Investment Q&A

Q: Hi, We own above Canadian banks, which makes up the financial sector of our portfolio.

On an YTD basis, interestingly, their performance has diverged significantly, with CM +7%, RY +2.5% and TD -9%. During past 30 days (reflecting impact of recent crisis in financial sector SVB/SB), these names have declined as follows : CM -7%, RY -8% and TD -17%. Does it mean that market is assigning higher risk to TD, relative to its peers ? Does it make one name more attractive than others, and if so why, if we wish to take advantage of the sizable decline in their share prices, and add for long term investment ?

Thank You

Q: I'm currently overweight financials. Mainly due to new positions in BN/BAM/TD. With over 21% in financial broken down as follows would you begin to trim or consider BN/BAM diverse enough not to be a financial and thus reducing the overall financials concentration to 13.5%

BNS - 2%
BAM -2%
BN - 4.5% been growing this position (ideally want it to be 6%)
EQB - 1% new position
GSY - 2.5%
JPM - 2.6%
TD - 2.21% new position
Visa - 4.23%

10 year investment horizon.

Your thoughts are appreciated

Don

Q: In feb/22 Td made an offer to purchase Fhn (who at THAT time had 55 B in loans and 75B in deposits) for 13 B or $25 a share
At that time U.S. 10 year treasuries were about 40 pts above the 2 year and the U.S. prime rate was 3.25%.
On Mar 17 Fhn was trading at $14.93 down from $21.93 a week ago and the 2 year treasury is now .57pts ABOVE the the 10 year while the U.S. prime rate is now 6.70%
Looks like investors believe Td may back out and or Fhn is losing a lot of deposits.
Meanwhile UBS has made on offer Toi purchase Credit Suisse currently valued at 8 b Euros for 1 B’
Would it not be better for Td to back out of the offer, pay a penalty and use the funds to purchase shares in Charles Schwab at a much lower price then what Td sold them for or offer to purchase Fhn at a much lower price after a NEW risk assessment is done on FHN assets

Q: Good morning
I have never been too concerned about bank failures here in Canada. But the many questions about protecting one’s account has stirred me a bit and made me wonder if i am too complacent. We had our accounts at different institutions but i was happy to consolidate them with just TD. You say the best way to protect one’s self is to make sure non registered accounts are under one million. Is it worth all the trouble to do that? I know that this is quite subjective but i would appreciate your take on it
Thanks as always

Q: What would be a great entry price for TD? Many thanks

Q: I wonder if any of the big six own any US or CAN MBS or CMBS ? Thanks a lot .

Q: In my RIF account I have RY, TD, & ENB reset preferred shares all bought when issued at $25, now trading in the $14 to $17 range. The accumulated book value is $61K. My present annual yield is 3.9%, 3.8% & 4.4% respectively. The reset year is 2024, when the reset interest rate will be the Bank of Canada 5 year rate plus 2.3%, 2.4% & 2.7% respectively. So my question is, with interest rates presently rising, in your opinion are they worth holding to the reset date or should I accept my loss & redeem them now. Thanks … Cal

Q: I have bought stock in these Canadian banks, TD, Royal and BMO. How badly can these Canadian banks be hurt by their purchases of US assets? I was going to layer into these positions, would it be prudent to hold off?

Thanks
Brian

Q: Seem to be some good deals out there. Would you be able to suggest a list of top 10 compelling buys in this current market decline?

Q: Please rank the above companies for level of risk and do you think that our Canadian banks could ever be subject to the issues at SVB? Is BN risky? I read one person writing how his advisor won't let him buy it. Feeling like I don't have much trust in anything right now. How is an investor to handle this uncertainty? I definitely see the benefits of diversity as you had always pushed. I'm also somewhat confused as most advisors have been pushing financials due to the benefits associated with rising rates. Your calm advise would be appreciated.
Thank you!

Q: What are the companies getting attractive in these times?..I bought some BN..it had a 4% drop yesterday..Please suggest any quality companies to watch. Thanks.

Shyam

Q: Non registered account : I sold a majority of stocks in 2022-2023 in order to convert them into a diversified dividend ETFs portfolio.I though intend to only keep" safe stocks for long term".Please could you rank them in this "safety perspective" , a "hold,buy, or sell" comment would be greatly appreciated,considering the fact that in this case,selling a stock would result in "buying an ETF in the same sector" .Many Thanks for your excellent website ,J-Y

Q: Wondering why National Bank seems to have better momentum than the other banks like TD even though you recently added TD to one of the portfolios, I believe around $88. BNS has also been a laggard over the years. What is it that prompted you to add TD over NA and would you support selling BNS, TD, or CM to enter NA or RY? It seems like NA and RY seem to have better momentum than the other banks. What would be the risks with this move?

Q: Recently TD seems to be underperforming other banks (Scotia, Royal) by quite a bit. Any reason for it? Has there been any news to explain?

Q: With whats happening in the markets currently with CM's admission of mortgage issues with SIVB debacle, rising rates, volatility etc could be the beginning of a big mess in the Financial services sector.

Although long term you are bullish on 4 of the 5 names do you think it would be prudent from a risk aversion viewpoint to step aside on these names and wait till things settle?

Can you also please comment especially on EQB and GSY and their outlook/risks in this cyclone.

Thanks

Sheldon

Q: Hi
In looking at the big 5 Cdn banks, it is easy to think they are all being somewhat affected by the SVB shut down, or pressure on US regional banks...or is that jumping to a far fetched conclusion? I see that the Cdn banks have been marching steadily lower lately and have started to wonder whether this is sector related or a fundamental change occurring. Although this may be a bit early in the game, at what point would you feel the Cdn banks are excellent bargains, or is that too optimistic a view of the Cdn banking system, vs the US's regional banking system? As always, I greatly appreciate your thoughts on this!
Dawn

Q: In layman's English, could you explain why SVB went under and whether it will cause any lasting damage to Cdn Banks...and are there any Cdn banks you would add to today? Thanks, great service.

Q: On Monday it was announced that TD Bank will pay US$1.2 billion to settle Stanford Ponzi scheme lawsuit. That being such a large sum will it have a great affect on TD Bank for this years financial statement?
Thanks for your usual response.

Q: Hello Peter & team,

If a similar question which I missed has already been asked, please ignore this question and point me in the right direction.

The big 5 are reporting over the next few business days. Can you please share with us what we might expect? Good news bad news? Also, please rate each of the 5 in order and whether you think each of the names are a sell, hold or buy at this time and the reasoning for your logic.

Thanks for all you do

gm

Q: Hello, I have too many financial stocks and I would like to sell one of the above but I'm not sure which one to let go of. I was thinking of letting X go or one of the Brookfield stocks. Your thoughts please, I feel I can get enough diversification with only four stocks in this sector. Thank you in advance.

Cheryl