Investment Q&A

Q: Hi 5i,
Not a question, just a further comment for Brenda who asked about selling half on a double. I purchased Keyera in the low - mid 20's and was tempted numerous times over the past several years to sell as it rose in share price - but didn't. It underwent several sharp (for me) corrections, but I hung on. It recently topped at slightly under $100. Didn't sell. Now it is down to about $80 or so but is also going to have a 2 for 1 slit in April. Meanwhile, I get a modest cash dividend every month with which I have the option to re-deploy elsewhere. I will likely hang on to this one indefinitely (i.e. pending some compelling structural change) and see where it goes. The short message from this long missive is merely to reinforce your point that patience can indeed be a virtue on many occasions. Look to the fundamentals and be patient and good things can happen - but NO guarantees........
P.S. I know also that I am not unique in this experience - I think many if not most of your members would have very similar stories.
Publish only if you feel it is worth it. Best of luck to Brenda!

Q: Mr. Dalsin has said in three different calls/interviews now that a dividend, by the company, is one of their milestones once they reach the 20-25 million EBITDA. Do you still consider the initiation of a dividend as being one of the strongest indicators of a company's strength?

Q: Hi Peter,

I just renewed my subscription. I believe you have a great service and I value your opinion(s).

I would like to make a few comments about improving (in my opinion) the service:

Instead of receiving the 24 questions on an annual basis, they should be given on the renewal of a subscription (I renew in April but received my 24 questions in January that I could use prior to not renewing if I so desired). If a member renews for 2 years they would receive 48 questions. If someone has used up the 24 questions early and wants additional questions they could simply renew for another year and get 24 new questions.

I believe too many members are taking advantage of multiple questions in one. I think there should be a charge of 1 question if there are 1 or 2 companies in the question. A charge of 2 questions for 3 to 5 companies and a charge of 3 questions for 6 to 10 companies. A question would not be answered for more than 10 companies.

When you answer a question about a specific company, I believe you should give it a grade (A to F) the same way you do for stocks in the portfolio. Remember, it is your opinion we are after. Giving a grade indicates your opinion on a consistent basis even though you do not follow the company closely. A company such as SGY may have had a rating of “B” in June 2014 and a “C-“in March of 2015. I understand how your grading system works. Using it on all questions would make your answer more understandable.

And lastly, I still think you should have 2 rating systems. One for the strength of the company (what we get now) and a second rating for the current stock price. “A” if it’s a good time to buy and “F” if it’s a bad time to buy. Please remember, these are only your opinions. Members must make the final decision to buy/sell a stock. The second opinion will greatly assist members in making the purchase/sell decision at the current stock price.

Thanks again for a great service.

Regards
John

Do not post if you feel it is not warranted.

Q: At what point does it become ridiculously nonsensical to buy a small number of shares? Since the new TFSA limit restricts us to $5500 once again this year, I was toying with the possibility of picking up CSU stock -- which essentially would give me 12 shares. I have been wanting to own it for a while, but am too happy with the ones I own to sacrifice any of them. This is the only new money I could put into my account for at least 6 months. Perhaps I should look elsewhere?

Q: On the questions from Gary re. transfer to TD: For same reasons, I transfered recently from other institution to TD. The branch can handle the paper work for you and Web broker will reimburse the fees. You need to simply call them and let them know how much once transfer to TD is done.You can them follow the Great suggestions/ideas from 5i.
Good luck
Jean

Q: "Friday was the TSX Index revision day, so stocks that were added to the index (such as Prometic PLI) showed significant volume because of index buying."

Another contributing factor to unusual volume would be that Friday was a "triple witching day".

Q: Hi

I was wondering how come there was so much volume on stocks this last Friday, March 20.

Thank you.

Q: Hi Peter and Team
I'm currently preparing for your portfolio review and nearing retirement. My concern is that my advisor has done little to diversify and several funds in my RRSP have high Mer. The portion in segregated funds is over 3%.
I would like to move everything to my TD self direct RRSP account but I don't understand the charges that may apply. Do you suggest I hire a new fee based advisor to assist or would TD look after the transfers. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks to the entire team for your service.

Q: WHY MY BROKER DID NOT FILL MY ORDER??
This morning I placed a buy order for aw.un with a limit of $28.11 for 75 shares. The order was placed at 12.13 PM. My broker did not fill my order claiming all sorts of excuses such as 75 is an odd lot or the stock is illiquid.

Here are the trades noted from the chart of another broker for aw.un after I placed my order:

12:45 PM 200 shares at $28.10
1:15 PM 600 shares at $28.10
1:20 PM 1,200 shares at $28.10
1:40 PM 109 shares between $28.07 - $28.20
3:00 PM 474 shares between $27.99 - $28.18
3:40 PM 25 shares at $28
3:55 PM 600 shares at $28.00

Please advise me whether my broker is justified in not fulfilling my order. As well, can you advise me what to do? I have complained to customer service and was told the stock is illiquid and my order was for an odd lot.
Thank you for your service.

Q: I participated in a private placement and the stock certificates have been sent to me. How do I get them into my td waterhouse account, and how long does it take to get them into the account. thanks

Q: I note in your email news report this morning that you are overall positive on prospects for the markets in general. Your report notes that the current P/E for the S&P500 is 19.37, which I understand is elevated but not of great concern. I see elsewhere, however, that the CAPE for the S&P500 is quite elevated at about 28, which some people in the business, notably Prem Watsa of Fairfax Financial, are taking as a glaring warning signal. What is your view on that?

Q: Good Morning Peter and Team, how significant is the US debt (~$18Trillion) in the US plan to raise interest rates ? Won't that minimize the rise rate over the next years and keep all the dividend payers relatively strong ? or does the strength of the US economy override the extra interest they will pay ? Thanks, Paul

Q: Hello Peter

I'm looking at ways to reduce volatility of my portfolio. I've had some success shorting. However I'm finding it very tiresome to always be on the look out for shorts. Can you recommend another service or a strategy...or even a book that can help me with this process.

Also it would be wonderful if you offered a short portfolio to compliment your other portfolio's on the service.

Thanks

Nicholas

Q: Hello, I have recently reviewed the management fees on RRSP accounts I have with an investment firm. I have reviewed the funds that They have me currently invested in and have found similar mutual funds with RBC, all D series funds. I have calculated the loss due to higher MER and am shocked by he difference it would have made in my accounts. While I have money that I invest on my own, I like the idea of having some stashed away in managed funds (I like doing my research on smaller companies and trust the bigger names to the professionals). The "d series" funds with RBC have considerably lower MER. Is that the best way for me to reinvest my mutual funds once I move them over to RBC? Is there a better or cheaper way to invest those funds? ETF's you would suggest? Is there anything out there that would suit my needs better than the RBC D series funds? I have approx 1/3 of my investments tied up in these funds at this time with my current investment firm. For what it's worth I suggest anyone who has Mutual funds with an investment firm look at the MER for each fund they are invested in. There are cheaper ways to have your money managed, the best I found so far are RBC D series funds. If you have a better suggestions, I am all ears.

Q: In response to James, thanks for the great comment and the humility to post it. I remember reading somewhere that the stock market is designed to make the majority of investors look foolish. With my increased wisdom and trading skills it now takes up to a week before the stocks I buy diminish in value.

Q: Just an FYI for your readers:

http://web.tmxmoney.com/article.php?newsid=74064046&qm_symbol=AYA

Q: Apparently FM owns a "back-in agreement" with Yorbeau Resources, a small miner with a recent cascade of insider buying, a recent drilling restart, and a lengthy share price decline. What is a "back-in agreement" and how could it impact both shares?

Q: Surge reported last on Feb. 11/15 with its management numbers - ie: NPV, etc, etc. What is the deadline for their 4th qtr.& year end audited financial statements? Thanks.

Q: Hi what companies are doing more acquisition and how do you find them.
Thanks..

Q: Hello Peter and team, a member recently asked a question regarding an article on 5i research blog "30 Cash Cows of the Dow". I can't find the article, could you tell me where to find it? On which date was it published? Thanks, Gervais