Investment Q&A

Q: I'm ready to buy into a Canadian Bank. It seems like the stock prices in the last two years have fallen to the point where buying it makes sense to lock in some juicy dividends.

But while I've been waiting around, there is this nagging feeling that the Canadian Banks have some bad loans on the books. I know there is a lot of talk about their Oil and Gas loan book and potential defaults. In the last 4 quarters it seems there hasn't been any sign of it yet (so far) that's significant on their top or bottom lines. But my concern is that while their commercial loans aren't significant, their domestic mortgages are significant.

In the event that more job losses are coming and the majority of Canadians might feel this loss in work, are there not contagion affects to residential real estate that then affects the mortgage loan book of Canadian Banks including Scotiabank? If that does happen, how will Scotiabank's business be affected by a prolonged housing market downturn?

Q: Hi,
I'd like your input on the fintech sector in general and how you would recommend investing in it. So far I've come across 4 names that seem to get the most attention
paypal, square, betterment and the lending club. Would you recommend any of these and which would rate the highest? Are there any others that rate higher?
Thanks very much,
Dave

Q: Hi Peter.

Just read your interview chapter in Market Masters. Thought it was excellent and should be required reading for all 5i subscribers! Keep up the great work!

Cheers,

Scott

Q: Followup to recent Q. on BEP.UN. Distributions can be taken in US or C$, default is US, so if held in a C$ account broker will convert at their exchange rate. To receive in C$ you must instruct broker you want this option, I estimate it's worth at least 1% of the distributions received, not much, but better in my pocket than broker's.

Details at bottom of page here:

https://www.brookfieldrenewable.com/content/investor_relations/distributions-30413.html

Q: Today's volume of 680,620,000 shares is a record dating back since 2006. Is this record volume, in a down market, significant? Does it foretell the fact that the current rally since the beginning of February 2016 is a dead cat's bounce?
Thank you as always for your insight.

Q: Hi Peter, How do you analyze the current situation? I heard on CNBC that it is not in debt holder's interest to serve them default notice as then debt will go down more in short term. What else is unknown? If we all agree with the guidance it is 2.5X 2016 earnings now. Do they have to issue any new debt? If not then there is no question of their borrowing rate going up. Am I right? So how does this temporary situation have any real business implications? You can figure out from my tone that I am long on this name. Now here is my reason for being long. 1. Every day 10000 people in north america turning 60 until 2030, so they got tailwind for derma and GI. 2. Also they have diversified across eastern Europe and mexico, so again well diversified. 3. US congress and senate still held by republicans, so even Hillary/Sanders cannot pass anything to curb drug prices in 2017-2018. 4.They have 3 very successful activist(2 valueAct, 1 pershing) on their board, who will extract value, also I hope they did/still doing extensive due diligence. 5. Debt- it is not mining or oil, they will have strong cash flow around $2 billion to pay the debt. Anyways, can you please come up with some points that a guy with short position will think at this price point?? Also please correct me if I am wrong in my long assumptions. I would better be wrong than loose money.

Q: What is the consensus in US dollars for Q4's revenue, adjusted ebitda and adjusted eps?

thx

Q: If you need the sector for a stock, it's listed on Bloomberg.com/quote. Using that source, we can increase the 5i time for more interesting questions.

Q: Which on of the three companies would you prefer?

Q: I own a small position in this microcap (1% that has grown to 2%)on Benj Gallanders advice. It has moved up sharply from my purchase price. I am contemplating what to do with it now. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thx Blake

Q: i am curious as to the pullback in the stock, is it earnings related, or rise in cdn. dollar or price of oil. dave

Q: For companies with US dollar distributions (such as BEP.un and TRI), is it better to hold them in registered or non-registered accounts?

I am under the impression that companies with distributions in US dollars are better held in registered accounts, to avoid the US withholding tax. At the same time, dividends from Canadian companies are taxed preferentially if kept in non-registered accounts.

What should I do with BEP.un and TRI?

Thanks for this tremendous website and service!

Q: I was wondering if you could give me your expectation for Concordia's Q4 2015 report scheduled for Mar. 24. I'm interested in how much of their debt you think they will be able to pay off and what the resulting debt ratio (currently 5.5 I believe) might be. Thx Scott

Q: A follow up from my question yesterday about ADW.A.
It is down another 6% this AM. Something was be going on.

Craig

Q: I believe I heard something on BNN this morning about a rumour of a takeover of SH. I can't find any news on this item. Do you have knowledge of this?

Q: Under symbol TDB976, I have the only 2 questions (Sept 28/15 and Feb 19/16). They contain my background information.

My weighting in this fund is 3% and am still waiting to top it up a bit. It has fallen significantly lately, which I believe is currency related, due to the fund not being hedged.

Question 1 = from here, what does your speculative crystal ball think about where the Cdn-USA currency rate will go, especially now that the Fed is slowing down the normalization process? Oil seems to also be having a currency impact.

Question 2 = should I top this fund up now that it is even more on sale, or wait until the USA election rhetoric subsides? OR, should I sell?

Basically, do you see upside potential for this security? Since buying, I am a little underwater. It is held in my TFSA.

Confused. Thanks,
Steve

Q: I am looking to eventually replicate one of your portfolios. I plan on eventually using my tfsa for this portfolio (growth probably ). I do not have a lot of capital in my tfsa yet. I started contributing $225 biweekly. I do have roughly $6000 in it now with roughly equal holdings of aya, gud, and yfi. How should I proceed with my contributions? Should I start contributing to a d series mutual fund to build up capital or should I save $1000-$2000 and then pick a stock from your portfolio? If going the mutual fund route, would there be a low cost option you would suggest? I'm 38 with time on my side. Thanks as always.

Q: Do you know how one would go about purchasing Fairfax "7.375% Senior Notes due April 15, 2018" (they don't seem to be listed in TD's quote system)? Also, could you please explain what "Senior Notes" are and what level of risk they have i.e. riskier than equity, preferred's etc. Thank you.

Q: Hello Peter,
Do you think the surge in metals is on an upward swing for a while as teck and hudbay keep rising higher and higher? Also, would you say natural gas stocks will continue to be pegged to oil stocks or do you think they will be considered a sector on their own? lastly, if you had a choice between gold stocks and base metals like teck,, would you rather focus on gold given the low interest environment or would you put half and half. Thanks very much.

Q: The market seems to really love the 2015 YE, Q4 results and latest reserve information as evidenced by the over 10% jump in SP today. What is your expert opinion on the CJ results. More importantly is that optimism sustainable in the long haul. Thanks.