Investment Q&A

Q: Could you provide an updated opinion on DR based on their latest quarterly results. The latest quarter appear to be very good with the dividend payout ratio dropping below 50%.
I am thinking of initiating an initial position in this company for a combination of nice income (over a 5% yield) and hopefully a little growth in the share price over time.How does future growth in their business look?
Your thoughts as always would be greatly appreciated.

Q: Crius is selling off recently on high volume. Any obvious reasons? Thanks.

Q: I am trying to run a slightly more concentrated portfolio. There are currently 37 individual equity positions; 4 equity ETFs (VIG, IWO, XGD, ZRE); and 4 bond ETFs. Within the utility sector there are 5 positions, each at ~2% (BIP.UN, BEP.UN, FTS, ALA, PPL). I would like to cull either ALA or PPL. I am leaning towards selling PPL, as ALA looks to have a better 5 yr dividend growth rate and appears to have more of a focus on renewable energy. Any input would be most appreciated. Thank-you.

Q: Ten years ago in 2007 i took four hundred thousand out of the stock market and bought some segregated funds through manulife. I have with drawn one hundred and twenty two thousand in the last 5 years. The funds are now worth three hundred and eighty-eight thousand now. I am guaranted twenty three thousand three hundred a year for life. I am 67 years old and retired for 11 years with 1 million 280 thousand invested in differant investments my house not included.I receive a thousand a month from cpp and old age pensions and another twenty-four hundred a month from other investments not including the thenty-three thousand three hundred from this investment. My wife has pensions of thirty-six thousand a year. I paid nine thousand in fees last year and the funds were up 14 thousand after fees were paid.I am thinking of cashing in some or all of the funds and buying some blue chip stocks, banks, bce stocks in your income and balanced portfolio. What do you think of this. We have no debt and just wish to have a good life and retain what we have. thanks

Q: Hi,

I have a 5% position in ENB and 2.5% in PPL. ENB is declining, whereas PPL is increasing in value for last couple months. Should i add to PPL and take profits from ENB? Advice? Is there another pipeline you like better?

Q: I know US companies are not your focus however I wanted to get your thoughts on selling GE and allocating some US$- in my rrsp.
I am an income investor and currently hold ZPW-U and ZWH-U in equal weight re investing the dividends monthly. I also have a small position in JNJ and a larger position in GE (7%) of portfolio. I am concerned GE really isn't going anywhere and am considering switching to something with a better outlook any suggestions etf or stock to add here... or should I continue to hold?
I already hold VGG in another account...

Q: Hello,
I recently subscribed to your ETF/MF newsletter. I have looked over the site but I didn't find a section there for asking questions (might have missed it). In viewing some of the ETF performance tables I did not see a column to indicate whether the income is paid out on a regular basis or reinvested in ETF units. My fee for service investment planner has advised me to use more fixed income vehicles to reduce income slightly caused by the gross up of Cdn. dividends in my equity portfolio but I would still like to get the income on a regular basis.
In regards to this perhaps you could comment on VSC or suggest a similar short term laddered bond ETF and a similar emerging market income ETF(with adequate liquidity).

Thanks in advance ..... Larry

Q: I'm looking for a safe place to park some money. You've mentioned CLF but could you explain why its price chart goes straight down and do you expect this trend to continue? Also, what might make it rise? Thanks.

Q: In my search for the best option available to hold cash I came across a company called Oaken Financial. They currently offer 1.5% interest in an unrestricted savings account. Do you know this company and would you recommend I use them to hold cash?

Q: Currently, all of my fixed income (>$100000) allocation is in VSB, all in non-registered accounts. Should I switch to BXF for tax efficiency, or stick with VSB given it's lower MER (0.11 vs 0.2)? For my fixed income allocation, safety, capital preservation, and liquidity are primary considerations; yield is a secondary consideration.

Q: Do you think this is a good entry point and how safe is the dividend?

Thanks

Q: good morning.
I own ala shares and just wondering if you would probally switch to ala.r. What happens if deal does not go through and in this case would ala.r be safer? Trying to find the analysis you did on
ala and receipts but cannot find.
can you tell me where I can find.
thanks and keep up great work

Q: Hello Corus Entertainment With a 9% dividend is this safe? What is the payout ratio? Would like to buy it for a 2 to 3 year hold.

Q: Any news on PZA that would account for today's drop? I'm thinking of adding a little to my existing position.

Q: Following-up on a question about Blackberry debentures: if my broker matches my bid with an in-house ask, does the TSX find out about the trade? I'm wondering because, according to tmxmoney.com, the debentures haven't changed hands since Jan 25, nor do quotes show any ask. If they're this tightly-held, then there doesn't seem to be much point adding to the bid unless there's unreported in-house trading going on.

Of course, I could set my bid farther above par, but with the debs at 3.75% and the share price stagnant for the past three years, it seems as likely that I'd lose money. I understand that some debt is, essentially, privately-held; fine - I'm just trying to understand what's possible.

Q: When buying stocks strictly as a source of dividend retirement income, should you be
concerned about the stock price volatility as long as the dividend remains safe and is
sustainable? I am basically searching for dependable income and not stock price
appreciation.

Q: Hi I am looking to further diversify my portfolio. I have about 70 percent in the market and that is the highest I want to go. I have some tips, xbb and hfr and too much cash but having hard time with rates rising to go to bonds. The xhy seems to go with market, I was wondering about individual bonds or will they trade closely with market. I was looking at them. How does one choose the right duration, if it is over valued it could get called? and I loose money. There seems so many when I look at my investorline I don't know where to start. any ideas?

Q: During significant market corrections in the past, how much have dividend payouts by listed companies been affected? I am planning for retirement and wanted to know if I should use the current value of my dividends (mostly large cap companies) as annual income or whether I should plan that the dividends could decrease. If they could decrease, what would be an approximate percent drop to use in my plan? Thanks!

Q: just a comment re your comments on student transportation, i have owned stb for almost 2 years paying just over 5.00 a shares, it has been a huge winner, furthermore the 8 per cent u,s. dividend worksout to over 10 per cent cdn.it now represents 8 per cent of my portfolio and i am happy to hold it, i also really like the management team, they keep getting huge wins . dave

Q: I would like your comments on the payout ratio of STB and their debt situation. Some comments claimed that their payout ratio is over 100 percent and they are borrowing to cover this.

Thank you,

Walter Schwager