Investment Q&A

Q: Many of small/mid cap companies 5i covered have been sold off a lot lately. Some due to poor earnings, and some have no reasons at all. It looks like money is hiding under the large cap right now. Do you think the growth story will end here and investors should shift their investment towards large cap companies? Also market sentiment is so bearish, I think it usually presents a good buying opportunity. (Contrarian Play) Do you agree? Thanks!

Q: re Joe's suggestion. Is there any US/CDN tax consequences whether in an RRIF or straight cash account?

Q: Hi Peter and Ryan,

There are a few informative finance sites that have been an excellent resource for me over the years, so I wanted to share with fellow 5i members:

The first is Milliondollarjourney.com, which has articles about just about everything and tracks an individual's journey to $1mm net worth by the age of 35.

The second is mrmoneymustache.com, which provides great insight into how to better think about making and enjoying money while on the journey to financial freedom.

The third is a newer site - everydaycapitalist.com. It appears to be taking a similar approach to the million dollar journey, but is more aggressive in that the writers (two everyday working professionals) are tracking their progress towards having $3mm by the age of 40.

Share if you feel these sites may add value to other 5i members as well. 5i of course still ranks at the top of this list :)

Q: Could you clarify Joe's suggestion re buying an interlisted large cap like RY in CAD and then having the broker move it over to the US side. Is there no currency exchange on the value of stock transfer? Sounds too good to be true going into USD! But hope it is. Thanks.

Q: What affect does a bought deal subscription receipt offering have on the price of the stock? Curious because DIV is closing on one.
Thank you for all of your great info.

Q: Hi Just a comment/suggestion regarding Pierre 's question about best way to change CAN in US and the other way around. Members could check this article from the Can. couch potato called Norbert’s Gambit: The Complete Guide and see if beneficial. I have done it many times at Direct investing and TD also. Share if you wish and have a great week all. Dominic.

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/2013/12/03/norberts-gambit-the-complete-guide/

Q: When you mention for example no more than 3 percent weighing in a stock does that mean if you have a $500,000 portfolio no more than $15,000 should be allocated to that particular stock? So it is always a percentage of total portfolio?

Q: What is the best way to convert CDN$ to US$ in order to buy US stocks? Broker fees are expensive. I do buy CDN ETF that hold US stocks but I would like to hold some US stocks directly.
Thanks.

Q: I sometimes read that analysts increase a company's outlook from "market perform" to "market outperform" OR from "hold" to "buy" but they lower the company's target price. They increase the rating but lower the target price?? You would think the target price would go up. I do not understand. Thanks.

Q: I have a non stock specific question but Enbridge is a good example. Can you explain how stocks balance out across borders when they trade in different national markets in different currencies. In the case of a stocks like Enbridge for example how do the various markets reconcile say a rising interest rate environment in the U.S. versus a falling or steady interest rate environment in Canada? There is the currency question but there is also some intrinsic different potential reactions to a steady dividend payer in these different rate scenarios. So how does the Mr. Market "know" what to do? If there is any literature you can point me to that would also be much appreciated. Thanks once again.

Q: Can you explain what it means- and the possible impact of the comment I heard on BNN regarding CXV in BNN with regard to a 40 cent financing that comes off restriction that may trigger a sell off.
Thanks.

Q: Forward earnings estimates are easy to get. Do you know of an accessible site providing forward cash flow estimates? They are a crucial element in energy buy-sell decisions. Thanks

Q: The market was way down today, but not all sectors. Mining was way up. Oil and gold did very well, too. What puzzles me on days like this is that everywhere I look all the 'experts' are saying to stay the heck away from commodities, that there is no sign of increasing demand from China, that they don't yet see a bottom in oil (Iran has yet to release all its oil onto the market) and gold is unlikely to go anywhere fast. So who is buying all these stocks on these days, and why? There seems a kind of obsession among Canadians for oil and gold in particular, based on all the questions you and BNN get on them. My portfolio is up 15% YTD because I have no gold, oil or mining stocks. Why are people buying them? And is it possible to know why are they all piling in on mining stocks today?

Q: This is a comment only I could have been much better off sticking to 5i portfolios and not worry about all other stocks.
Now I learned it hard way.

Q: I think I know the answer to this question but I will ask anyway. I bought NGD IMG and TA as recommended by David Stanley BTSX several years ago. All have cut or reduced dividends and my capital has been seriously eroded.Time to move on and sell. Thx for selling FM. I cant believe several months ago this was promoted at over $16.50 by the brokers. What a joke.
Thx for all you do.

Q: Last week, on BNN, David Cockfield was asked about West Fraser. Part of his answer, he said that he is looking at some forest stocks, and then quickly mentioned that he wouldn't say which ones because he doesn't want competition. What does that mean? Is it that portfolio managers need time to accumulate a stock they like, and so, don't want to attract buyers during this accumulation phase? If that's the case, do you think it may often be that guests on TV pretend to like a company less than they really do? I'd love it if one day you wrote a blog about techniques/tricks people on Baystreet sometimes use (stock recommendations, price targets, motivations behind BNN appearances, articles, newsletters). I feel it could help us small investors stay the course and hold stocks longer.

Q: Good morning to all at 5i team!

I'm a novice trader and I hope my question is not too obvious.
I like to watch the "analyst estimates" on the Wall Street Journal website and I wonder how realible those estimates are and who provides them ?
Fo example, the average target price for BIN (Progressive Waste Solutions) according to the Wall Street Journal (aka their data provider) is set to 31.38 (see http://on.wsj.com/1gH1FaE).
This is lower than the current price at 35.6.
What's your though on such estimates ?

Thanks !
François

Q: I use a discount broker and if I buy an interlisted stock, say BlackBerry, on the TSX why can I not sell that same stock on the NASDAQ?

Q: Appears to be a considerable amount of back handers are going with this company. You seem to always look at it from the latest financials and make a recommendation from that perspective. I guess my question is: when does one stop going by financials and make a decision on gut feel? Let's not forget guys like Bernie Madoff!! Do you guys always got by reported numbers or do you sometimes read between the lines and go by instinct? Just curious.

Q: Just a comment.... I'm so grateful for this service you offer. I've learned so much from reading Q&As and have made decent money (double the TSE) since I joined a few years ago. You are innovators to an amazingly helpful product and you are the BEST (IMHO).
Simply, YOU ROCK!!!