Investment Q&A

Q: Hi, this is a bit of a 30 thousand feet question and I'm trying to find investing idea's for the next 5 to 10 years. I am looking at three countries India, Iran and Ethiopia. What options do I have to play these markets now or in the near future. I'm just starting my search, any help would be appreciated

Thanks for a great site

Q: In your Updated news report July 18th you said to make sure you have international exposure. What do you recommend? I follow closely your investment advice and my portfolio consists mainly of stocks from your balanced model portfolio. I have a 5-10 year time frame.

Thank you so much,
Louise

Q: I've been a member for over a year now and appreciate all the help you have given regarding individual equity choices. My wife and I are both 70 years of age. Our pensions provide enough money to meet all of our monthly needs so we are able to take on some risk. I am having some difficulty determining what percentage of our portfolio should be in each sector. I would appreciate it if you would suggest how much we should relegate to each of the following categories and one or two etfs (I like the Vanguard family for their low fees) that you think would provide the exposure we need.
1. Fixed income
2. Canadian equities
3. American equities - I'm leaning towards VUN
4. Global equities.
Thanks once again for your guidance.

Q: Hello,

in order to diversify my investment I would like to buy some Alibaba stock... After the recent jumps at Chinese market it went down significantly and I trust it may be a good time. At the same time I know that YHOO is going to spin off it's part in Alibaba. And here is the question (or even two questions):

1)what do you think about BABA perspective for the next 12 months?

2) how this YHOO spin of their Alibaba shares will affect both parties: YHOO and BABA?

Thank you for sharing your opinion!

Q: I came across this company a while ago while doing a screen for US stocks. I've been following it for a while and would appreciate your comments on this company.

Q: Hello, I am curious what you think the effect of the US raising rates will have on the market in general. I am assuming global money will flow into the US and send it higher. But what effect does it have on emerging markets. Will some of that money be heading to the US as well?
A little birdie has told me that a-lot of emerging market debt is priced in US as well. The above scenario would put a-lot of pressure on these countries. Is it a safer bet to sell my position in XMM and redeploy somewhere else?
Thank-you for the great service.

Q: This is the old France Telecom. What's you take on this company?
Ken

Q: I have two UK banks:Barclays , ADR symbol BCS.us ; and Lloyds LYG.us. I probably should not have both and thought of selling LYG especially after I saw you said BCS has 5.4% dividend in a your in Apr 2015. Between BCS and LYG , do you think LYG is the right one to shed?
FYI: In your reply of Apr 17 2015 you mentioned BCS has a yield of 5.4% p.a. Various other sources show yield at half of that. You use Bloomberg terminals which would be more reliable than the sites popular with retail investors. I have however noticed a number of securities for which you mention a yield that is materially different from other sources. I will give higher credence to data you mention . I am however puzzled about the recurring or frequent discrepancies.

Q: what are your thoughts on the impact of the "chinese stock rout" ?

Q: I received notice that Blackrock is terminating the XLA ETF. I'm under water on this one, but always thought of it as geographic diversification with a long term view. I'm wondering why they would terminate the fund and if I'm better off selling or waiting for liquidation in August. Finally, could you recommend a few reasonable replacements (hedged or un-hedged). Thanks. I love the service you that you guys offer.

Q: I would like to get more exposure to Europe for the long-term (5+ years). Do you think it is a good idea at this time given the Greek mess or should I wait a bit? Is there a good ETF or two that you could recommend/is that a good way to get exposure to Europe? The only one I know of is the SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF
(FEZ). Do you like that one?
Thank you!

Q: Bought a 5% position about 3 months ago and not happy so far. Would you suggest a hold or sell or replace with another, better etf, thanks

Q: What are your thoughts on including European and German exposure in portfolio?What % would you recommend. Are these etfs acceptable. Thanks.Shyam

Q: I understand you may not be familiar with this european company trading as an ADR in the U.S, but I was wondering if you have an opinion on its future potential.

Thanks for the great service.

Q: What are your thoughts on Prem Watsa's India Fund? He does seem to have a bit of home field advantage, not to mention his track record. Also would you consider a 6% overall India allocation to be excessive? (I currently hold ZEQ at almost 3% of my portfolio).

Q: Hi Guys
A fund manager that I respect a lot Francis Chou has made a big bet on Nokia a while ago.
Can you tell me what he likes about this company thanks.

Q: Hi Peter and team:This ETF pulled back to 50 day moving average. Good entry point for some one with no Chinese equity exposure in his portfolio?

Q: Can you recommend a Japanese ETF that is hedged to the Canadian dollar? Is the Japanese market still a buy since it is at an 18 year record high?

Q: I am planning to add international equity exposure via US ETFs. Could you please recommend US-based ETFs for the following:

Broad US exposure (is there one that covers small and large cap or do I need two, like IWO and VFV?)
Broad world exposure (VXUS?)
Additional weight in China (FXI?)
Additional weight in India (?)
Additional weight in Japan (?)

If you see any concerns with this approach I'd would be interested to know. Also would be interested to know if you think Latin America would be underweighted in the above and if so, your recommendation on a US ETF. Thanks as always.

Q: A while back I had bought 100 shares of LPG : NYSE. I had asked a question about it at the time but your team could not comment on it as they did not know anything about it. Currently it is trading at $15.16 a share. I wondering if your team has since looked at it and if so what are your thoughts on it, thank-you for your time.