Investment Q&A

Q: hi,5I
The question regarding the .05 cents. It intigued me also, I have seen 1 cent differences in trades also.
I think it is coming from the ''obligation '' of brokers to cover the the trades in the the ''best interest'' of their clients. So the first lot is sold or bought at .o5 less that what is supposed the ask or bid and the rest at existing bid.
I have lost also bids that were not covered for the same reason or only 500 units for a 10000 units bid... The ''creativity'' of the brokers never stops.
Everybody need to have their share of the ''retail''cake.
I have seen 1000 trades sold or bought per lots of 100 shares more and more. Also there is the practice of brokers to actually show on level 2 just 50% of the orders which is so wrong...
I have learned to live with it after so many years and moved on
I do not know if i am right in my suggestions, so any corrections will be welcomed.
Print at will

Q: There have been a few questions lately about dividends paid in USD into USD denominated accounts. In my experience with RBC, the USD-denominated dividends of BEP.UN were first converted to Cdn dollars at the official exchange rate by the company that distributed the dividends and then converted back to US-dollars at RBC's exchange rate. As a result, one gets less of a dividend than expected and, in my mind, this defeats the purpose of collecting the dividend in the USD-denominated account. Buyer beware.

Q: Hello
I recently sold some SU and one lot filled at 42.745. I thought stocks of this value trade at even penny increments. Is this normal or did broker make mistake?

Q: Just curious. Who are those that can't buy limited partnerships like BEP.UN? Thanks.

Q: I am wondering your thoughts on if options on the energy sector stocks would be a reasonable gamble given the current state of valuation?
Do you see cpg as a good stock or which others do you recommend with options
Also open to the service industries for this industry

Q: Good afternoon!
I am helping a friend move away from mutual funds, and I note on Bloomberg that the "Current Mgmt Fee" for this fund is 2.1%, and the Expense Ratio is 2.61%. Am I correct in thinking this means that 4.71% comes off the top here before valuation?
Also, over 77% of this fund owns other BMO funds, which I assume have their own deductions not included in the above. Is this also a fair assumption? Of interest, it says it is 2% to redeem!
Thanks! … Paul K

Q: Im 27 and Im looking to become financially independent VIA my investments by 35. I currently have $120,000 invested (90,000 in my TFSA, 20,000 in my RRSP, and $10,000 in cash) I also have $130,000 worth of equity in my rental property, which I intend to liquidate within the next few years to invest. I’ve got a mixture of investments including dividend stocks that’s are set up to DRIP, index funds, stocks that I researched, and some speculative plays. What do you recommend I focus on going forward? I’m looking at adding $2000/ month to my investment program. Thanks!

Q: I'm beginning to take socially responsible investing more seriously. If possible, would you please suggest 5 Canadian and 5 American companies that you consider to be socially responsible, AND at the same time, economically investable.

Q: CIBC Investor's Edge will allow you easily to journal Cdn stocks to your US side and collect the dividend in US dollars - no fees! 6.95/trade fyi

Q: Hi,
How concerned should we be over the increase in US corporate debt? There seems to be an increase in ratings downgrades and I am wondering about the overall effect of this in time should it continue.
As always, I appreciate your input and enjoy the Q&A regularly.
Dawn

Q: Responding to Richard comments of this morning at TDWaterhouse the security has to be in the US account for the dividend to be credited in US. At BMO investorline and Questrade margin accounts dividends are credited in US for US dividends.

Q: In response to Richards inquiry about US dividends. I deal with TD. I have an unregistered account. I opened a US unregistered account and journaled the shares over. I get paid Div’s in US funds for stocks like MG, CSU, MX, BAM and GIl. No fees at all. If I want to sell any sticks I journal the back and sell. Again no fees. I can do it myself or TD will do it for me.

Q: some time ago I asked a second question about Canadian companies that pay dividends in USD(eg bar its etc). my broker Scotia McLeod will only credit these dividends in CAD. despite the fact that I asked them to hold relevant companies in the USD side of my cash account. my second question was does 5i or any of its members have the name of a broker that will deposit the dividends always in USD. thanks for your help Richard

Q: This question my be too "personal", so if you choose not to answer I would understand. I find your responses to questions to be quite expedient, especially around earnings season, and exceptionally informative. I'm wondering how large your staff is?

Q: What is the gap between selling and buying back a Canadian company with a loss please?

Q: Hi Ryan,

Just read a recap of your appearance on BNN today. How come you do not own any of your past or current top picks?

Q: Commentators often talk about a company’s yield in reference to its “dividend”. Many companies have “yield” to which the dividend tax credit does not apply. Is there a website out there that lists the TSX companies that have dividends that attract the credit? Thank you. Bill

Q: I've been looking at your Key Ratios for company profiles and I see a lot of numbers but how can I tell whether these numbers are good or bad. For example Liquidity ratio, Total Debt to Equity is 1.00 good or bad. Leverage ratio of 5 , good or bad. Same goes for Price To Comparisons, Efficiency Ratio, Profitability Ratio etc.
Could you write a Blog on this?

Q: Hi

My question is on warrants and options.

Is there a web site that tracks when warrants and options are exercised?

I recently called a company asking if the warrants were exercised, but they did not reply. I know in the next quarterly report I will see if they were exercised but I would like to know sooner than later.

Gilles

Q: A recent article in The Economist ("Why everybody is concerned about corporate-bond liquidity - Investors expect to find sellers at all times, but dealers lack capacity to buy") predicted that the corporate bond market may be headed for trouble and a lot of BBB rated bonds may become junk. I own VSC ETF which contains about 33% BBB.
Looking at the daily VSC quotes I notice that "bid lots" have been vastly outnumbered by "ask lots" every time I have checked for the last few weeks. Is this a sign that the prices of corporate bonds (and corporate bond ETFs) are due for a drop?