is not just the domain of retail investors.
Thank you
CDJ

Q: I have a TFSA and a Cash account. I haven't always deployed my money in the smartest ways. For example, I hold RCI.B and VEE in my TFSA and growth stocks like PHO or SIS in my cash accounts. How urgent is it for me to get my growth stocks into my TFSA? Is it just a matter of selling and rebuying in the correct account or can I do a transfer in kind?

Q: In regards to the reply to Terry's post, I'm a prime example of that. With all the uncertainties of Trump, US Gov't debt, NAFTA, Canadian housing & credit card debt, Brexit, etc. I've been expecting a correction/pull back for well over a year now. In the meantime I've held off buying ETFs for the US and Europe markets while watching them run up to record levels.
So here's the worse part. Psychologically I have a real problem buying those ETFs at today’s prices when I know I could have bought them much cheaper even though it looks like the run still has a way to go.

I'm sure I'm not the only one in this boat, so if there is any advice as to how to avoid getting into a trap like this, it would be greatly appreciated. Do you think in times of uncertainty, it is better to add monthly into an ETF rather than one lump sum?

Thanks for any help!

Paul

Q: Do you know of any publicly traded companies that are developing lab grown meat products? If so, can you please provide your opinion on them.

Q: Good day...I am in the process of moving money to the u.s as currency seems to be at the proper spot and also I have all of the balanced and income portfolio now, so my question is would I be better using etfs - MXI - SOXX - XLV and IYF or using ICHR - NVDA - ISRG - HD - JPM - V - HD AND DIS...my thoughts are this will give me diversification that I cannot achieve with 5i stocks...your direction has made a huge difference to my portfolio but I feel I need some geographic diversification ....I look forward to your answer and thanks...gene

Q: If the U.S. gov. shuts down. how will this effect the markets..how has it effected the market when it has shut down in the past.

Q: Hi,

5i talks alot about "momentum" behind stocks. Increasing volume + increasing price = good situation.

Are there one or two indicators you recommend to monitor momentum? I'm thinking of things like the True Strength Index, On Balance Volume, Williams Accumulation/Distribution, etc. I might be way of, but am hoping to use one or two that I can review to assess where an equity might be going.

Thanks,

Cam.

Q: Your question subject index seems to have disappeared; ie all questions pertaining to dividend and income stocks, etfs, etc. Please say it ain't so and tell me how I can access it. Thank you.

Q: Hi Peter and Team,

Just read your answer to Stuart. We keep a spreadsheet on Google Sheets that automatically "captures" price data from Google Finance, and unfortunately Google doesn't provide Aequitas prices. Any ETFs or stocks listed with Aequitas have to be manually entered. :( Other than that, I suppose that Aequitas is "okay".

Q: For several years I have used Google Finance as a good starting point to understand a specific company's historical stock price trends, dividends, etc. as well as a means to compare with other stocks. This all changed in November 2017 when Google decided to abandon this excellent site with one that, from my perspective, is essentially useless. The new site also concentrates on US stocks, ETF's, etc. whereas the old site also contained information on Canadian securities. The change has prompted me to look at other sites. The only one I can see which provides something is Microsoft Money. It is somewhat more unwieldy than the old Google FInance but does provide some information. Can you provide some information as to what you would recommend as a replacement for the old, excellent Google Finance? I read that perhaps Morningstar or Yahoo were good alternates but it seems that Morningstar is somewhat restricted. I have not tried Yahoo
Thank you very much

Q: In your model portfolios you hold almost 100% Cdn companies with little allocation to US or International. Can you speak to why when the industry is constantly preaching to diversify outside Canada.
Thanks
Mike

Q: I hold Enb DD 3.19 % bond and IPL 3.776 % bond AND multiple preferred shares from different companies

I will need to liquidate both bonds and preferred shares in next 3 months for home renovation .

1. Am I better off liquidating now or is there any upside to holding on ?
2. some preferreds have capital losts , can they be written off against equity capital gains (assuming I sell some equities as well.) ?

thanks

Ernie

Q: What was the sector rotation in the US you spoke of yesterday?? It was "a fairly strange market day with a giant US stock reversal."

Q: Hello

I have a question on ''ANNUALIZED RETURNS'' definition.


I came upon this website and it has caused me some confusion.
https://www.wealthenabler.in/knowledge-center/financial-freedom-demystified/annualized-returns-vs-cagr/

I was under the impression ''ANNUALIZED RETURNS'' AND "COMPOUND ANNUAL GRowth RATE'' was the same thing but this web site suggests maybe it is not?


In my questrade account under returns it shows ''Annualized'', and I always believed that included ''compounding'' and was not just Overall % Gains / Number of years?


I am hoping you can straighten me out here.

Thank you so much.

Q: Hi 5i, If you use DRIPS do you still have to claim the dividends for tax purposes at the end of the year.
Thanks Dave

Q: My father recently sold his share in his company. He knows I manage my investments myself (with your help of course thank you!) and asked me if I wanted to manage part of the resulting cash. It represents 400K$ that he doesn't need for his retirement income. I was thinking of using the Balanced Equity portfolio. I am about start initiating positions. Do you think it's better to buy over several months to spread the timing risk or just buy all at once? At the moment what would be your top 5 stocks based on growth and overall company quality?

Q: The Q & A is now saturated with ETF related queries. There has to be a macro message here. I am assuming this is a major contributor to the overvaluations in all markets. Your comments please.

Q: Iteq- israel tech etf
Hi,

Israel has a lot going on for it on the tech front. A lot of interesting start ups as well. Would ITEQ be a good way to invest in this growth? Would you suggest other etfs or individual stocks? Thanks.

Shyam

Q: Which mutual funds would you recommend today for non US / non Canada exposure. Large cap or smaller cap focus? Any specific geographic areas ? Thank you

Q: This is a general strategy question for younger investors. At what threshold ($-wise) would you recommend switching from an ETF-based strategy to buying individual stocks to build your portfolio?

Thanks guys,
A.B.