Investment Q&A

Q: Hello,

I have invested in your stock portfolio (thank you) plus I added CAM and EFN (5% each similar with the others in the portfolio).
I have around 150k more to invest. Do yo suggest adding to the existing portfolio or adding new ones?

I was thinking about SGY, AVO, CXI, EH, CFN, WCP are they worth an entry point at their current prices or I should hold and hope for a dip? Do you have any other suggestions? I'm looking for growth, my biggest challenge is knowing when to sell.
BTW this is a non registered account.

Thank you for all your good work and patience
Marios

Q: Peter; After looking back on my trading activity for the past six months I think a new self support group
would be a good idea. Even though I am up roughly 25% If I had kept my finger off the buy/sell button
i would be up about 35%, not counting trade costs. So for those who have the same problem welcome
to TA.COM - TRADERS ANNONYMOUS.COM-. Stop watching BNN.COM , reading the Globe and the Post, listening to every pundit and paid shill about why you should buy and/or sell a stock. Buy and hold
dividend paying companies that have a long track record of increasing earnings and dividends. Buy ETF 'S that mirror the general economy both locally and internationally. Balance them equally and forget about them until you are really old- say 45- then rebalance every 5 years. This is likely as hard as quitting drinking, smoking or gambling but the rewards will be worth it. Meetings will be ervery Friday after the market closes
and admission is a copy of your trading records for the past week.
This is obviously tongue in cheek and publish if you wish and add any comments.
Rod

Q: Good morning; When might I expect to see stocks like Badger, Painted Pony etc on the BNN ticker tape ?

Q: Hi Peter and Team,
I consider myself a short term, medium to high risk investor with perhaps some long term investments (more long term once I hopefully make some money!). I only have $20,000. to invest and would like your opinion of the percentage I should allocate to each equity. Should I stick with 5%, 20 stocks, $1,000. each? Or perhaps something different 10%, 10 stocks, $2,000. each, to be more profitable? Also would you recommend a mix of small cap and large cap stocks in a well diversified portfolio?
Thanks for your Great Service!
Brenda

Q: My question is on market cap balance / diversification in a portfolio. When I google market cap definitions, I came up with the following from a couple of sources:

Micro: < $300MM
Small: < $2BB
Mid: < $10BB
Large: $10BB+

Using this metric, my portfolio split for Micro-Small-Mid-Large is 10% - 35% - 25% - 30%. Since I am a young investor (30) who doesn’t need cash anytime soon, making regular contributions to my portfolio, long time horizon and higher end of risk threshold, I was ok (prefer!) the small cap bias. Especially with 5i research giving me insights on everything I own.

Having said that, I was going through some old questions in the members forum and found one where 5i defines market caps as, based on Cdn / Us Equity:

Micro: < $50MM / $75MM
Small: < $250MM / $500MM
Mid: < $1BB / $5BB
Large: $1BB+ / $5BB+

Using THIS metric, my portfolio split for Micro-Small-Mid-Large changes dramatically to 1% - 9% - 20% - 70%. This strikes me as very conservative as over 2/3rds of my portfolio is large cap.

My questions are:

1. Is the second breakdown described the correct way we should be looking at market cap definitions?
2. What would you suggest is healthy Micro-Small-Mid-Large cap split for my general investment profile?

As always, thank you for this excellent service!

Q: Is it possible for you to post your conversation with Globe & Mail from yesterday on the website?

Q: Hi all,

I am certainly learning a lot from this site. Is there a preferred time of day to place an on-line order and do you recommend setting a limit price when placing an order? My orders are going through at the high of the day.

thanks,
Janice

Q: I often read a comment from traders along the lines of "this stock is not a buy and hold --it is a stock you trade for profits " Can you suggest a few stocks that you " trade for profits " Thanx Robbie

Q: I just thought I would add a bit to Jeremy's question in regards to making a " In Kind" transfer of shares from a margin/cash account into a TFSA. This move is considered a deemed disposition by CRA and any gain is taxed accordingly however, what is interesting is that if shares that are in a loss position are transferred to the TFSA CRA does not allow the tax loss (so gains are taxed but you don't get the tax benefit of a loss) something to consider before moving shares that currently are down.

Q: I bought some BIP_UN@$44.46 yesterday in last 5 mins of trading. LevelII at BMIS indicated a 3cent spread to the best bid. A large # of shares changed hands in the last 5 mins at$44.29 where it closed. How does this occur? There are a number of exchanges listed in closing TX's. Is there a big sell order placed which chews thru the bid stack? How might the seller decide on his limit price? Can you tell me if BIP_UN is in a TSX index?
Thanks for the excellent info you provide.
Ernie

Q: I currently own Sylogist (SYZ), Avigilon (AVO), Constellation (CSU), Amaya (AYA), Fair Isaac (FICA - Q), DH Corporation (DH)and Enghouse (ESL) and am thinking of adding Evertz (ET). I know you like all of these companies (not sure about FICA) but I have two problems.

First, are they all considered technology companies, even though some are software base, they service different industries and some focus more on haresare? Can a portfolio safely handle 5% holding in each of these companies mentioned or os that way out of whack?

Second, if there is portfolio overlap, which are the "best' ones to own, in terms of long term holds.

Thanks for the superb advice. I am now well on my way to be being able to thank you for a constantly better looking retirement!

Paul F.

Q: TSX over 15000. When you hold a few companies that have gains at this time , would you sell all or half of companies such as cnr and CNQ. I only own 100 shares of each.

Q: In researching MST.un I discovered the reit operators have an external contract. Why is this considered bad and an internal contract good?

Q: Hello, What Canadian banks do not use the HFT arena. What trading venue is safe. Flash Boys gives the average investor insight into what occurs with trades. How does any investor feel completely safe?
What are your thoughts on the stock (ESP) Espial group.
Thank you for your time.

Q: Exceptional service. I am 61 and through your advice trying to become more of an investor instead of a trader. Could I have your opinion on my stock portfolio which are all in either in a RRSP or TFSA. I will have a small company pension at 65 and I do hold some GIC's.
Thanks

1.Consumer Cyclical – 11%
CGX – 4%
NFI – 5%
RPI.UN – 2%
2.Energy – 19%
CPG – 5%
IPL – 3%
SGY – 4%
WCP – 7%
3.ETF (Bond)
ZHY – 4%
4.Finance
BNS - 9%
5.Industrials – 14%
E – 4%
NAL – 5%
WSP – 5%
6.Materials – 8%
CHE.UN – 4%
WEF – 4%
7.Real estate REIT – 5%
BPY.UN – 3%
HLP.UN – 2%
8.Technology – 10%
DH – 4%
DSG – 2%
ESL – 4%
9.Telecom
BCE - 5%
10.Utilities – 11%
BEP.UN – 5%
ENF – 6%

Q: Hi 5i team;

I am reviewing my self directed investment accounts, 2 tfsa and 2 non registered with a total of 180k. Should I look at them as separate portfolios and weigh them accordingly (5%) or look at them as one?
I have 29 Canadian and 13 U.S. stocks within the 4 accounts, my top 6 holdings represent 25% and the balance averages 2% each. The majority of the Canadian stocks are "5i" approved!
Thanks again,
Jim

Q: re: portfolio question

saw how Antoine went about asking you to review his portfolio. very organized and well-defined. Can you please tell me how I can go about searching which sector a specific stock resides in?

thanks for all you do

gord

Q: If possible I would like your opinion on my rif portfolio- equity portion..
All holdings are "in the black" and I am up ytd. 25,000 on my equity positions and 5000 on my bonds.
Total rif. acct value is 428,000 split 309,000 equities balance corp.bonds
the portfolios is
1.all five can. banks
2.atd.a
3.acq
4.bce
5.zwu
6.zhy
7.bam.pr.p
8.cnr
9.cpg
10.dh
11.hcg
12.ipl
13.ppl
14.rei.un
15.sjr.b
16.t
17.wcp.

should I cut back on say banks and broaden the sectors that I am in? I am 71, medium risk tolerant and the fortunate recipient of a defined pension so rif is not ultra critical.
I am a new subscriber and just blown away by the exceptional value of 5i. What a great resource! Thank you.

Q: Hi 5i Team,

You have stated in the past that in your ideal world, stocks would be classified with 15 sectors (itemized below). Over the past year, you have suggested target sector weights that a model portfolio should aim for. I am doing some mid year rebalancing / new capital deployment with my portfolio and hoping you can fill in your updated target sector weights for the next 6-12 months based on what you see in the economy.

Capital Goods / Industrials =
Consumer Cyclical =
Consumer Staples =
Energy =
Financials =
Health Care (CDN) =
Health Care (US) =
Information Technology =
Internet / Software =
Materials (Gold / Silver) =
Materials (Metals) =
Real Estate =
Retail =
Telecommunication Services =
Transportation =
Utilities =
TOTAL = 100%

(Risk Profile = 8 out of 10 with long time horizon, current portfolio consists of 45% small cap, 25% mid cap & 30% large cap)

Thank You.

Q: This is question about AAPL but also about what you think of stock buyback in general. How does a stock buyback fit into your criteria for feeling bullish or bearish?