Investment Q&A

Q: Where on the website do I find the short sellers report? Ie. stocks subject to short selling which should recover strongly in January.

Q: Everyone. When there is a downturn in the market I look for positives. This year I am still up more than 11%. In the last 10 years my house value has increased by a factor of 3 and my investments have increased by a factor of 12. Yes the stock market has gone down recently but in the long term - I am significantly better off. Have a great holiday season. Clayton

Q: Good morning,

I have recently discovered CDR's and would like to hear 5i's opinion of them. I am sure someone would have already asked so feel free to post a link to any answer you've already provided.

A few specific questions I have though, would include a) what benefit does CIBC get for creating these (e.g. seems like the kind of product that would have a mangement fee somewhere, but they don't....) b) is the NEO exchange a legit (e.g. acceredited, safe) exchange - I imagine it is but just want to hear it from you c) do you think they are liquid enough?

Thanks in advance. - Jeff

Q: I was wondering if 5i would see a benefit from helping establish regional diy investment groups. I have had on my to-do list to get a face to face investment group going in Ottawa. Meeting other 5i members in Ottawa would be of value. Your forums don't really get enough traffic for me to post there....

Q: I am wondering whether I should purchase some MSFT stock or the new canadian depository receipt MSFT for one or more of the grandchildrens RESPs that I have set up. What are the nuances that I might be missing between the alternatives. I have no other US stocks in any of the RESP's Thank you for your thoughts.

Q: Hello,

In reply to Berry's question to drip or reinvest dividends back into ETF's or stocks.
You have to advice BMO investorline to reinvest dividends. It is not automatic.
PS, they only drip full shares.
Hope this helps

Q: They say history doesn’t repeat but it rhymes. Well the last time we had a PM named Trudeau, we had supply shocks, monetary expansion, and runaway inflation, which was followed by double digit interest rates and much pain. Now I just saw a headline that a senate staffer leaked estimate of 35% inflation increase next year. What would your general advice be to investors in the event that this plays out this time as it did back then?

Q: Wondering when looking at asset allocation, not every sector can do well in all environments. As we see, growth stocks are under pressure as are utilities, renewables, emerging markets, and gold hasn't been doing too well either. Some fund managers brag that they are only in sectors rising and doing well--a reason to invest in their funds/expertise. In a reflationary environment the sectors I listed are not going to do well. However, my problem with holding only a couple sectors is that this can change at any time. So.... what are your thoughts on having this diversification where some things go up and others go down. My experience is that you never know when things will switch. And, isn't a good company that was recommended three months ago still a good company today, just facing other headwinds. OR..... is it foolish to own utilities and these growth stocks in a reflationary environment. Would it make sense to add to utilities/growth stocks as they go down?? Thank you for your insight.

Q: Hi! I have BMO shares in Investorline, but they do not have the option to reinvest dividends.

Can you advice me some ETF where dividends are automatically reinvested?
Thank you!

Q: Hi 5i
I thought I had a handle on the Mutual Fund Changes occurring currently but seems not.

Talking about the availability of some mutual Funds...........Banks preferring to not make available products from other firms..........so Advisors don't have to learn about them as KYC Rules require.

Here's the thing. I just tried to buy (add to current) BMO Small Cap Fund (BMO31136) through BMO Investorline and find I am no longer able to do so because of these changes.

I am getting the sense there are changes going on that are not positive for investors despite the desire of the Regulator.

Can you point me to an article/ information or tell me what's going on with Mutual Fund availability? As I try to deploy capital today and cannot, it does not feel positive to this investor.

Thanks
Dave

Q: Main question: Is there a sense of roughly how long it will take 'clear' the class action suits being brought against LSPD?

Also:
- Do you have a sense of what a defense would cost? 5-10 million?
- Are these lawsuits enough of a distraction to *impact performance* or will they simply be an exercise for accounting and a few of lawyers?
- Lastly, what is the success rate of these sorts of lawsuits in extracting compensation?

Thanks!

Q: You didn't really answer Ian's question about how brokers make money.


When I started trading the commissions were 3% with a minimum of $50. They have slowly made their way to zero with some brokers up here in Canada. How are these brokers making their money?

Q: Hi, I am interested in learning more about options trading. While I’ve dabbled with it for years, (selling puts and calls and buying calls), I have a very superficial understanding in this area. Are there any courses you could recommend excluding those that require prerequisites. Thank you.

Jason

Jason

Q: Pardon my ignorance if I’m missing something with this question. I understand that the market worries about leveraged companies in an inflationary environment, and that is a legitimate concern with real consequences. But at the same time, as the price (in dollars) per unit of value increases, so must the price of those same companies that have a tangible value. Holding a company whose stock price might decline in the short to medium term due to market worries but whose fundamental value will eventually be measured in more dollars (ie a higher share price) due to that same inflation seems a whole lot better than holding cash whose buying power erodes as the price per unit of value increases. Is that a fair argument?

Q: Gregory asked for a list of books on investing. I just came across this list on the Kiplinger website, which may prove useful.

https://www.kiplinger.com/investing/601813/best-books-for-beginning-investors-2021-22

Q: NEO Exchange CDR product. I cannot determine how the hedging works by adjusting the CRR exchange ratio, being the actual shares held. Do you follow it.
It appears that both the exchange gain and loss are eliminated by adjusting the number of shares held.
What is the cost of having this hedge. Where is that disclosed.

Q: Hi 5i Team,

Would you be able recommend any good books on general investing in the stock market? Looking for something to read this holiday break.

Thank you in advance.

Q: Hi everybody,
I know you don’t trust much analysts’ price target, but I’m still trying to get a picture for NFI.

Your Market Data shows recommandations from only 3 analysts 1Buy/1Hold/1Sell. TipRanks have 7 (4B,2H,1S), Yahoo Finance shows 8 analysts (6 Buy in November), BMO Investorline gives at least 6 recent price targets (mostly cuts). This is a bit frustrating… How often are the Market Data recommandations updated ? Can we rely on up to date Key Ratios?

Thanks.

Q: Hello 5i,

Fresh off a short attack on NVEI the US government has acknowledged they are looking into short-selling. It will be the usual debacle that accomplishes nothing.

Unethical short-selling while launching documents to the general public will only stop when disgruntled investors take matters into their own hand and remove upper management staff in organizations such as Spruce Point Management. Their philosophy is to repeat the NVEI and LSPD short-selling fiasco as a strategy to make huge profits.

It is truly unfortunate that human greed exceeds logical life decisions, It is amazing how many push this limit when it comes to money.

I'll be chilling in Cuba with a few drinks next week. Hopefully Ben Axler sits beside me. Now THAT would present an interesting life decision.

Cheers,

Q: Dear 5i,
Currently, I use a Canadian discount brokerage which charges $9.99 per trade. I generally do not trade much and I am not a professional trader, but I am considering having one or two more accounts where I may trade more frequently. I read an article which stated that some "commission free" brokerages may make money by/from:
1. foreign exchange fees
2. delaying market data
3. sending trades to 3rd parties
Can you help explain how a broker makes money by delaying market data?
Can you help explain if #2,3 may apply for accounts held with a Canadian "commission free" broker? Would this also apply to a Canadian "non commission free" broker?

thanks