Investment Q&A

Q: I am interested in investing in China. I recently read that the Bill Gates fund recently opened a position in CAF, Morgan Stanley China fund. I was wondering why his fund managers would do this rather than simply buy an index fund, such as MSCI. I was wondering whether you might be able to cast some light on this question
thanks as always for the great service

Q: A number of years ago I did some due diligence on NOC and have successfully owned it at times since then. The stock had a bit of a pop this spring but has been going sideways in recent months. If I was a technician I might think it was consolidating or building a base. The company could benefit from US stimulus or it might be impacted by supply chain issues.
I would appreciate your thoughts on the company's prospects going into it's next earnings report in late October.
Thanks for your insights.
Ian

Q: I have 25K that was in a GIC, making basically nothing (or losing money when considering inflation). Can you recommend something that is likely to retain the principal and earn more in 2 years than the 1.5% 2-year GIC? Thank you.

Q: Retired, dividend-income investor who normally holds for the long term. I own a half position in Manulife and am down roughly 7%, including dividends. My long term plan was to sell MFC and rebuy a second Canadian Bank (I already have a full position in Royal Bank).

I have compared the various metrics (P/BV, P/CF, P/S, ROE, technicals, analysts estimates, etc.) for the above mentioned banks as well as against MFC.

Looking at the banks in isolation and already with a full position in RY, I've narrowed it down to either BNS (International exposure and current laggard due to Covid) or TD (more US exposure and 1 year laggard). Of the banks that I do not own, please rank them in order of the best total return over a sufficient period of time for Covid to have subsided (1-2 more years for improved vaccination coverage?). Do you agree with my rationale?

If you include MFC into the bank comparisons, where would you place MFC in the rankings? I have read to buy the banks when their P/E is < 11.0 and buy the insurance companies when their P/BV < 1.0. This would lead me to buy TD (P/E of 9.7) or keep MFC (P/BV of 1.0).

So...keep MFC versus take the loss in MFC and then buy BNS or TD? Your thoughts?

MFC is held in a taxable account and I have no problem taking a loss.

Thanks for your help....Steve

Q: Hello 5i,
Thank you for your great service! The new HDIV ETF mentioned in the ETF &MUTUAL FUND UPDATE seems to fit in to my value oriented portfolio (albeit with some growth stocks LSPD and LEON'S). Is it a good idea to get in on the ground floor or wait a year to see how it does. Mouth is drooling at 8.5% not seen for many years on a quality position.
Stanley

Q: What is your opinion of $XRX

Q: Without regard to sector allocation what are your thoughts on switching NTR for CGY. Pros and cons.
My thinking is that I would like additional buy and hold stocks like CSU and BAM.A. That I already hold.
These need less attention.
I’m more of a capital preservation investor at this stage.

Q: Regarding companies like PLC that have businesses spread all over the US, does it make any potential privatization or buyout less likely for PLC, or does it have zero influence on any potential suitors?

Thanks.

John

Q: Hello,

I have given about 450 shares of VRAR about a week ago - into my RBC online account.

do you know from which stock that was spun-off from? Thank you.

Q: I currently have a small position in SFTC. It currently seems to be drifting in the last little while. I’m wondering if there is a fair bit of potential for this company or would we be better off taking profits and finding a similar company with a bit more upside? If yes what would you suggest?

Thank you for providing such a great service.
Mike

Q: There was a short report released on Seeking Alpha yesterday on PBH. Well an article with a short thesis anyway. I've read through it and yes some points made were small concerns I had like the debt starting to be a concern again and that they will likely have to do another equity raise to get money to help with that. Also to a lesser degree the fact that they are claiming to be on the right side of ESG and health conscious people which is clearly not that true for a company that specializes in cured meats, deli sandwiches and pretty heavily processed foods. But I'm more concerned with your thoughts around the valuation being as high as he claims. Is this a metric you would use to value PBH, and then comparing it to high priced FANG companies? There were also some "questionable" exec comp payouts in their opinion. Can you provide your voice of reason? PBH has been on a good run this last year.

Q: Can you please give me your opinion on how you would rank these companies and your outlook going forward? I'm most interested in ARE and NOA but the others are in the same area. Thanks!

Q: Are potash companies worth an investment now? Any reccomendations?

Q: Hello,
I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts on the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, the EU Climate Transition Benchmark (EU CTB), and the EU
Paris Aligned Benchmark (EU PAB)?

I would appreciate your macro view on these and the impacts you see them having, if any.

On a side note thank you 5i for always having such excellent materials. I particularly look forward to reading your blog.

Q: Hello 5i,

Economical Insurance is demutualizing. Do you know if there will be access to the IPO for the small investor?

Q: Could I get your thoughts on NWC Quarter report.
Do you think this would be a good entry point at this time.

Q: What is your take on the recent share consolidation followed by a share split. Shareholders who held less than 2,100 common shares get paid out in cash.
Shares outstanding were significantly reduced from an already low level. Why was this done?

Q: Hi There,
My son (15) would like to take a small position in two growth stocks.
He is considering LSPD, NVEI, TOI.
With the recent run up in all three of these stocks, which two do you think look the best today?
Thank You

Q: Hi 5i team. Can you comment on ADSK. It’s been on a downtrend lately since last earnings announcement. Is this company still in good financial shape for future growth or should be concerned about cash flow headwind with their recent changes to subscription payment plans? If fundamentals still look fine, what might be a good entry price point for this stock? Would recent news cause stock to go sideways for a while before picking back up from its current level?

Q: Since u recommendation of DSG on May 18,it has a "Fly me to the Month" move, hitting new highs after new highs. Your opinion on Q2 on Sep 8. Is it time to take some profit before report? Txs for u usual great views & services.