Investment Q&A

Q: Hi 5i,
I had seen a report you produce earlier this year listing the companies that cut their dividends. I thought you were going to update it regularly. I am having difficulty locating it in the website. Would you please provide the path to it. Thanks

Q: Yesterday I noticed my book value of BEPC had dropped by about 30%. This morning my online self directed platform still hadn’t adjusted my shares owned to reflect a 3 for 2 split. How long should it take for my brokerage firm to show the correct number of shares owned and why would a company do a 3 for 2 split in the first place?

Q: I was wondering if you have any recommendations for some Jan'21 bounce back stocks after late 2020 tax loss selling?

Q: What is your opinion regarding a general cash percentage allocation in a portfolio? If you had some would you suggest an alternative vehicle for a cash holding like an EFT or a mutual fund to hold a cash instead of banks which offer a dismal rates for straight cash holdings.
Thank you for your service. It has been always very valuable for me.

Q: When Peter last appeared on BNN Market call, I’m sure he mentioned that in fact stocks that are more expensive to buy outperform stocks that are cheaper. Could I get a clarification and if true, an explanation for that statement. I know some folks may stay away from an Amazon or Shopify simply because the price for one share seems so high. Thanks

Q: I became a 5i subscriber approximately four years ago and one of the first companies I bought was SHOP at $69. I sold my position last week for a $28,000 gain. At the time I never heard of Shopify, thanks for the service you provide. Needless to say I will be a subscriber for life.

Q: I usually see headlines such as these: J.P. Morgan Poaches $1.2 Billion Alex. Brown Advisor Team

I understand the advisors are moving over but does it mean their customers whose money they are investing/managing automatically move too or is the headline meant to show how much assets the team was managing? I never really understand these poaches but I see a lot of them happening in the US.

Thanks

Q: Hi gang,

With all the talk about ESG I was wondering if it could be added to your stock info page? I realize it may not factor high in your evaluation of a company, but a lot of fund managers are referencing in their answers to questions about stocks.

For example today's guest on Market Call used it in her response to a Q on ATD, stating that because they sell cigarettes in their convenience store, she would not invest in the company.

Thx again for all your great work!

Q: These Canadian banks and probably others seem to be strong proponents of ESG principles in running their companies. It seems clear that at least some aspects of ESG impacts profit negatively and therefor share price. A recent Financial Post column suggests the growth of this approach will erode the performance of companies and ultimately the Canadian economy. At the same time some investors see it as essential in choosing investments. Has 5i written about this trend and what weight do you place on it in making investment recommendations? Your opinion would be very helpful.

Q: We are 100% fully of the view that a great company is going to be a good investment, long term, despite whatever the market does.
Re your response above to Antonio.

Thank you, I have over the few years of reading your answers taken this idea to heart and am now much more comfortable with market or company moves.. I sleep well at night and have avoided some emotional market mistakes as a result.
So thank you again and good holiday to everyone.
Peter

Q: The takeover date is fast approaching and based on the current stock price, it doesn't look like the market is anticipating a higher offer in spite of minority shareholder opposition. Question -- Shares of GC are being held in a registered Employee Share Plan. In addition to receiving the proxy to vote for/against the deal, there is also a form included with the proxy to tender shares at the $39 price that is date sensitive. If shares are tended at the $39 price and then a higher price is later offered, will the shareholder that tendered the shares at $39 still receive the higher offer? The employee would prefer to vote against the $39 in anticipation of a higher offer but would not want to be in the position of being stuck with the shares by not tendering them on the form sent with the proxy. Than you.

Q: Your thoughts on:
1. Stock Rover versus any other of your suggestions for stock & portfolio tracking sites/businesses (that include tracking Canadian stocks (e.g. TSE) stocks)?
2. How secure is it to have these companies (e.g. stock rover) track our individual portfolios? They are gathering such personal financial information on us that i imagine other third parties would love to get their hands on- How much risk of our data ($ personal holdings/worth) being shared, or not so much?

Q: Hello 5i Team
I am calculating 3, 5, 10 and 20 year compound annual growth (CAG) rates for dividends for select companies.
The questions I have are:
1 – Are CAG rates calculated for the company fiscal years (i.e. the Canadian Banks fiscal year ends October 31) or the calendar year (December 31)?
2 – Are CAG rates calculated for the dividend declaration date, record date or payment date? For some companies the payment date is after their fiscal year ends (i.e. CNQ with a year end of December 31 and the fourth quarter payment date is January 01 of the following year).
3 – Do you know what Bloomberg/Eikon/TSX use in their calculations?
Thanks

Q: Hi 5i,

Do you know where you can find the "downside beta" and "upside beta" for TSX listed stocks?

Thanks
John

Q: From today's Wall street Journal:
Tesla’s 125-fold increase isn’t even the best gain since it listed. That honor, at least among the top 3,000 stocks in the U.S., goes to Xpel Inc., which makes film to protect car paintwork. It was a penny stock with a market value of a bit more than half a million dollars when Tesla came to market, and has since soared almost 170,000%, leaving Tesla in the dust.

I cringe when I read this. I bought 400,000 shares of this company at less than 15 cents in 2011. Just goes to show you, that it never hurts to hold on to some position. Alas I sold after making a 10 bagger.

Q: Can you recommend the best way to purchase a Canadian equity in-trust for a child that is not my dependent?

Q: Steve asked about donating shares to charity. Would this site be a good choice as well: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/donate/donate-securities/

Q: This is a comment to your answer to Kapil regarding deductiblity of interest. I alawys thought that as long as the money that is borrowed be used to generate income "irrespective of it is a line of credit or a mortgage" then interest on this money is tax deductible.

Q: Hi, the GICs of smaller banks through TD direct investing such as Equitable, Home Equity and PC Bank offer much better rates than the big 5 and insurco banks. I know they are CDIC insured up to $100k but would still like to invest knowing they are decent and relatively secure companies. Could you comment on or rank the 3 mentioned in this regard and any you would pass on, Thanks

Q: Hi 5i team,
I will use XBC as an example here. It is now approaching $1B market cap. You guys always seem to reference this as a magic threshold that can bring in bigger investors that either don’t like the small cap space or are not permitted there by their mandate. I am curious if this is a key threshold for just Canadian companies or is the threshold typically higher for U.S. companies, where the cap sizes are proportionately higher.
Thanks again for the insight.
Dave