Investment Q&A

Q: Hi,
I am new to your website and service but find it great so far. I have not seen any discussion of stop loss orders. I use them on occasion to protect profits and cut losses, but sometimes with misgivings. Sometimes they save me money from a deteriorating position that I might otherwise be ambivalent about selling. Sometimes I just get stopped out and have to buy back higher. I am always trimming and adding and hence may be viewed more of a trader than a long-term investor, but that is my style. C'est la vie! Anyway, do you use stop losses in your portfolio management or do they not fit your approach to the market?
thanks
dave

Q: Hello 5I.
I was interested in your reply to Adam re his question about Loblaws as a "forever" hold.
You reply stated that a "forever p/f" should have exposure to at least one hi-quality Co. in each sector.
Could you give us your thoughts on one (or two) potential "forever" Cdn companies in each sector.
Much appreciated, thanks.

Q: I am about to start converting the cash in my sons (he is 21) TFSA and RRSP. He has $1,050 in each account right now and is in his budget to add another $4,000 to $5,000 in 2018. Should I start him with companies like PBH, SIS, ZCL? or should he start with an ETF or two for immediate diversification? Whatever he buys will be long-term holds (unless they are in the model portfolios in which case I will either hold/sell/buy as directed by 5i when you adjust the portfolios) but I would like to see his accounts growing steadily as well and help him get excited about investing. Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thank you as always for the great service and information.

Paul

Q: David Driscoll was on BNN Market Call early last week, and while killing surplus time at the end of the show he underscored the importance of eliminating correlation risk in a portfolio (also mentioned in his point #6 here: http://www.bnn.ca/david-driscoll-s-top-picks-august-21-2017-1.835439 ). If I understood him correctly, this would mean not holding significant positions in multiple stocks within similar industries or with overlapping product/service offerings, presumably so that if one industry got hit, it wouldn't pummel two or more stocks at once and do damage to the portfolio as a whole.

Is this the thinking behind you not holding CSU and OTEX simultaneously in any of your model portfolios? Are there any [other] noteworthy correlations of this sort between any of the other stocks you cover and routinely recommend?

Q: I currently have a little over $250,000 in cash which I want to park in a "no risk" account.
One of the big banks has a deposit rate of 1.15 for $250K and 1.05 for less than $250K. My first question: Is this my best option or can you recommend something else? My second question: should I be concern with the CDIC Deposit Insurance limit of $100K and spread the deposit over 3 banks?

Q: In considering Vanguard and BMO ETFs for possible investment, my question is about the choices between CDN-hedged and, I guess, "non-hedged" variants of US and foreign ETFs. My impression is that the latter typically offer better returns. But does the risk of random currency exchange fluctation trump that advantage? Many thanks.

Q: The question of what to do when one is worried about the possibility of a sharp market correction often arises. In the past you have proposed increasing the portfolio allocation to cash. As a complement to that strategy, what about tilting the portfolio more toward low beta (less than 0.5, say) stocks? I’m thinking of stocks like L, ECI, CSH.UN, KBL, SJ, SLF. How much protection - qualitatively speaking -do you think that would provide against the possibility of a sharp correction of, say, 10-15%?

Q: Hi, Are there any companies out there that provide advisory services on stocks to short? It can be US based or Canada based advisor but i am interested in shorting US stocks. Can be a newsletter provider as well. I am mostly interested in shorting for hedging purposes either shorting stocks or shorting with options. Thanks

Q: Is there no summary for September 2017 - thank you- Hanna

Q: Hello Team,

I have a regular CDN TFSA, with $43,000 invested, and i have a portion of cash allotted to a USD TFSA with $15000 invested. Between the two i need to generate safely with minimal risk $300 dollars per month? Can you suggest some income producing strategies that could help me obtain my goal? please include some equities.

Are the US and the CDN TFSA'S treated the same for tax purposes, when withdrawing investment income? charge me as a two part question!

Thanks,
Stephen

Q: Hello. Good news this morning from Grande West receiving $40 million dollar order from a US company. Any idea why this company has not moved from the Venture Exchange to the TSX yet?

Q: This is further to the question asked by Maurice on Oct. 10
My brokerage (BMO) converts dividends from US $ to Can. $ for Canadian stocks that pay in US $. I have asked that the dividends not be converted thinking that the brokerage must be making money on the automatic conversion. Can I demand that they not convert the currency? If there any benefit in having them convert it?

Q: I am new to this website but really enjoy the Q&A. A lot of people seem to target 5% as a full position, or 20 stocks. Your portfolios target 20-25. Over the years, my target has been 12 -15 stocks, or 7-8% being a full position. No particular reason, other than willing to take a bit more risk and easier to manage a smaller portfolio. In any event, how big would you let a winning position grow before you started trimming back to your original full position? SHOP being the current example of a stock that really took off but is now falling back.
Thanks for your great insight.

Q: How do you recommend investors handle cash balances while they are waiting for a compelling investment opportunity? Presently, I use a combination of bank "high interest" e-savings accounts (.75% at RBC; 1% at Tangerine) and the "Cash optimizer" within Scotia i-trade accounts (.25%). How can I do better?

Q: I think I noticed earlier in one of your answers to a question you stated you did not think a Canadian could buy a us based mutual fund.I am looking at buying "IAT" which is a etf based in the US.What is the difference between buying mutual funds in the US and etf's based in the US?

Q: If I own in a U.S. dollar account,Canadian cross-listed companies which pay a U.S. dollar dividend,do I receive the dividend in U.S. dollars free of any exchange fee and the dividend tax credit?If the answer is yes,where can I find a list of these companies?I have a U.S. dollar trading account with T D.Thanks for your help.

Q: Greetings 5i,

I realize you cannot give individual portfolio advice on this forum, but was hoping to ask a question regarding portfolio structure and exposures (rather than on the holdings themselves). However, if this question is inappropriate for the public forum, please disregard. If appropriate, please deduct as many credits as you see fit.

My stock portfolio consists of 30 holdings in the following structure:

- 19 Canadian positions covering all major sectors of the TSX (16 large cap dividend payers and 3 small cap "higher risk" names).

- 5 positions held in US Dollars (all large cap "blue chip" names) for currency diversification and to augment sectors I feel are far stronger in the US (Healthcare, Tech, etc.)

- 4 equity ETF's covering USA, Developed Europe, Developed Asia, and Emerging
Markets (1 ETF per region).

- 2 bond ETF's covering Canada and the US (1 ETF per region)

- No single holding exceeds a 5% weighting

I am 36 years old, debt free, conservative (although not totally adverse to risk), and consider myself a "buy and hold" investor.

In addition to the aforementioned stocks, my portfolio includes GIC's, gold bullion, and a small cash position in both Canadian and US Dollars.

In general, does this structure seem appropriate to you? Do you feel as if I have missed some region(s) and/or investment type(s)? Is there anything you would suggest for further diversification?

Thank you.

Q: Patriot One has just issued some warrants. I have never purchased warrants, but have a general understanding of how they work. I can buy them easily enough from my online broker. Are they just as easy to sell (considering there is enough volume)? I'm just not sure on the exit strategy. Thanks. Really enjoy the questions asked, and responses received.

Q: I am new to this forum but have been 'investing' faithfully for over 30 years (what that really means is that I have been funding both mutual funds and the investment advisor buying them - last year that was $9,000 for the investor for me and my husband combined for the mutual funds to earn net 4.4% (the SandP/TSX was at 17.51). I'm tired of the high anxiety fear factor he generates for 4.4%. For the fee, he can earn us between 2 and 4% in coming years and insists this is a good thing.
Why wouldn't I buy Berkshire Hathaway A with the money currently invested in mutual funds and the advisor and invest on my own using a couple of your portfolio models with the money I have stashed? At this stage I am 56 years old so not a big risk taker and want to preserve what I/we have. With thanks, Wendy

Q: Do you think REIT's should be owned in ones portfolio? Does a 10% weighting seem to much? Also can you rate the following from best to worst as I am looking to get rid of one. GRT, REI and CRT.
Thanks