Investment Q&A

Q: There has been a lot of talk about inflation recently.
A lot of people will typically flock to gold, but if the currencies devalue, won't all assets appreciate in price, including real estate and stock? My question is - what is likely to appreciate faster: gold, real estate, or stocks?

Q: As electric cars gain traction do you see this having a benefit for utility stocks over the next 3 to 5 years? I'm thinking people will charge up their cars overnight increasing the demand load for the utilities. Possibly the utilities will need to upgrade their infrastructure so there might be up-grade costs. Possibly 3 to 5 years is too short a time for electric cars to have much of a presence. Utilities are regulated (I think) so all rate increases I suppose would need to be approved by regulatory government agencies which may baulk at any rate increases. Any thoughts you have would be appreciated.
Jim

Q: Modern Monetary Theory appears to be gaining increasing acceptance. If Western governments were to adopt this Theory, what do you believe the impact would be to investment portfolios? What investment classes do you believe would do well, and what investment classes would do poorly? Do you see this Theory as causing a change to portfolio allocations amongst investment classes?

Thank you for your wonderful and thoughtful insights.

Q: My question is about utilities but we could extend it to any enterprise - it really deals with governments not letting the (often painful) market forces of capitalism take over. I'm not some kind of anti-government fanatic but I know true (unfortunately painful-now) market forces are being and will be suppressed more by cash-strapped governments facing a popular backlash.

I've come across a story where the British government may turn to forcing regulated utilities to accept lower profitability and thus lower dividend payouts to help keep utility bills down for the consumer.

Utilities may argue they can't provide reliable services without higher rates but it seems any company delivering 4-8%+ dividends wouldn't get much sympathy from cash-starved governments in a sub 1% interest rate environment.

With rising political pressure from financially strapped consumers would governments view regulating profits of utilities, banks and others as a great way to boost their popularity?

Q: I'm short out of the money covered calls for August expiry for some of my shares in BEP.UN. Given the BEPC shares dividend, I expect the BEP.UN shares to drop after the July 24th expiry date but I'm a bit confused as to whether the BEPC shares will follow the option or remain with me after July 24th. In other words, will the option be priced for just the BEP.UN shares or the BEP.UN + BEPC shares after that date.
Thanks
Peter

Q: Can you tell me the different between BEP.UN and BEP.C ?
Thanks

Q: In each our TFSAs we have ZLB and CDZ plus cash. We understand that we should diversify our TFSA investments with a minimum of 5 different ETFs or mutual funds in each TFSA. Should we also consider having different investments in each TFSA?
Thank you Bradley Kempston

Q: Hi 5i team, I understand that you do not take target price seriously but what do you make of recent shopify case, ranging 1100 to 280. Is there any accountability for those analyst making such prediction? Thanks.

Q: Whenever there are these swings in the market from growth/tech to value/consumer it makes me think about diversification. I have also noticed that companies that bring tech to another field are thriving. Examples being SHOP bringing technology to consumers, REAL bringing it to consumers and real estate, VEEV bringing it to health care, etc.... Also the US markets just recategorized to decrease the amount of technology companies. I am presently 27% technology but only if I place REAL and AMZN in consumer, GOOG in communications , etc.

I own all the above listed companies except ROP. I am currently considering selling LSPD (technology or should just categorize it as consumer) to buy ROP (industrial or is it technology). This would bring technology to under 25% and increase Industrials and US exposure which I am underweight in. The problem is that I can’t help but think that I am making a trade just to make the diversification boxes all line up. One could easily consider ROP as technology.

In the medical profession we have a term for this. “Euboxic”. Which means making all the lab values line up to hope for the best but often with no real value added.

Q: Hello 5i,
This is not a question, but a request to your membership. I would like to encourage everyone to consider using the Forums to exchange ideas, ask questions, share information and to just generally "connect".
I believe 5i has done us a great service by being willing to host the Forums but it is up to us, the membership, to use it -and use it responsibly - to maximize the benefits to all of us. To paraphrase the current Pandemic mantra "We are all in this together" and the Forums could be a valuable additional tool to help us all navigate these uncertain times together.
So, please - consider helping make the Forums a more active, vibrant resource for all of us to enjoy and benefit from.
Thanks,
Cheers,
Mike

Q: I have heard comments from diverse sources that there will be a massive movement of investment from bonds into equities at some point. Would you comment on this topic as to what catalysts could cause such a move. Does 5I agree with the concept? Has such a shift happened in the past?

Thank You
Clarence

Q: A comment for Bill and Paul on decumulating assets. I have used Cascades Financial Solutions as an individual investor. I found it quite useful for weighing options by changing the data inputted. It produced detailed reports and I found the cost very reasonable. Thanks for all you do at 5i. Frank H.

Q: Large firms have outperformed small firms for a number of years. What conditions will need to occur for this trend to reverse, and for small firms to start outperforming large firms?

Many thanks for your insightful advice.

Q: Growth stocks have outperformed value stocks for a number of years. My understanding is that growth stocks are currently at an all time high relative to value stocks. Presumably, at some point, this trend will reverse and value stocks will begin to outperform growth stocks.

Do you have any thoughts as to how much longer the growth outperformance will continue? What conditions should an investor watch for, to be able to detect the switch when it occurs, to outperformance by value stocks?

Many thanks for your insightful advice.

Q: Regarding Paul's question on software to help with decumulation of assets, Cascades Financial Solutions purports to offer a cloud based Canadian product, although it does appear to be aimed at advisors.

Q: Hi 5i,

I have another question on TSLA. Do equity investor analysts look at future potential earnings when evaluating a company ? TSLA has over 1 million cars on the road (and more every day). I believe the majority have not purchased Full Self Driving, which is an additional $10,500 option ($cdn). If and when it is released, if a significant number, lets just say 10% of the current owners purchase FDS, the revenue to Tesla is VERY significant. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Q: I have been following the cirque du soleil story in the news.
I was surprised to see how much say the existing shareholders seem to have in the restructuring process. I thought the lenders were always in the driver seat in case of insolvency. Can you please provide your comments and clarify what s going on there. I understand it is not a public company. I just find the topic interesting. Thank you!

Q: Please advise of the risk in buying otc/pink sheet stocks. Thanks, Bill

Q: On the payment of Dividends. I have a TFSA trading account with a Canadian bank. The information they provide includes the dividend rate and if the dividend is paid monthly, quarterly or annually. All the companies except one in which I hold shares either pay their dividend according to the info provided by the bank and I get a notice from the companies if the dividend will be paid or altered in any way. The one exception apparently has a boardroom meeting once a quarter, decides which of their papers will be paid a dividend that quarter or not. It is hard to tell from their press release if the common shares which I hold will get paid a dividend that quarter or not. In the 4 yrs I have held this company there were 2 years of zero dividends and 2 years of payments every other quarter. I spoke with my banks rep on the matter advising the info they provide on this company is misleading - they do not really pay a quarterly dividend, in fact they just decide quartertly if they want to or not. The bank rep informed me that the onus to do research on the company was on the purchasers of the shares. The company in question is in Greece, which makes it difficult to research, plus if that company had a known history of skipping dividend payments for years, that that should be something material for the bank to include in their Company stock info. Where would you come down on the issue of what is material info to invite potential buyer of dividend paying equities.

Q: Peter,

Do you or any members know of reputable firms that sell financial planning software for the individual user? This would involve when to draw down RRIF, when to start CPP, clawback of OAS etc.

Thank you

Paul