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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: With the devastation of the fires on the west coast with extreme property loss
do you think insurance companies are stretched??

tia pat
Read Answer Asked by Pat on September 17, 2020
Q: Howdy - Why didn't Warren buy some Stanley instead of Bank of America? Too small? So for exposure to US financials in the form of a sorta bank isn't MS better positioned than most with no loan default concerns and great exposure to wealth management (high net worth concentration?) Decent divi too. Why no 5i love for MS - is it the symbol of the stock matching what most associate with something horrible? Bothers me. Fondly, Ken
Read Answer Asked by Ken on September 14, 2020
Q: Hello,
I have been holding Laurentien Bank for a few years thinking it was 'cheap' as it was trading below book value. It's done terribly should I hold/sell any recommendations on an alternative holding for the long term.
Read Answer Asked by sundeep on September 14, 2020
Q: Both NAVI and COOP look oddly undervalued even after one factors in known problems in their business models. NAVI pays a good dividend (too good?). COOP pays none. Is NAVI’s dividend well covered? COOP appears to trade at below book or is that incorrect? What do you calculate are the PEG ratios for each of theses companies? Financial sites give differing ratios.
What do you see as vulnerabilities that are perhaps not discernible to a non-finance professional? Interest rates are likely to remain low for several years; it appears the US economy will continue to be bolstered by at least some stimulus, however modest, through to at least end of year 2021. Would either company be a probable target by a new US Admin? I would be thankful for your looking under the hood. I am concerned there might be dangers of the type that are sometimes skipped even by premium finance sites.
Would you buy either company, and if yes, your preference (if any?)
Read Answer Asked by Adam on September 03, 2020
Q: good morning,

I have been reading that RY and TD are more full valued at present than are BNS, CM and BMO. I own all five banks and am wondering if its a good idea to sell RY and TD and buy one or more of the other three banks. If this makes sense to you, which bank(s) would I buy, in order of preference.

as always, your advice is appreciated.
Read Answer Asked by alex on September 03, 2020
Q: What probability would you place on Canada's 5 major banks suspending or cutting dividends in the next 12 months? Is this a good time to buy those 5 stocks? Thank you
Read Answer Asked by R. Martin on September 02, 2020
Q: I am puzzled by your July 16, 2020 comments in response to a question on JPM vs. MS. You wrote “.... we would not consider them very different overall. JPM is significantly larger” ; “ business mix is very similar”. JPM and MS look different to me. MS has no retail business . MS has or will have an even larger presence in wealth management after its announced acquisition of eTrade. The deal was announced early 2020. The transaction has been approved and is expected to close before end of year 2020. Further, the above is an all-stock deal and although that affects capital structure, it should have little impact on MS’ debt level. However I may have missed things in which case your clarification would be welcome.
If I am correct: is MS a holding that is well worth adding to? I have a full allocation to US financials but hold only a modest position in MS. I am thinking of reducing BAC, OR another US banks and add to MS. My reasoning primarily: MS is not much exposed to loan losses; the brokerage and wealth management businesses seem poised for much growth in the US; its business model looks more attractive for the next two to 3 years. Would you agree or am I missing some important factors?
Read Answer Asked by Adam on September 02, 2020
Q: Hello guys,

I was hoping you could help to interpret the reports from Canada's banks this past week.
On the face of it, earnings did great compared to expectations. However they largely reported these gains based on outsized returns from their capital markets divisions. I am trying to make sense of what this means in the short and long term.
Firstly, capital markets are comparatively small parts of their businesses (at RY it is normally 20% of income). Is it also safe to say that this is a reflection of both turmoil and government stimulation, and I wonder if governments will be remiss to see its money land there. A d is it repeatable.
Second, with low rates on the horizon increasingly, the Fed and other central banks appear torn about the inflation theses that they have and what to do next. For banks I understand this means margin erosion as well as potentially demand destruction from customers.

Any thoughts on progress of the sector and possible ripples to the economy are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Peter
Read Answer Asked by Peter on August 31, 2020
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