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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Good morning
As retirees, and still with a longer-term horizon, my wife and I own (and like) Suncor (integrated), Prairie Sky (no debt) and Peyto (low cost producer) for minimal risk; second, dividend income, and third, capital growth. Oil & Gas is 4% of our diversified portfolio. We plan to keep Suncor. I am considering Freehold Royalty, Tourmaline, and Ensign Energy Services as possible replacements for PSK and PEY.
Q1: Do you feel the stock price declines in the Canadian oil and gas sector represent investor capitulation?
Q2: I would appreciate your comments on the 3 stocks being considered. Would any of TOU, FRU or ESI better meet our investment objectives, compared to our current holdings, PSK and PEY?
Thank you for your advice on this.
Edward
Read Answer Asked by Edward on July 29, 2019
Q: Your Analytics program has provided a convenient tool to see the weightings in my overall portfolio. From this I have learned that while there are some with larger percentages I have many positions between 1 - 2% weighting. Sometimes this resulted from my having initiated small purchases and sometimes from falling share values. In any event, I wonder if I am spread too thin? I guess one part of this is that the small positions will not move the dial. On the other hand, quite often your members ask what you might recommend when looking at choosing between 2 stocks and the answer suggests having both, for better diversification.
1. So my first question is whether positions of 1 - 2 % are too small or is this good diversification?
2. In this context, my next questions are about positions of 1.57% and 1.42% in Enghouse and Kinaxis; are these positions too small and if so, which would you sell and which to keep / add to? And similarly, positions of 1.39% and 1.18% in Parex and Suncor. If these positions are too small, which to sell and which to keep / add to?
3. In a similar vein, I have one or two positions that have suffered from considerable declines in share value and there is .36 and .56 of a position. What should I do if I do not want to sell, either because I still believe in the prospects or because it is too painful to sell just now. I often see your answers suggesting you do not believe in averaging down but holding such a small position seems not effective.
4. My last question is about Constellation Software. It is of course one of the better performers and partly as a result presently I have a weight of just under 3.5%. Given its success, would you recommend adding to have a larger position, and if so, how much?

Thanks for your excellent service.
Read Answer Asked by Leonard on July 18, 2019
Q: These firms are my top four holdings. Any concerns as we move to a bit more defensive portfolio?
Historically, is their a sector that is the "canary in the mine" that would be a sign of a bear market?
Read Answer Asked by Stephen on July 17, 2019
Q: I am trying to clean up my Energy sector. I have the following: CPG, CVE, ERF, HSE, IMO, SU, TRP, VET, MX Could you please place them in order, starting with first to sell.

Also, could you please let me know which companies I should buy with the proceeds. I have a very long timeline, and I feel that companies that are rather low right now may jump a fair bit when the price of oil rebounds.

If there are any other companies that you would suggest to buy, please include them as well.


Thank you once again,

Fed
Read Answer Asked by Federico on July 10, 2019
Q: I have some extra cash to add to the balanced portfolio. Can you select 3 of these stocks that present the best purchase opportunities at the moment for a long-term hold?
Read Answer Asked by Dave on June 03, 2019
Q: I'm down on a full position in VET and thinking of swapping it for a reduced position in SU partially for the capital loss, partially to reduce my full energy holdings but also for more stability with SU. I think SU is vertically more diversified and bigger and therefore better for a conservative retired investor like me. Does this sound like a reasonable plan or should I just hold cash and rebuy VET in 30 days and go on enjoying the higher dividend it offers?

Another reason the Su interests me is that VET's high dividend is nice but worries me. Other times I've held on to a company with a high dividend I have ended up with a capital loss that far outweighs the accumulated dividends. I would like to know if you consider VET's or SU's dividends "safer"? What might cause either of them to cut their dividend.
Two questions I guess.
Read Answer Asked by Brian on June 03, 2019
Q: I have not ventured back in to the gas/oil sector yet but thinking of doing so. Do you prefer services or producers at this point? For producers, do you prefer gas or oil or a mix? Could you give me a couple of your favourite names that you suggest I consider for getting back into the sector? I have a long time frame, medium tolerance for risk and like growth. Thank you for all your help.
Read Answer Asked by Donna on April 29, 2019
Q: 7:42 AM 3/25/2019
I am looking to invest in 10 or 12 of these companies for a very long time: RY, CM, BNS, CNR, SU, CNQ, NTR, ET, NWC, FTS, EMA, NPI, AQN, BIP.UN, BEP.U, ENB, TRP, PPL.

I am concerned to select companies with the highest probability of surviving a severe recession intact while continuing to sustain or increase dividends over the next 10+ years.

I fear some may have too much debt or other "hidden" problems to survive a major downturn so could you please comment on debt levels and vulnerability.

Could you please arrange them in order of "security of income", safest first, and maybe single out any weak ones. I am not overly concerned about future price fluctuations as long as dividends can be sustained.

I quite realize these are not the same as government bonds and do not have the same levels of safety. I intend to hold them purely for rising income with no intention of selling.
Thank you............. Paul K
Read Answer Asked by Paul on March 25, 2019
Q: Hi. looking to pick up 3 cie , for a 10 yr period in a RRSP account , would you recommend any of them or any others that are not on the list.

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Costa on March 22, 2019