Investment Q&A

Q: I have owned this for several years and while they seem to do a lot of good things the stock price has stubbornly been resistant to change. I figure the sector has a lot to do with this. There is also not a lot of coverage for this company so I am wondering if, as a proxy for sentiment, one might look to coverage of Pulte Homes, for example? I am not so much interested in switching names (unless you think it is reasonable to do so) but Pulte has been getting a lot of positive press lately, appearing on several lists as being undervalued, so I am wondering if that same optimism would apply. If so, would you see adding to TCN as a prudent move at this time?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: Is RPI's performance recently astonishing? Could you put some reality to this fairy dust?

Q: Hi Peter,
1.I don't have CSU. What would be your suggestion - Should i buy now or wait for Topicus to come into play?
2. Cash account/TFSA/RESP/RRSP?

Q: For a new purchase of CSU is it better to wait till after the Tropicus spin out in order to avoid the dividend tax hit from the Spinout? Then buy both companies in the market.

Thanks.

Q: Hi 5i,

So CSU spins out Topicus and the stock trades on the venture. Globe and mail states that Topicus’ equity value is $1.86B ($1.2 billion euros). Assuming that this is also the market cap, this would Topicus the largest stock on the venture. Some institutional money may have to sell due to restrictions (e.g. like not being able to hold companies that trade on the venture).

This puts downward pressure on the stock. It trades at a discount.

It then starts getting traded on the TSX and large institutional money flow back in. In addition, being a stand alone company gives it a higher multiple.

What do you think?

Q: good morning
I've been reading about Ford committing to manufacture electric vehicles in Canada, starting in the not so near future. What, if anything, does this mean for MG, for a longer term investor? Also, are there any other Canadian companies that will derive significant benefit from the Ford decision, and what would be the timely approach to investing in this direction? As always, many thanks.

Q: Hi 5i,
Will the CSU spin out of Topicus be a taxable event? I hold CSU in a taxable account with an as yet uncrystallized capital gain. I would prefer it if there were a way for me not to have to take the entire capital gain in the current tax year. Thanks.

Q: How much do you anticipate the share price of CSU dropping on the Topicus spinout?

Q: Hi Folks,

Looking for your sage opinion please. I've owned CCL Industries for a few years and have done very well - up about 150% in a taxable account (thanks for making me aware of the company years ago). It's not a big holding (2.5% of my equity portfolio). CCL.B seems to be struggling and at one point I was probably up closer to 200%.

My question is should I lose confidence in the company at this point, sell the shares and pay the capital gains tax (I have a fairly low marginal tax rate right now), or should I hold? I do note CCL.B has the early appearance of turning the corner to better results.

Thank you for your opinion and also for the significant investment gains I have made for several years now with 5i's support. Because of you I have done really well on CSU, SHOP, FNV, WSP, ATD.B, IWO as well as others.

Michael

Q: hello 5i Research team,
Probably a very easy question: who are the “Jorday Group” and Ussel in the CSU spinoff? How would you rate them as significant shareholders? Do current Topicus.com B.V. CEO Daan Dijkhuizen who will be appointed CEO, and current TSS head Robin van Poelje future Chair have good pedigree?
Thank you for your collaboration, Eric

Q: I own LSPD which I understand to be point of sale provider to retail, golfcourses, and restaurants. What advantage do you see they have going forward over Square, Touch Bistro, and Shopkeep? What tailwinds and headwinds do you anticipate?

Q: I just read an article on China’s Aging demographic causing a market for in home elevators.(Mobility). Would Sis be positioned for this or are their present China market opportunities too small too make a substantial change in their Overall sales. I’m looking for plus growth companies that have a solid base. Thanks
Terry

Q: Hi, could you please comment on the recent decline in GSY shares? I did not see any news from them. Would this be a good time to buy more? Thanks!

Q: this is not a question, but a comment to the question from Lai Kuen who is holding Constellation in a USD account. Constellation pay their dividend in USD, so if you keep the shares in a USD account you will be credited with USD $ and avoid exchange fees. You still be eligible for the dividend tax credit.

Q: By mistake I used US dollar to buy CSU, it now shown in my US investment account. Do I need to do anything with CSU , ( sell then buy in Canadian account ? ) regarding to the TOPICUS spin out. Thanks for your excellent service.

Q: Hi 5I,
I own REAL and am hanging in there through this down draft on the share price as I believe that it will do well in this low interest rate environment that is expected to carry on for a few more years as (addressed in the Fed comments this week). I read your response to a question that a negative impact is that they are concentrated with a few large institutions and losing one could impact the company at least in the short term. It lead to my wondering who are their competitors in this market? Would you consider REAL a disruptor in this field and are they early in the process? Thanks

Q: PHO has just added a South Korean partner. Is this a tuck-in or a meaningful addition for PHO which seems to be languishing since reporting its earnings ? I always appreciate your advice.Thanks
Dave

Q: In your response to Leonard today regarding the potential CSU spinout of Topicus you mentioned that CSU shares will likely drop to reflect the value of the spin out. Does that imply that shareholders of CSU would receive shares of Topicua? Thank you.

Q: Hi, Any insight into pricing of 1.1 miliion shares secondary of common shares and $800mln convertible notes offering by Shopify ? Thanks

Q: Two part question about CSU: some time ago there was an announcement of a transaction where a company acquired by CSU would be "spun out" to CSU shareholders. Can you provide details of what is to happen? when is it to happen? do you expect CSU's share price to decrease as a result? What tax consequence will there be to CSU shareholders?
Secondly, I recently read the following:
"Our Strong Sell is based on our conviction that it
is difficult to create shareholder value by
continuing to add shrinking legacy software
businesses to 100’s of other shrinking legacy
software businesses. With organic topline
contraction and fading operating leverage, we
see CSU’s “never-ending roll-up” finally hitting
hard limits. In our view, CSU is too reliant on the
assumption of customer stickiness for legacy
apps with expensive support contracts in
dozens of niche/vertical markets. We see these
apps increasingly dislodged by less expensive,
more inherently agile, cloud alternatives. A
Covid-19-driven economic downturn would
likely intensify this competition, as it is our
experience that, rather than preserving the
status quo, tough times drive customers to
overcome inertia and accelerate paradigm
shifts in enterprise IT."
What is your assessment of this?
Thank you for your excellent service.