Investment Q&A

Q: Responding to Ernie’s question about stock quote software.

I use a program called MSMoney quotes which downloads stock quotes (and currency exchange rates) from most major indexes. The quotes are directly uploaded into MS Money which microsoft has made available for free since they no longer are developing it. I use MS Money to track performance, dividends, and other transactions for stocks spread across 9 different investment accounts. And MS Money allows me to export my stock data into an excel sheet I wrote which performs sector, currency and risk analysis on my entire portfolio.

Hope this helps.

Q: Hi %i Team,
This is a followup question to my May 16 question regarding bail-in regulation. Would bank money market funds be considered bank deposit and subject to the bail-in OR are they considered mutual funds and outside of the bail in?
Thank you for your great service.
Regards,
Danny

Q: When mutual funds report yearly returns are these usually net of MER and any Management fees or are they reported before expenses?

Thanks

Paul

Q: In response to ernie's question. Google sheets works well. Here is the formula to get the current price ( chnge symbol for each stock of course, and u. S. Exchanges just need the symbol:
=GOOGLEFINANCE("tse:nfi")

And another i found useful was the symbol to convert u.s. Dollars into cdn:
=F7*GoogleFinance("CURRENCY:USDCAD")

Q: Hi THE great team, I guess estimate is part of the market. Who make them ? How accurate are they ? Over or under estimate cause volatility ? How to judge a reasonable one ? Thanks. Victor

Q: Do you know of any software available that can track stock quotes other than Quicken pro. I have used Quicken Pro for many years but now they will discontinue the stock downloads u9nless one purchases their 2017 program. Cost is about 84.00 per year. It works pretty good except it does not correct stock prices for different exchanges. (such as US dollars). Thanks. Ernie

Q: My portfolio has been sitting unchanged for some time (2 yrs), many winners are 5i recommendations, some not so much. With that said, my portfolio is well underperforming the model equity portfolio. Below are my current holdings. If I am to sell off those not included, and change the weight to match those in the model portfolio, how would you go about executing this? Big bang? Are there names you would wait to get into today, or those that you are considering a change in the near future? The value is about 500K, so the trades(from my perspective) will be significant. % are approximate on the add side. Your advise would be really appreciated.

AYA-6.3 (%) - Sell
AVO - 3.7 - Sell
BAD - 3.5 - Increase to 5%
BNS - 6.3 - trim to 5%
BDI - .6 - Sell
CGX - 4.8 - Sell
CSU - 5.6 - No Change
DSG - 4.0 - Sell
DHX - 3.7 - Sell
ENB - 3.5 - Maintain
ENGH - 4.2 - Maintain
XTC - 1.05 - Sell
HCG - 1.1 (ugh) - Sell and burn transaction receipt
MUX - 4.6 - Sell
PKI - 6.4 - Trim to 5%
PLI - 2 - Sell
SSL - 3.8 - Sell
TOY - 6.7 - Trim to 5%
STN - 3.8 - Sell
SJ - 4.1 - Maintain
SLF - 5.2 - Maintain
SYZ - 4.1 - Trim to 3%
TOU - 3.5 - Sell
WCP - .7 - Increase to 3%
Add: AEM 3%, AIF 3%, ATD 4%, CCL 5%, CLS 3%, CXI 3%, GUD 3%, MG 5%, MX 3%, KXS 5%, NFI 3%, PBH 5%, SIS 5%, T 3%, WSP 4%

Also - (I have asked about as many questions of late as I have traded) - for RESP for 4 yr old, roughly 12K in there now, where would you park this given building a portfolio of names is a challenge with the limited funds.

Thanks,

Eric

Q: My approach to investing is simple. Many analysts insist that Canadians have too much of their money in Canada and should be investing elsewhere around the world. I believe the best stock market in the world in the U.S. So my approach has been to invest in Canadian companies that do business in the U.S. and elsewhere (TD, Enbridge, Magna, CCL.B) These companies give you international exposure, you invest in CDN $ and you get the dividend tax credit for non-registered accounts.
Am I missing something?

Q: This will be for the benefit of Patricia and all that are concerned or think they would like to ask more question. IT IS A STRONG ENCOURAGEMENT TO do the following:
Call CDIC at 1 800 461 2342 you will be surprised how easy it is to speak to someone.
YOU CAN ASK:
-about the specific investment that you are planning to do they will tell you if they cover this investment. THEY DO NOT GIVE recommandations.
-About how much money they have to cover any bankrupcy.
-When you will be reimbursed in case of a bankrupcy
-How to make sure that you will be reimbursed capital AND interest
_IF they had experience with past bankrupcy
You will end up appeciating the quality and value of this service.
Print at your will
CDJ

Q: If I were to buy a GIC from Home Capital under 100000, what would happen if they went broke? I understand that the GIC is insured, but for how long would the money be tied up while all the paperwork gets done? And I guess I wouldn't get interest during that time?
Thanks

Q: I do options in U.S. markets, but find low volume and low open interest in Canada. Do you or members know of liquid Canadian stocks suitable for covered write. Thanks.

Q: Both these companies report in USD. They are listed in NY and Toronto. Is the Toronto price basically a function of the rate of exchange?

Do these companies have a hedging strategy to protect the Canadian shareholders?

I suppose that an investor concerned about foreign exchange losses should examine the hedging strategy of any company holding assets outside Canada.

Q: PPA does not pay a dividend but the most (if not all) of its holdings do pay a dividend. What happens to the dividends the ETF operator receives from the companies it hold shares in the ETF?

Thanks,
Harry

Q: Dear 5i;
My financial planner charges me hst on his management fee which i`m sure is typical.
The MER would be the ME (management expense/fee) plus hst plus accounting fee`s plus whatever right ?Thanks.
Bill C.

Q: There was a article in the Financial Post regarding Canada's REITs. Basically saying to stay away from them and that they are over valued. Do you believe this is true?

Q: When someone is down on a stock like MDA say 20 percent and you advise the holder to hold then for someone who does not yet own the stock would that then be a buy for them? After all they would be buying at 20 per cent less than the person to whom it has been suggested they should hold. Thanks.

Q: What is my true yield, if I do not cash / take my dividends that I receive whilst holding a stock, (a) the dividend divided by the cost / share or (b) the dividend divided by the adjusted cost / share (where my cost / share is reduced by the accumulated dividends received)?

Q: Last night I watched an Australian money manager talk about the benefits of Smart Beta ETFs. He mentioned the following which I expect are traded on the Australian exchanges but might also be traded in N America.

Yield shares high income, ishares FI balanced risk, Vanguard dividend appreciation as examples.

Are these the same as low volatility etfs we know about here - or are they another type of etf?

If so, what is your opinion on this type of etf for safety and likely better long term returns?

Q: Hi Peter and Team

I own most of 5I balanced equity portfolio in my RRSP account and the following portfolio managed by Manulife / Standard life for RPP and TFSA.

19- Canadian Bond Index (SLI) 25%
344- Canadian Equity Growth (Connor, Clark & Lunn) 13%
26- Canadian Equity (Jarislowsky Fraser) 14%
49- US Equity - SSGA 14%
25- International Equity (SLI) 14%
11- Real Estate (SLIRE) 10%
677 - Global Absolute Return Strategies (SLI) 10%

I would like your opinion comparing these two portfolios especially in regard of risk, growth prospects, fees, and principle safety .Time horizon 5 to 10 years.
Thanks for your great service

Q: Hi Peter,
It's an interesting question by Brian re: Mega Bears, and your response makes total sense. I've always appreciated the view of Jim Rogers but he has been looking for total collapse as long as I recall. To your point eventually he will be right. A telling comment I read about Marc Faber is that he has correctly called 20 of the past 3 recessions. Where do you put the views of David Rosenberg in all this ?
Thank you. Paul