Investment Q&A

Q: How often are the prices reconciled between a USD listing and a CDN$ listing of the same stock? If a bunch of Americans buy CNI and push up the price, is that immediately reflected in the CNR price? and vice versa? And how often is the exchange rate adjusted? Is there ever a time when they are out of alignment?

Q: Please give me your thoughts on trading on the NEO Exchange. It seems to be a relatively new platform.

Q: Hi...do you put much stock in the "death cross"? I see the 50mda has dropped below the 200mda for each of PBH, WSP and XIT (ya, I know technicals aren't as reliable when applied to ETFs). What is your opinion on both the "golden cross" and the "death cross"? Are either or both reliable?

I trimmed all three on the way up (in keeping with my asset allocation target ranges). I have already added a bit to XIT, with more planned next month. I was considering adding to PBH and WSP once things settle down in a week or two.

Your thoughts?

Thanks...Steve

Q: Do you recommend the use of Canadian Depositary Receipt (CDR)? What are Pro's and Con's?

Q: In a January 21 answer to a member’s question on SHOP, you stated that the P/E for SHOP was well over 100x, whereas the poser of the question thought it was close to 30x. I think the confusion is rooted upon 5i basing its calculation on adjusted earnings, whereas the member was likely considering GAAP earnings. I raise the point only because I have recently seen others state the P/E of SHOP as in the 30s as well, including in the G&M, and I think it would be helpful for 5i to be clear about which earnings it is using for its calculation. (I hope I am not wrong in my understanding of the situation).
Personally, as a DIY investor, the P/E is often one of the top 2 or 3 data points I use when making a buy/sell decision, and I would be tempted to guess this is true for many other members. For what it’s worth, I agree that the adjusted earnings are more relevant in the case of SHOP. I would very much welcome any further comments or blogs by 5i that discuss adjusted vs GAAP
earnings.
Thank you for your more than excellent service. Hardly a week goes by where I don’t at some point read all the Q&A , reports and updates on your site. I have learned much.

Q: Hi Peter, & team,

Thank you for that timely "One of the hardest things" message banner on the member page. I was going to ask that very question. I am going to read that thing every time I want to press the sell button.

Thanks.

Q: I was wondering about your thoughts/comments on Jeremy Grantham’s comments that a huge crash is coming. I know people say things like that all the time, but obviously Jeremy has quite the background and history. Thanks

Q: Hi Peter and Ryan. Given the state of the world these days do you have any sage advice for investors regarding American and Canadian markets. Possible sectors to avoid or concentrate on. I realize this seems like speculation but the probability of a Russian invasion is certainly trending higher each week.

Thank you,
David

Q: Lately I have noticed a number of questions regarding P/E. Most sites quote TTM (trailing 12 months). While valuable, you have mentioned that you find "P/E-forward 12 months" to be more helpful. I believe the 5iR company data page shows TTM.

Could you consider, in one of your next website updates, including P/E-fwd 12 months? If yes, great. If no, can you provide a website that does show this number.

Thanks for your help.....Steve

Q: Do you have a hard and fast rule for taking profits into a spike? So many stocks peaked in November and "round-tripped", many giving back their pandemic moves. I have heard -triple-sell-half, rebalance above 7%, etc. I find that they are easier said than done. Just need to add another methodology to my quiver as I have seen too many gains melt away.

Q: Regarding the currency in which dividends from BAM Brookfield Asset Mgmt are paid:

I see you recently stated they pay in USD.

However on their website it says
“ Registered shareholders who are Canadian residents receive their dividends in the Cdn dollar equivalent, unless they request to receive dividends in U.S. dollars.”

So it does not seem to be based on the currency in which you buy the shares. Can you confirm?

I am waiting for my discount broker to confirm that I can receive them in USD.

Q: Hi 5i,

For all of the companies you cover here, when you rate stocks, what is the most important factor you consider first? Do you actually meet with the senior management face to face on regular basis, or occasionally, or never? In any case, how you rate their management teams?
Thank you very much!

Q: Good day team. I own LSPD and follow KXS. As both are good companies I am thinking that one day I will either add to LSPD or open a position in KXS. The difficult part is comparing the value of these companies when they have negative earnings. Analysts often comment on the multiple of price to sales but this does not show up on a stock quotes. 1) is there an available source that provides this information, or 2) if I have to calculate it myself is the formula: stock price X shares outstanding divided by revenue?

Q: My question is regarding the posted returns of ETFs and Mutual Funds. I thought I read, years ago, that MF returns included the dividends for anything over 1 year...for example, for 3 and 5 year returns. For the posted 1 year return or less, they were without the dividend.

In my RBC Direct Investing, it is quite clear....it states the "unrealized capital gain". So I take that number, divide by the time I've owned the security...then add the annual dividend to get the Total Return/Year.

So, can you please clarify whether the standard practice is to include or exclude the dividends in the posted annual returns?

Thanks....Steve

Q: Shares of AMZN and some other high priced shares are available at very much lower denomination on the TSX. Do these have a significant hidden cost that would give the clear preference to buying AMZN on the US exchange? Thank you for your answer. Cheers

Q: In my RRSP account, I have SBRCY and LUKOY, which are NYSE-traded ADRs for Russian Sberbank and Lukoil. If the ADRs get delisted from NYSE, will I continue holding shares in these two companies and be eligible for dividends? If the answer is yes, will I still be receiving the dividends through my discount broker (BMO Investorline) or by some other means? TIA!

Q: You stated CDR's would be considered as foreign content. Then if you owned over $100,000 in an American company listed through CIBC you would have to fill out a T1135 even though it is bought through a Canadian exchange? This was why I liked them so I could increase my foreign content without having to do the T1135.

Q: Good Morning 5i and Happy New Year,
You answered a question earlier this morning and I am not totally clear on the answer. You mentionned that at a certain point in one's portfolio it would be wise to diversify into real estate, commodities etc.

I was confused because normally a portfolio would contain a certain percentage of commodities , reits, etc. That makes me think you are referring to something else. if so, what is it you would be referring to? Here is the post from earlier:
Above $4 or $5M, or even before, we would also consider alternative investments, such as real estate, hedge funds, or non-correlated assets (commodities, etc). We would not necessarily include these in the count of securities, assuming they are indeed not closely correlated to the rest of the portfolio. '
thanks

Q: I would like to purchase shares of WSP:CA on the US side of my RBC account via the ticker sign WSPOF (OTC Pink). I wish to purchase in US dollars to save on FX fees.

What is the impact on my proposed investment? Are their any downsides or is it essentially the same investment with a USD currency risk?

Q: What are your thoughts on investing in the CIBC CDR versions like GOOG.NE versus buying GOOG on the US stock exchange? The lower price makes it possible to buy a board lot but it does leave me in a currency hedged product. Thanks for the advice.