Investment Q&A

Q: I am trying to decipher rules at various brokerages re: forex charges. I have a $C RSP at CIBC and recently made two $US trades on the same day. I was charged for the full value of the trades both buying and selling rather than on the net amount. Is that the normal practice? Seems like somewhat of a ripoff.
Thanks for your reply.
Larry

Q: This morning in a response to Paul, you recommended corporate bond ETFs for the bond portion of a portfolio. It seems to me corporate bonds are very closely correlated to equities so I'm wondering about the rationale. True that the bonds are less volatile but when equities tumble, so do the corporates.

Q: A comment for people setting up a new account:
If you have a small amount of money, Qtrade and Scotia Itrade each have 60 commission free ETFs. Qtrade 's include more US and more Vanguard funds than Itrade.

John

Q: This isn't a question but to point out to members who invest in mutual funds that they can buy some class F mutual funds or get rebated most of the trailer fees from Questrade. I cannot understand why discount brokers collect trailer fees when they are providing no advice? Questrade also charges commission on ETFs only when you sell them but not when you buy them, this allows investors to buy ETFs on smaller increments as they built their portfolio of ETFs.

Q: Hi,

I recently heard about some investment products which offer two times the upside potential but only one times the downside. One such product I heard has BAC as the underlying security. Do you know of any such product, where can we invest in such a product and are they a good product? Thanks

Q: Of the stocks covered, which ones would stand to benefit the most from a weak CDN $?
Thank you

Q: hey Peter,

I am throwing 31K into my TFSA. Should i buy a etf/mfund mix until it grows bigger and I can diversify it better?

Q: My reading of articles regarding the market activity over the last couple of days suggests a quantum shift in expectations: currency concerns, earnings lower than expected, potential deflation, more anxiety over China, etc. etc.
Can you tie the story lines together and share your views on what has really happened, why and where we are likely to go from here - flat, down or maybe another upward bounce. And how to manage one's portfolio in the days or weeks ahead

As usual, a grateful 5i customer.

Q: We started a family RESP for our grandkids in 2007 with 3 TD e-funds on an equal PAC basis (MER's are 0.33% to 0.51%). The account now shows Canadian Index Fund (TDB900) value at 30%, Dow Jones Index (TDB903) at 38%, and International Index (TDB911) at 32%; I sometimes think about rebalancing but think perhaps doing nothing is the best approach as the laggards may catch up in time. Would 5i have any different thoughts about the way these funds are invested? Funds won't be withdrawn till 2021 at the earliest. Thanks, J.

Q: I am considering investing $30K split evenly across the 20 model portfolio stocks. I have some questions regarding the portfolio. 1) Do you re-balance the portfolio to get it back to the 5% weighting and if so is there a particular date that you do so? 2) How often do the stocks held in the portfolio change? 3) Do you do a revision of the stock list on March 1st of each year? 4) Do you remove stocks from the portfolio when they become to expensive (dividend yield to low, P/E to high or some other criteria 5) Should I wait until March 1st/2nd to invest in the stocks listed in the model portfolio? 6) Are there any other considerations I should make in investing in the model portfolio? I have about $475K of other RRSP investments (diversified).

Q: Good day folks. a question regarding U.S.investments in a Canadian exchange etf, now that the Cdn $ is trading around 90 cents, does it make more sense to use a hedged etf in Cdn $ rather than a non hedge etf in either Cdn or U.S. dollars.

from cold Panama City Beach, Fla, thanks

Q: Hi Peter and Team:
I would like to start my own equity portfolio and emulate your impressive 5I equity portfolio. Most of the issues in your portfolio have run up nicely, so how do I start entering positions to build a portfolio? Portfolio size would be the same as yours with about 20 positions. Thanks in advance, Henry

Q: Hi 5I,
You have an excellent concept and service. Love it!!!
I'd like to know how you define a blue chip company and which Canadian companies do you see as meeting this criteria.
As always, MANY thanks!!!

Q: Hi Peter,

Would you 5-6 names of company which recently declares its first-ever dividend? what's your thought of those names?
Love your service and just renewed membership.
Thank you

Santos

Q: In a report dated January 14, 2014, TD Securities noted WIND Mobile withdrawing from the 700 MHx auction. The following is a precis of their 5 anticipated results.
1. A buyer sells the 700 to WIND
2. 700 buyer acquires WIND from Vimpelcom
3. Large new (foreign?)player acquires WIND
4. Industry Canada and the CRTC bump up the regulatory requirements and encourage WIND to buy the 700
5. Buyer just sits on WIND as investment.

Here's the quote that prompts the question.

" In all but the fifth scenario above, we believe that investors in RCI.B,T and BCE shares could face as much risk, or even more, over the next 12-24 months as they would have faced if WIND had participated in the auction directly. However, it would take several months for these scenarios to play out, and we expect a bullish tone in the interim..." They then raised the target price by $4 on RCI, $2 on BCE and $3 on T.

The price of BCE dropped by 12% on the Verizon news ($47-$41)
and the suggestion is that this could happen in the next year or so.

I had planned on buying BCE and T on a pullback, but I don't relish the idea of holding them under TD's warning. What do you think. I won't ask you to comment on their raising the target price after issuing a warning on what amounts to a 12% drop in the stocks! Thanks Tim...


.

Q: Kelly and Scot, re: CIBC fees for trading. Much appreciated. I called and did get the lower rate + a refund back to July for trades done w/higher rate. Thank you ! Paul

Q: As much as I appreciate the importance of diversification and investing outside of Canada, the low Canadian dollar is making it very expensive to buy into the US. Is it still wise to invest in the US or would it be best to wait for the dollar to rebound to maybe the mid 90 cent range?

Thanks and as always, appreciate the great advice.

Paul

Q: Re question by Vicki re not having MS Office to open reports (or anyone else) I have been using Apache Open Office for years. It's free and works well on PC or Mac. http://www.openoffice.org/
It may work for others as well.

Q: I have three td mutual funds from my wife's estate. Can blue chip,can mo.inc and. Div. inc. These have considerable duplication in their large holdings.all have increased by 50%+since the sell off in 2008/9. I realize that a diversified hold ing of efts might give me a better return at lower fees .However at my age 89I am reluctant to pay the capital gains tax about $15,000. These I investments and others are a supplement to my defined pension plan. Is there a formula for considering tax in relation to potential gain?

Q: I am unable to open your Jan. 4th and Jan. 3rd Reports as I do not have MS Office. Can you do it in another format i.e. PDF? Thanks.