Investment Q&A

Q: 5i’s Income Portfolio:
You’ve stated elsewhere that this portfolio targets a 4 to 5% income and 6 to 8% return….thats easy to understand.

What is not clear to me is the rationale behind the composition of the portfolio. Sector weightings, for example, do not conform to advice provided elsewhere.

Would you please explain the composition, or point me at a place where you have already done so.

Q: I’m trying to figure out what’s going on with PIF. As a utility, I understand that higher rates have likely hurt the stock to some extent, but it’s approaching COVID lows. My understanding is that its dividend is only 33% of 2023 cash flow, so no worries there. Yes, its biggest asset is in Nicaragua, but that has not changed (it’s actually less exposed to jurisdictional risk risk as it builds out projects in other jurisdictions). Is there something I am missing?

Q: Please comment on the recent 2023 financials.
Do you think alv is worth holding, perhaps adding?

Thank you very much

Q: Hi. I am trying to figure out how meaningful reported FFO numbers are for a company like Brookfield Renewable. When Brookfield invests in a solar panel project there is a large upfront cost that produces cash flow for a fixed period of time. If the solar panel project has a lifespan of 30 years, the FFO numbers would presumably be similar in year 1 versus year 29. However, the value of the asset would be much lower in year 29 than year 1. When looking at cash flow for a company like Brookfield how do you account for the finite lifespan of some of their investments?

Q: You responded to a March 21st question by Esther confirming that, in your view, Canadian rates are fully expected to drop faster, sooner than US interest rates - leaving a positive outlook for the US$ and stocks.

My question is in 2 parts;

- What are 3 interest sensitive Canadian investments would you recommend that take advantage of a faster/sooner drop in Canadian rates (and why they may be good investments), and

- Should one hold off on investing in US investments such as TLT short term, or not try too hard to time the buy and invest now?

Thanks as always.

Q: Thoughts on divs latest quarter.

Q: At what price would Canadian Utilities be a good point to buy the stock for dividend income? If there are better companies in the utilities market, please comment on that. I am looking for a company with good dividend prospects for the next 5 years.

And is CU a good bet for capital growth in the next 5 years? If not, what are better options?

Thank you for your valuable input and have a great day!

Q: In your response to Pat today for dividend growth ETFs would you consider DGRC as a viable investment option in Canada? It is underweight financials but heavy in energy. Maybe that is a function of energy having better dividend growth than financials over the past few years.

Q: I am looking for a good dividend payer in a non-registered account. The industry does not really matter but a stable dividend and preferably a growing dividend would be important for the next 3 years.

Would Cascades be a good bet? If it is, what would be a reasonable entry point for price?

Thank you.

Q: Could I have your analysis of the results for DE. Thanks

Q: Hi, doing some housekeeping and switching the above two stocks in my non registered account to bipc and bepc ?
Could you suggest 1-2 other stocks you like , maybe with more growth and smaller dividend. I will probably keep bipc, but overweight bepc. Sector not a issue.
Thanks

Q: Which would you prefer for a 2 to 3 year hold and why? Thanx.

Q: According to my TD direct Investment site, analysts are advising selling Fortis. This seems excessive to me. What do you think? I'm a not aggressive senior without, given my age, a particularly long recovery time.

Q: HELLO PETER AND COLLEAGUES,

Five years ago I was willed a (small) number of shares in Suncor, which seems to have gone through some ups and downs the last few years (more downs than ups when it comes to CEO's replacements and other issues...) but seems to have stabilized somehow lately. Notwithstanding, do you consider CNQ a better run corp with a better chance of success, and should I, for the intermediate time when owning shares in an old fashion energy business still makes some sense, switch my SU position to an equivalent CNQ one? Thank you.

Q: I am looking for some interest bearing stocks.

I do not have any REITs and with the state of office space these days, I am always a little concerned.

However, I just read about this company “SmartCentres” that pays an 8.2% dividend (pretty amazing – but it is sometimes a warning sign). Based on company information, it states that it has “98.5% in place and committed occupancy” which I believe is positive.

According to its profile (in 5i), the stock appears to be close to its low for the past year. In fact, the stock is lower than the “Low Target price”. The liquidity ratios appear to (very) good. I don’t know how it compares to its peers but the P/E ratio also appears low compared to its historical trend.

I understand this is not a growth stock but my need is to find some balance and dividends are always good (especially at 8.2%). I also own other dividend paying stocks, such as Enbridge which I’ve acquired slowly over the past number of years. The stock price today is a little lower than when I bought it as the stock price has not changed very much during the last 10 years (but the dividend is very good and the volatility has been reasonable). It has been a very good paying GIC.

Any thoughts on the above. If you have better ideas for dividend paying stocks (or ETFs), please list your top 2 or 3, with a short explanation. As a secondary question, for dividends to rise to 8.2% for SRU and 7.8% for Enbridge, is it also possible that these stocks are out of favor and may also have some potential capital appreciate over the years? Thanks.

(As an aside, I compared the 10 year chart provided by 5i in the “Enbridge profile” section with 2 other charting tools and the one in 5i did not match. I did a comparison because I felt that the return I got with Enbridge did not align with the 5i profile chart.)

Q: Thank you sharing your insight answering my most recent questions.

BCE is getting quite a working over and I have a few questions (please deduct as necessary).

BCE next reports on May 2 (I believe) and +ive perf. is likely essential

1) How accurate has BCE been on its reporting historically?

2) How far in advance of the "official" report do they provide guidance or their anticipated performance?

3) What would some early indicators of a dividend cut or worse be? (Prior to May 2).

I suppose Telus would be subject to similar forces and in the same boat.

Thank you

Q: May I have your thoughts on their most recent results pls & thx.

Q: I'M in my retirement years and have accumulated about 28% in Financial sector, which is over what your Portfolio Analysis suggested (12%). Could u give me a ranking of 1 (least prefer) to 5 (most prefer) in terms of Price Growth and Dividend growth Take as many credits as you see fit. Thank you

Q: Looks like another double digit growth quarter from Evertz. Thoughts on the quarter and where you think the valuation could go based on the growth we have seen in the past 3 quarters.

Q: Empire is hitting new 52 week lows, is it a buy at here levels? Would you recommend this as buy for a consumer staple holding?

DON