Q: Hi team, I would like to generate some income in US dollars.

Could you please recommend 2 or 3 dividend paying US stocks, together with a brief explanation as to why you like those companies. I would also be OK with an ETF if you think that is a better way to go.

Thanks as always,
Paula

Q: I bought Hershey in my RRSP in mid-2024. While mostly known for chocolate, the company has been diversifying into non-chocolatey snacks. However, the stock price remains down due to high cocoa prices. Would you be content to hold Hershey and collect the dividend until cocoa prices drop? Would you have some other suggestions? I tend to go for boring US dividend payers that also have some growth potential in my RRSP. My top holdings right now are MSFT, COST, MA, BIP.UN, ENB, and O. I also hold VOO as an underlying holding. Thank you.

Q: Stop me if you've heard this story this year: I am having a once in a generation year with my portfolio up 50%, a chunk of that driven by Nvidia and its explosive growth. NVDA is now 40% of my portfolio which I acknowledge is insane. But having owned it since 2016 and benefitted massively, I have no intention of selling it, at least not yet. The rest of my portfolio is made up of successful U.S. and Canadian tech, and, on the other end of the scale, conservative, low beta, mostly Canadian dividend payers. They provide ballast to my tech/NVDA risk. Getting to the point: I have $35K to invest and it should be directed to the conservative part of my portfolio. What names would you suggest that tick the following boxes: +4 % well-covered yield, slow but steady share price growth, solid fundamentals, probably Canadian though open to U.S. stocks, irrespective of sector. In the conservative part of my portfolio I already own: all 6 big banks, FTS, ENB, GRT.UN, BAM, BRE, EIF, FC, FFH, PPL, SLF, TFII, TRI.

Apologies for the windy question and thanks!