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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: Sorry this is going to be a long question and I suspect your response will be market timing never works and stick to your guns. Everyone seems to be singing off the same playbook indicating that the majority of economies are enjoying synchronized growth and it’s full steam ahead. That may be the case but have to believe that on the balance of probabilities markets are due for a fall. The question is how do you minimize risk for taxable accounts, which enjoy sizeable gains? I am reluctant to utilize derivatives given the cost and complexity and no assurance of success. If you had to sell certain stocks in a taxable account, what would be the nature of those stocks? Any particular sector? What securities would you view as core holdings? What do u think of structuring a taxable portfolio with a mix of Cdn dividend paying stocks and high growth technology stocks? This would provide flexibility in controlling tax, given that a drop in the former class of securities would not matter as the dividend income would continue and you could control the gains generated by the latter class. Thx
Read Answer Asked by Patrick on November 24, 2017
Q: In your answer to Joe this morning about analyst ratings, you are less than positive on the process. This does not surprise me, but it raises the question about analyst predictions for a company's quarterly reports. The market seems to place great stock in the consensus estimates (and this seems to be getting worse in the last couple years), instantly slamming a company that misses on EPS or whatever metric. Are the analysts that make up "the consensus" the same analysts you were talking about? Why does the market think they should correct, particularly when (I assume) they don't have all the information available to the Board members; and, as you mention there are usually some ulterior motives? Just curious.

Thank-you
Read Answer Asked by grant on November 24, 2017
Q: It is always interesting how numerous analysts will give a stock a "buy" rating or , in the worst case, a "hold " rating. Seldom do you see one step up to the plate with a "sell" rating. As you have stated repeatedly, for every buy there must be a sale on a stock. Is there a behavioral bias with these analysts in favour of buying vs selling? Are they afraid
to recommend a sell in case a stock suddenly rises in their clients' accounts? Do they
feel their credibilty will be on the line? Joe
Read Answer Asked by Joseph on November 23, 2017
Q: You recently answered another question in the following words.
you may be best served by a well-diversified conservative (or even balanced) portfolio. For your equity component (what ever allocation you decide) stay focused on large-cap dividend payers and weight defensive sectors generously.

If I want to stay with Canadian stocks only, please name your top 10 stocks that would fit this bill.

Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Curtis on November 23, 2017
Q: Apparently,
"The National Post sold the rights to the Financial Post information services that included the Dividend records and a lot of information that they produced. (Convertibles, warrants, New Highs, New Lows) That list would have been part of the information services for which the Financial Post no longer has the rights."

Read Answer Asked by Russ on November 23, 2017
Q: Looking for your analysis of broader Canadian market and how US policies will shift our businesses in next couple years. I've only invested in Canadian companies in the past 2 years and have done very well. I'm looking to shift into US equity .... And transferring funds to be able to trade in US. What's your take with currency fluctuations...is it worth it?
Also looking for some 2018 picks.
You can deduct however many credits.
Read Answer Asked by Mohammed on November 23, 2017
Q: Both of us retired in our mid 80s, the market has been good for us, so far. We are looking for investment that will preserve our capital, and give us some income, perhaps little capital growth or the least amount of damage in case of interest rate increases. Would segregated founds or JICs, be the right area to look to?
We would greatly appreciate your suggestions, it's been very useful in the past. Regards, J A P, Burlington
Read Answer Asked by Joseph on November 22, 2017
Q: Hello,
I had asked previously as to whether you would be providing some recommendations of stocks that may become very good value due to probable tax loss selling. You did provide a response (*below). Could you let me know where best to find this information on you new web site?
Thanks,
Brian

*Yes, we do a screen and a blog outlining tax loss selling candidates every year. This should be done in a few weeks or so
Read Answer Asked by Brian on November 22, 2017
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