Investment Q&A

Q: Cud you advise if there is a site that would have a calendar of Canadian stock splits for 2015 updated quite regularly.

Tnx for your great work.

Q: "We’re increasingly of the view that quarterly earnings are mostly noise,” she (Eileen Mercier, director at IFC) said. “I tend to think of the income statement in most industries as a work of fiction. It has become so complicated that most people can’t understand them or read them anyway.”

If we de-emphasize the importance of the quarterly report, in part because it is unaudited and therefore open to manipulation, should we therefore pay far more attention to the audited annual report, especially the MD&A section?

I know that 5i looks at the quarterly numbers partly because so many questions come from subscribers on assessing reported and expected numbers. What I'm curious about in the 5i process is what percentage of the company research process is put into analyzing the annual reports of say the last 5 years of an average company?

The whole article on quarterly reporting is here: http://business.financialpost.com/legal-post/the-case-for-ditching-the-quarterly-financial-report-mostly-noise

Q: Goodmorning Peter &all;
I sold 2 covered(Oct.)call with a strike price of 300$.Collected 3200$ of premium.I also sold 2(OCT)PUT,strike price of 280$.Collected 4,000$ of prem.
I would appreciate your comments.Thanks.

Q: I'd be interested in your thoughts on the moderate use of leverage. To be invested in something like the Model Income Portfolio with a timeline of at least five years.
Thanks for the great service!

Q: I understand what P/E and EPS mean but I do NOT understand what "trailing" means when this term precedes either of these acronyms. Further on the G&M Watch List, these terms also, at times, include an * (asterisk). What is the significance of the asterisk?

Thanks

Q: Much discussion lately on BNN re divergence of the Transports
and the Dow. It is believed to foretell a correction.
However, one guest said that Dow Theory is outdated.

Your opinion please.

Q: Hi,

You've mentioned on BNN you invest in hedge funds in Canada run by friends and former colleagues. Any of them you would recommend as part of a diversified portfolio?

Thanks.

Q: how long is the lineup for a portfolio review and the cost. tkx pat

Q: From the Tuesday Financial Post an amazingly candid inside look at the stock analyst business: http://business.financialpost.com/investing/investing-pro/five-investing-tips-from-a-former-sell-side-analyst
I'll never forget the Big Bank analysts who had buys on Sino Forest; they had visited the tree plantations and seen for themselves with conviction, presumably.

Q: Hi, I trust you folks at 5i are well and in high spirits? I have incorporated the Growth Porfolio as part of my TFSA. Here is the thought. If the market were to suffer a substantial correction; say the TSX tanks 20%, how much will the Growth Porfolio likely to fall by? I don't know what the average beta of the Porfolio is, but I guess it might be north of 1.5 but are there any mitigating factors, say people will take the opportunity to pile into some of the constituents or will everything just drop like in 2008? Thanks as always. henry

Q: Hello Peter & Co,
(1) On your summary table you indicate a start price for each security. If you also indicate a start date, we would have an idea of timeline.
(2) Big Correction: The Tech bubble and the 2008 downturn were both preceded (a few months earlier) by the flattening (even reversion) of the yield curve....we're nowhere near that as the yield curve is fairly steep.
(3) Sector allocation: If I only held the winners (like someone suggested), I would hold NO Energy; but that would not be wise, as you said. I reduced the Energy content last fall to 4% of my portfolio to energy producers (TOU,VET and WCP) and 6% to energy infrastructure (ENB,IPL,KEY and PPL).
For your Info
Thanks,
Antoine

Q: Your link that you posted in my previous question on sector allocations and definitions (http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/portfolio-builder) explained things perfectly to me. I would recommend this site you referred me to highly as an educational tool. I also wanted to say thank you again for creating and managing this forum. I tell everyone I know about the great work you do here: I will definitely be renewing my membership.

Q: Hello 5i,


I need help in finding a good stock tracking software, one that considers different currencies and dividends also, as they are included in my portfolio. Is there software available specifically for this purpose. I do not need one with budgeting and all that other stuff. Your help will be much appreciated.


Thanks,

Q: It seems every time I turn on BNN, I hear some pundit spouting baseball analogies: as consensus goes, we are apparently in the 9th inning of a bull market, maybe even the bottom of the 9th. A few managers have commented that we're batting into extra innings and that a correction is long overdue. What does all this mean, in real terms?

It seemed to me we had a correction in October -- my portfolio took a good 10% hit, and although I've recovered nicely, and have even outstripped what my "pre-correction" gains were, it seems I can't differentiate from a "correction" (with a small "c") as opposed to THE CORRECTION, (all caps). Pardon the cheekiness, but ... really ... !? they leave themselves open to such interpretation.

I would dearly love to hear from Peter what his take is on all this correcting that's going to be happening. Should I shore myself up now, before the flood hits?

In 2008-09, I was not fully invested, and so never took the hit that many of my colleagues and friends did, simply because I had a lot in cash, so I have no personal experience on what it feels like to be corrected.

Thanks, as always, for your advice.

Q: What are the Stocks (companies) that have given special or extra dividends (other than their regular dividends) and how many times and how much in the last two years?

Q: Hi,
Great appearance on bnn!!
For a portfolio management approach I understand the importance of setting position limits being 5%, 10% and trimming positions if they breach a limit. However, holding a company for years can result in a position being 20% of a portfolio etc.
What argument can you make to sell or trim positions in a good company that pays a dividend of 4%+ but would be too large of a weighting your intended position limits.
Bottom line question: I know some people have a certain great stock that might be 20%+ in their portfolio. Those are difficult to sell/trim when they pay a nice dividend too.
Thanks

Q: Could I get your opinion on these types of products? The idea is to prepare for the next correction or bear market, or is it better to just buy GICs? These ETF products seem very complicated and returns have not been that great.

Q: Is there any reason you know of that has caused the upward move of this stock today. Thanks.

Q: Dear Agent.Is it possible for me to get a copy of your Model Portfolio. Eddie.

Q: Is there a site that gives accurate PEG ratios on a forward earnings basis? Thanks for your help