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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Peter;
Closed Funds (CEFs).
Intrigued by your recent articles on DIY investor’s advantages and becoming a fund manager again, I re-read a couple of my books on hedge funds by Seabastian Mallaby, Edward O. Thorp, and Simon Lack’s “The Hedge Fund Mirage: The illusion of big money and why it’s too good to be true”.
In the latter 2012 book Simon Lack argues large hedge funds and most institutions ignore closed funds which leaves good opportunities for small hedge funds and sophisticated investors of which there are very few in his opinion. In Lack’s opinion the CEF space is dominated by individual retail investors who chase yield that is mis-stated (CEFs publish a distribution yield rather than the actual yield so are engaging in ROC) and foolishly buy IPOs of CEFs. Lack says numerous articles and books have been written on this subject and how to evaluate CEFs but my research did not produce very much at all. Do you have any views and suggestions on how an individual could or should approach this opportunity if it still exists?
WRS.
Read Answer Asked by William Ross on January 18, 2021
Q: I am still very curious about QBTC.U and how exactly they invest capital. I haven’t been able to find out much about it. Is BITCOIN the only asset the fund has? Do they trade bitcoin to gain value or is the value directly tied to the price of bitcoin? If they are holding bitcoin as a static asset, why would the value of the fund drop when they issue new shares if that new capital goes directly into additional bitcoin coins?
Read Answer Asked by Robert on December 30, 2020
Q: Thank you for your advice during the current Covid 19 world . I followed it and as a result have weathered it fairly well.... This brings me to what I thought was a good investment pre Covid 19 and what I think is good now..... FIH.U has taken close to a 50% drop and I can definitely see why.... India's headwinds in battling the virus are large and with their population and crowded demographics. It is going to be a tough battle ..... This brings me to the parts of FIH.U ..... For each of the companies invested in how does 5I view their short and mid term prospects ? Using the four largest positions would be adequate for analysis .....For example I know Bangalore airport will survive but it might be a while before there is sufficient air travel to be in the black . And the IIFL investment and it's value going forward confuse me... There was quite a bit of controversy on the company for a while ... ......Also what is their cash position to accumulate businesses in this environment ? And at the end of the last quarter book value was in excess of $14.00 ... Would that still be an appropriate assessment of book value in this Covid 19 environment ? And in relation to it's current gap between price to book does 5I view it as good value ? .... Thank you for the steady advice you have been giving us during this pandemic ......
Read Answer Asked by Garth on October 13, 2020
Q: One is an ETF while the other used covered calls to enhance dividends. Can you tell me what real difference there is between them aside from the 5% vs 10%+ div. I was thinking of buying XDIV but several of its holdings are the same as DFN which I own. Any point in also owning XDIV?
Thanks very much.
Read Answer Asked by Mark on September 08, 2020
Q: Hello 5i Team
Canadian General Investments (CGI) and United Corporations Ltd. (UNC) are “closed end funds” with a discount to book value and low trading volumes. Both of these entities have been around since the 1930’s.
The primary reason for holding them would be long term growth and stability and not dividend income. I would view them as “ballast” in the portfolio to maintain stability (i.e. low volatility).
In addition, since they hold foreign stocks, it eliminates issues with Foreign Holding reporting (Form T1135) and potential US Estate taxation.
Questions are:
1 – What are your thoughts on either of these as a long term holding in a non-registered account?
2 – Which company would be the better choice?
3 – Would it be better to hold E-L Financial (ELF) instead of United Corporations (UNC) since ELF owns approximately 52.5 % of UNC?
Read Answer Asked by Stephen on August 17, 2020
Q: Hello, split shares have dropped quite a lot recently. Most are well below the $5 threshold (DF-$3.08, DGS-$3.50, FFN-$3.52), where monthly dividends ($0.07-0.08) are distributed. Most of the companies that are being held in split shares are bank stocks and other high quality Canadian stocks.

I am trying to better understand the risks of owning split shares. I estimate the only circumstances I would not collect dividends are when:
1) the prices of the equity inside the split shares never go back to the normal level, and
2) the dividend-paying equity inside the split shares cuts and suspends dividends.

What other risks can you think of? Do you think the risk outweighs the rewards?

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Esther on August 12, 2020
Q: PSTH-UN

Can you please give me your opinion on Bill Ackman's new SPAC IPO. In your opinion, is it a good medium/high risk investment?
Read Answer Asked by Brady on July 27, 2020
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