Investment Q&A

Q: I am going over our investments and am looking to put in a bit more zip by rearranging a few holdings in a well balanced portfolio of only stocks. In our RIFF I am considering removing 3% AW.UN and replacing with HLF. The dividends are similar and short term it looks like HLF is attracting some buying after tax loss selling and longer term corporate policy shift to efficiencies and developing more healthy products suggests a bit more potential capital gain for HLF. Please Comment on longer term risk for this change.

Q: Generally one can find a yield of between 4% and 6% for preferred shares and junk bonds. I am leaning towards pref shares for the higher yielding portion of my portfolio. I realize bonds are higher in the order of liquidation but there seem to be a number of higher quality pref shares that yield close to junk bond yields.
1) Do you agree with my thesis?
2) What is the lowest credit rating would you would accept for bonds and pref shares?

Thank You

Paul

Q: I am considering the purchase of some Transalta preferred shares. Before making a move, I would first like to know whether Transalta has made any progress reducing the debt on their balance sheet in the past year. Your comments are appreciated!

Q: I already have a 3.9% position in KWH.UN and would like to add another 3% position in a utility. I am leaning toward AQN but worry that I am putting too much into the renewable sector. Should I be concerned and buy FTS instead for diversification purposes ? And is a 7% utility portfolio weighing appropriate ?

Q: Please give me your opinion on this/MKZ.UN. It has a high dividend, and appears to have done well in 2017 and prior.

Thanks & Happy New Year

Q: Gordon Pape wrote an article on Fixed income vehicles that was published in the December 28 edition of the Globe and Mail. My question is on the Pimco Monthly Income Fund ETF. Apparently the fund has gained 6% in the last 5 years. can you comment on the fund and the ETF. Would you recommend either for the fixed income portion of a portfolio? Thank You.

Q: Hello 5i team,
What is a good ETF that tracks the tsx broad market that pays a decent dividend. Is CDZ a good choice or do you have another suggestion that would be a counterpart to VFV.
Thanks,
Andrew

Q: Hi 5i team,
What would be examples of high yield bond ETFs within Canada?
Thank You,
Andrew

Q: Hi Peter and Team,

My wife and I each hold both BCE and T in our RRSP/RRIF accounts. We are overweight Telecom, and trying to reduce the number of holdings. I note that T has beaten BCE for the one and two year periods, but BCE has beaten T for the three and five year periods. We would consider one of these stocks as a "hold forever". Also, not that it's pertinent, but we're BCE clients for our landline, internet, TV, and cellphone.

Given that 5i has dropped T from the model portfolio, if we were to keep only one of these two, which should we keep?

Thanks, and Happy New Year to all at 5i and our fellow subscribers.

Q: Do you think the reduced tax rate in the US, and/or the faster write off rules, will make Alaris’ business model less attractive to the US companies it invests in?

Q: What is your opinion on ZPL and ZPS as income investments? I am looking for yield and security of principal as well - would one or both of these ETFs fit those requirements? Would these fare well if the equity markets have a significant drop?

Q: Hello Peter, Ryan and crew.

I am retired and rely on investment income of about 4% dividends/interest. Because I no longer wish to take the time necessary to monitor 50 stocks and 10 bonds, I have been looking for some good income funds or ETFs to replace the individual stocks and bonds that I currently own. The ones I have found have distributions that meet my needs, but do not appear to have the underlying earnings yield to justify the distribution yield, so they appear to be paying me back some of my own money every month. Can you recommend some income funds or ETFs that pay out at least 4% and actually earn what they distribute? Like 5i, I am also sensitive to fees.

I have been a 5i member since the beginning and I continue to be impressed by your knowledge and insight as well as the continuous improvements in the service.

I wish everyone at 5i all the best in the New Year.

Thanks

Q: Will US tax reform benefit Pivot? Are you able to determine to what extent?

Regards and happy holidays.

Robert

Q: Happy Holidays!!
Are you still positive on ALA.R?
At wait price do you consider it a table pounding buy?
What are the risks in buying it here at the $28 level?
Thank you

Q: NWC continues to languish and I am considering adding to my position.
Are you still optimistic about growth prospects?
Thank you

Q: With the price differential and no tax considerations,should one sell ala and buy ala.r ?

Q: I wonder what started the heavy buying at about 12:30 Eastern time today? Is the move justified, please?

Q: As an infrastructure play would you rank Stantec, Snc Lavalin and Wsp

Q: HCG recently announced leadership appointments such as New CIO, SVP Underwriting and SVP Human Resources. Looks like they are building a long-term strategic team to lay the foundation for growth and managing operations effectively.
In this context how does 5i view the developments.
Two key questions here.
1) What would you recommend for existing investors and what advise would you give for new investors looking at making a stock purchase
2) What impact can we expect in the next couple of quarters or say year 2018 in terms of earnings and business outlook? Will the new appointments and personnel costs have significant impact on earnings in near term?

Q: Happy New Yea 5i, I am looking for income, please rank/rate the above, considering future interest increase influence, perhaps suggesting a better choice. Many thaks,J.A.P., Burlington