Investment Q&A

Q: Just a further comment on short term parking rates. CIBC is offering 2% for deposits into a high interest (LOL!)account,regularly paying only 1.05% or so, but payable only until the end of March. Only worth the transfer if you have a substantial amount (i.e hundreds of thousands).

Q: I can't seem to find any info about the "dividend seminar". Could you please tell me where I can find out more?

Thanks

Q: Member's question on rates. I use Peoples Trust daily interest savings account for the short term. The rate has been at 1.8% for many months. I also use their DI savings TFSA at 3%, again, in effect for a over a year.
They have had a special 2.45% rate on a one year GIC for a few weeks.

Q: Good morning Peter and the 5i Team,

Just a suggestion to Peter who recently asked a question about parking some cash for 6 months plus. He quoted an interest rate of 1.25% for "a high interest (LOL) investment account". Oaken Financial (a division of Home Capital (HCG) which is in 5i's Model Portfolio is offering 1.75% on their savings account. I have found dealing with Oaken to be very pleasant and they are certainly efficient.

Q: In responding to Scott's Jan. 7 question about CRH Medical, you mention that "names like PHM are 'roll-up' companies. What is a roll-up company?

Q: I read in the news that EXFO, an opto-electronics instrumentation company in Quebec City, wants to buy itself back (translating from the Journal LesAffaires). It says that the stock is jumping. Can you explain to me why it is that the stock jumps in that case? Why wouldn't the company buy my shares back close to the current price? I bought my shares around 4.80 so I've been 15% under water for the last while.

Q: This is a response to Dave's question about Globeinvestor Gold. I too have been using this service for many years and was very satisfied with the Portfolio and especially the Screener. It no longer works with any level of accuracy, so I've spent some considerable time looking for alternatives. For the Portfolio management part, I've bought a three year subscription to StockMarket Eye ( I think it cost $74 cdn for three years. It can be down loaded for a free 30 day trial before buying. It is a very good Portfolio manager and allows you to report in numerous ways. I also subscribe to Finviz.com for an exceptional screener. Although it is a global screener, it handles the Canadian market info very well.(the subscription is free).

Q: i constantly read about a 20yr recession about to happen due to the debt of the usa federal government or is this just fear mongering. thanku

Q: A general question. I have been using globe investor gold for information and especially liked the portfolio feature. Recently I have had difficulty with the service and want to switch to a user friendly model. Are there any you or your readers would recommend as an alternative?

Q: will u have a mobile app for apple anytime soon

Q: What is the criteria for choosing a stock for a DRIP portfolio ? Assuming the company I consider has a 5i Research report, What attributes should I be looking for (low debt, clear growth plans etc. )

Thanks!

Q: I want to feel comfortable with my holdings when interest rates eventually begin to rise. Could you simply categorize the following industries into one of three categories. 1) Greatly affected negatively. 2) Affected moderately negatively 3) Not much effect 4) Will affect positively.

Financial - Banks, Insurance, Investment co's

Utilities - Gas/electrical , Pipelines, telcos

Manufacturing ( includes technology )

Consumer - Durables & discretion

Resources - Gold + Materials + Oil & gas.

Pref shares

Any general comments also welcome.

Many thanks

Paul C

Q: Hi guys, Happy New year. I just have a quick question. Whenever I sell a US security in any account (CA, US, TFSA, RRSP), I get charged US tax. The tax is next to nothing, for example I sold $10,800 of a security and they charged me 24 cents. Out of sheer curiosity, what is this tax?

Also, I thought the only US tax charged or withheld was when a Canadian received a dividend in a non-RRSP account. Does the US government also withhold/charge tax when a Canadian sells a security?

Q: Hi 5i team,

For a high growth investor with a long-term investing horizon what would be your recommended portfolio allocation between micro, small, medium and large cap stocks?

Thanks as always,

Jon

Q: I have a Riff pay't coming to me on Jan. 15/15.(need to raise about 9.000. to cover Riff pay't.) And I am wondering what I should sell. Do I sell a stock that is in a negative position or one that is in a positive position. What would you recommend, or one that has no potential for growth. But how does one decide which is the best to sell. My stocks are mostly dividend earning stocks. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks for a great site. Ernie

Q: Hi Peter and team

Today, Jan 2, Rob asked for information sources re: preferred stock. I would recommend prefinfo.com published by Hymas Investments It lists all Canadian preferreds by ticker symbol with dividend information, redemption dates, retraction dates (if applicable),type(perpetual, retractable , etc) and misc info such as whether the dividend is cumulative or not. Also in the comments, there is sometimes information on the rating. I hope this helps. Note the symbol is a place holder as your format requires a symbol.

Ross

Q: Good Morning
I have a self-directed investment account separate from our registered RIF, LIF and TFSA accounts and would like to one day take over management of the registered accounts. I'm wondering whether there would be much difference than the account I have. Do you know of any resource that would help me with the transition and management of the accounts such as annual payout minimums, taxes, etc.? I have not found the banks that helpful.
Thanks for all you do.
Thanks

Q: Most analysts warn that you should never hold leveraged ETF's long term. But I see some very large annual returns that are very close to the "three times" the return of the underlying ETF. Is there anything wrong with setting aside 10% of one's portfolio to try to supersize returns in sectors of high conviction. I am thinking of FAS (financials), TECL (technology) and CURE (healthcare).

Q: Hello,
I am learning about Preferreds and am wondering if you know of any websites or books that are a good starting point. Does anyone compile a lot of real-time data on the features of various issues, brand new issues, etc? Thanks.

Q: Do you know of Martin Armstrong's cycle theories? If so, it'll be nice to know what you guys think of it and what you think of business cycles in general.