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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: Citi continues to be the perennial underachiever in its club. I trimmed down to a half-position months ago. From reading the financial media, I sense that the relatively new CEO should be able to push Citi out from its corner where it sits wearing a dunce-cap. One worries however about the massive costs inevitable in most turnarounds. Do you have an opinion on whether such costs are implicit in Citi’s current low price. Is it worth topping up the position? If no, what is better — ride it out or give up on the poor thing before it makes me poor? I sometimes hold on to securities that are generally disliked because they often turn out to be strong performers later.
Read Answer Asked by Adam on October 26, 2021
Q: I have room for 1 full position in my US RRSP. I do not have exposure to US financials and was looking for your opinion for a relatively diversified US financial with the best prospects for CAGR over the next 3 to 5 years. I came up with Paypal, Square, MS, and JPM. I feel that Paypal (with it recent sell off) is the best option. What is your opinion?
Read Answer Asked by Uthaman on October 25, 2021
Q: Not sure of the rationale for PayPal buying PINS. A $45 billion price tag seems like a lot considering they could of done a partnership instead. A merger that lacks strategic vision is a great way to destroy shareholder value…just ask Time Warner/AOL. Although it is preliminary what are your thoughts? As a long term PayPal shareholder should I sell and buy Square to hold for the next five years? There are no tax or risk considerations just a straight swap to change horses.
Read Answer Asked by Stefan on October 22, 2021
Q: With all the speculation about major dividend increases once restrictions are lifted, would investment in banks be a good short term strategy (hoping for a boost upon announcements), or has the expectation already been cooked into current prices? Any guesses as to who will announce the largest increase?
Read Answer Asked by Rick on October 22, 2021
Q: I wd appreciate your ranking of the Canadian banks.
thank you
Read Answer Asked by John on October 21, 2021
Q: On Sept 21st I asked a question about Circle. In your response you mentioned.
- Buying the SPAC shares is the same as buying Circle, but note the acquisition has not closed yet.
- Like all SPAC deals we tend to be extra cautious.
Re the above points,
Can you elaborate on the potential concerns specifically with investing in Concord at the moment in lieu of investing in the new company after going public. (For e.g. Can we lose all our money, some of our money.. if the deal does not go thru…? Any other concerns?)

If you have any additional comments re Circle since Sep 21st, a few words would be appreciated. My understanding is that they now have $33B in circulation but do not know much more (and there may not be much more).

Thanks again. Your turn around time is amazing and the quality/detail of your responses is impressive. Keep up the great work. Have a nice day!
Read Answer Asked by Walter on October 20, 2021
Q: I am scratching my head on this one! I bought some very cheaply in the recent market sell off. I am looking at the NAV of $18.10 (Sept. pricing). That seems an extraordinarily steep discount to what it presently sells for. Am I reading it correctly? Further, I noticed it passed up a termination date some time back but has another at 2023 year end. What would convince them to shut it down? Shareholders like me or something else? If something else what could that look like?

TIA
Read Answer Asked by Gerald on October 19, 2021
Q: I know 5i favours SLF over MFC. MFC is cheaper, but I was surprised to see on Morningstar that it isn't by a whole lot.

I am a long term investor. I am looking at MFC from a 10, 20 year perspective. l did own it back when they cut the dividend, but am now considering adding it back in.

Is the company much improved from 10 years ago? Cash Flow metrics seem to be good. I was unable to find debt ratio though, and whether or not it was at an acceptable level.

How do you see MFC going forward, despite the present events in China?

Read Answer Asked by James on October 18, 2021
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