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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: Hi Team, I realize that dividends are an important part of any portfolio and I know that 5I regards "Drips" very highly and I agree. Since I have no recollection of the investment world with high interest rate, how is "Dripping" affected in a rising rate market in the long run? Especially the utilities and the Bond Proxies.In the past how have names like TRP, FTS, EME performed. The higher yielding names in my portfolio in the utilities space are T and AQN. Should I keep dripping them? I am not worried about the other sectors stocks with dividends just the utilities.Thank-you in advance! Sam
Read Answer Asked by sam on February 02, 2018
Q: Greetings Peter and Team:
As i understand it real return bonds have three parts ( ie ) an issue price
a stated interest rate and an inflation factor which applies to the last
two. If they are purchased or sold before maturity the loss in the
value of the principal could exceed the inflation gain if interest rises
very much. Hank Cunningham thinks they are dangerous instruments.
Is my understanding correct? They are also very thinly traded at present,
which may change as rates rise. I am interested in USA Tips. Could you
please advise if they are much the same or can be redeemed before
maturity at par because they are treasury bills, or are they essentially
bonds like real return bonds? Also are TIPS readily available or are spreads wide? Please outline the traps with both but mostly TIPS.
Thanks,
BEN
Read Answer Asked by BEN on February 01, 2018
Q: On a business new channel I heard a comment about Utilities NOT being as "safe" an investment as we are generally lead to believe. I didn't quite catch if "safe" was referring to the stock price or the under laying business. You would think the safety of the under laying business would be based on expansion and price they can charge for their product. In terms of the proverbial "Utilities are safe defensive plays" would the stock brokers be referring to share price or the business model?
Read Answer Asked by Phil on February 01, 2018
Q: Dividend history web site: On Jan. 30, Peter asked: "I'm interested in reviewing the dividend history of Canadian pipelines, utilities, reits and other income stocks over the long run, namely through recessions and interest rate movements (the tagged companies are representative). I'm trying to determine if the dividends remain fairly stable or tend to fall under these circumstances....."
This site is quite reliable, current and accurate: www.dividendhistory.org
Read Answer Asked by Helen on January 31, 2018
Q: I was wondering whether your service has anyone that uses technical analysis or whether you only go by fundamental analysis? It seems that technical analysis would have shown a definite red flag with ECN on the chart months back when the stock had a very big reversal candle in early November. Perhaps you could consider bringing on someone with TA expertise to help with stock selection and opinions.
Read Answer Asked by susan on January 30, 2018
Q: When an American equity mutual fund can be purchased in 2 versions namely in Canadian dollars or in US dollars ,is there any advantage to purchase it in US dollars? If so what are the advantages?

In a global equity fund it must involved different currency. Thus is it preferable to buy a fund which trade in Canadian currency or if the one trading in US currency.
Read Answer Asked by Monique on January 30, 2018
Q: Hi,
A few days ago I read a question/comment from a member about trying to buy U.S. treasury bills at TD and was told No, he could not. I called TD today on another matter and also asked if I could buy U.S. treasury bills in any of my 3 U.S. accounts (Cash, RRSP, TFSA). I was similarly told No, TD does not offer them. She could not provide a reason and said they only offer Canadian treasury bills. Seems odd.
dave
Read Answer Asked by Dave on January 30, 2018
Q: Hello 5i.
I would like to ask about Portfolio Management as an Individual Investor.
This year I was going to implement an action plan that would engage selling at the point of stock chart breakdown......to help avoid 40% losses like Cineplex handed me in 2017/2018.

The Portfolio has been set up to be well diversified with 5i holdings and a host of other Canadian investments through all sectors.
It feels quite silly to just sit and watch individual names break up trends, breach 50 day and 100 day moving averages and continue to decline in price........taking down the Portfolio value each day.

Some of the names have been spoken about as lifetime holds but seem to be getting hit quite hard as some group of investors have decided to exit their positions.

With the cost of only 9.95 to enable a small investor to get out of the way, what is it about investing that sees recommendations implying Hold these names for the longterm?
(BAM.A, BIP.UN, FTS, PPL, IPL, ENB, BCE, PSK)
Watching 2017 gains slip away hardly makes sense to me.

What is 5i perspective on dealing with markets that seem to be taking away gains thru declining stock prices? How and When does an investor decide getting out is the right action (before I get to the point of maximum pain and then sell)?

I have had a few stocks go to zero. Clearly I can not determine the difference between a short term blip and a developing permanent loss.

Thanks for you insights
Dave
Read Answer Asked by David on January 30, 2018
Q: Good morning Peter, Ryan, and Staff,

I notice that 5i often includes a stock in a different sector as compared to the TSX. For example, you have GSY in the Consumer Cyclical sector, but the TSX has it in the Financial sector. Could a case be made to include GSY in the Financial sector? (Has it grown a lot since 5i first started following it, and perhaps has become more "financial"?)

I am confused when looking at a stock that 5i doesn't cover. For example, several members recently have expressed interest in Pollard Banknote PBL. The TSX lists PBL as Consumer Cyclical. Would you concur? When in doubt, where can we determine the appropriate sector for a particular stock?

Thanks in advance for you insight.
Read Answer Asked by Jerry on January 29, 2018
Q: I am rebalancing my portfolios which include two nonregistered accounts (1 Cdn $ and 1 US $), a TFSA and an RRSP. I am 70 years old and collecting both CPP and OAS and some of my OAS is clawed back each year. Do you have a chart showing what is the best suited for each of these accounts. So for example are my dividend accounts best to be held in just my RRSP or perhaps in my TFSA as well? What about growth or value stocks, bonds, interest income or EFTs – where do they best belong?
Thank you for your advice.
Dave
Read Answer Asked by Dave on January 29, 2018
Q: Do not chuckle at my ignorance here please, but my question here is on ETF and Mutual Fund fees bought in self directed brokerage portfolios. If a posted managed fee (ie 1.5%) where does that withdraw fee show up and is it taken our annually or monthly? I never see a charge on my monthly statements for the etf management fees. How are they calculated, on the purchase price or a share value on a set date? Thanks
Read Answer Asked by James on January 27, 2018
Q: Hi,
On Jan 23 someone asked about insider transactions info.
CEO.CA has a very easy-to-use insider function (sign-in not required).
Just enter the stock symbol in the CEO search bar; then click on the SEDI tab.
As an example, here is the link to Stella-Jones page.
https://ceo.ca/sj
Read Answer Asked by Irwin on January 24, 2018