Investment Q&A

Q: Is there a good website to check MER's?

Q: Thanks for your help with my Sept 3/21 question regarding MFC vs BNS-TD. You gave me the answer I needed...thanks.

However, in your answer you indicated the BNS P/CF was 7x and the P/E was 10x.

When I look on the Company Profile page , I see P/CF of 2.2 and P/E of 12.4.
Please explain the difference...are the numbers from different sources?

Thanks...Steve

Q: Regarding purchases made on US exchanges….

a) If I purchase Canadian companies in my margin account on the NYSE in US dollars, will the dividends also be paid in US currency? What will the withholding measures be on those dividends?
b) If I purchase European companies on US exchanges, what will the withholding measures be on those European dividends? (Germany, France)

Q: What is your take on the recent share consolidation followed by a share split. Shareholders who held less than 2,100 common shares get paid out in cash.
Shares outstanding were significantly reduced from an already low level. Why was this done?

Q: Good morning.

Could I get your thoughts on the CDRs offered on NEO. Not certain why it is not offered on more mainstream exchanges like the TSX and I could not find its admin fees, if any.

Thx.

Q: You recently stated that you would find these companies more interesting with NVEI @$150, TOI @ $110 and LSPD @ $120. Is there any math that your using to arrive at these numbers?

Q: Hello Peter,
If an analyst/portfolio manager that is a guest on BNN has selected a stock for a top pick several times, and all of a sudden decides not to take any calls on the stock, what does that mean? BNN's response is really neutral so am wondering.. I would be more comfortable for a guest to take a call and if he/she does not own it for any reason, I think that would be the right thing to do. Small caps are risky so it is understandable and circumstances can change. This is a general question. Thanks for your views.

Q: What kind of an impact do you think Intl. crypto currency growth will have on Canadian Banks - short, medium & long term?

Q: Where you see evidence of a sell iceberg order for a micro or small cap, should a shareholder be concerned that maybe the seller knows something that I don't. Right now, I see that with Geodrill. On the surface the shares look quite undervalued, yet the iceberg sell is in place.

Q: Question about insider activity. Does activity in warrants, rights and options indicate a postive or negative outlook on company performance.
Tx in advance. Ken

Q: Hi Peter and the 5 I Team.

This is just a comment.

I just wanted to thank you for the excellent service over the years. My portfolio has never looked better and my confidence has greatly improved.
I would recommend your services 100% , anytime, anyplace.

Thanks a lot,

Q: Do you know what the average portfolio turnover rate is for retail investors and how that compares to actively managed funds? My sense is that lots of individuals feel that they are long term investors but that in reality there is much more "swapping" and trading within individual accounts than would be expected.
Thanks
Marc

Q: How does criteria to be added to the TSX composite and additions/removals to the index work? I have a hand full of stocks I would've guessed would be on it but aren't (SIS, TIXT, CTS, WELL, DRM, PLC). Then, I noticed REAL is on it - would it be up for possible removal due to its decline and smaller market cap? Thanks for sharing.

Besides the above I mentioned, what other stocks might be added to the index over the next few years that you would recommend? GDI stands out as one I would guess? Any others?

Q: Sometimes when I place an order with TD webbroker they say the order is under review. For example, I placed an order for Bombardier today. ( I know you guys are not recommending the stock). Any reason for the review? It holds up the purchase.

Q: Recently, I've become interested in the delta between the market price and the fair value of a stock position. There are a number of investment websites that provide such "data", like Morning Star, CFRA on iTrade, StockCalc via the Globe & Mail and then Simply Wall Street. I'm keen to get your take on the value of such "data" and if there is one site that is more dependable than others. Any other insights would be appreciated.......Tom

Q: Hi 5-i:
Not a question,but rather a comment. I notice today that some members have written in about the results of what they have received from offering their IPL shares to Brookfield. I had 40,618 IPL shares times .250 = 10,154 exchangeable units, however, RBC direct investing showed in the activity section of my account 40,618 times .24974626 = 10,144 brookfield units. I am short 10 units times an approximate value of $ 71.00 = $ 710.00. Brookfield is using the .24974626 factor instead of the .250 that they offered. I am waiting on a resolution to the matter, but encourage others to check their account, and with their broker, and if so to express their discontent to Brookfield. They will save millions by using the incorrect multiplier. I experienced a similar problem when they spun out the BEPC shares. The announcement stated that all allocations would be rounded up, but when it didn't happen, I checked with my broker and they said that they were not allocated enough shares to do that. I recall that 5-i had some questions concerning that issue.
Thanks,
Ben.

Q: Hi,
What are your favourite criteria to evaluate a company? for example, PE ratio, quick ratio, etc.
Also, could you rank your criteria by most important to least important?

Thank you!

Q: Payment for order flow . Is such practice is permitted in Canada?
What happens if an order is directed for US stocks or US based foreign depository? Is PFOF permitted in US stock exchanges.
Thanks. Miroslaw

Q: Hi 5i Team

When investing monies into a diversified ETF, such as SPY or QQQ, which investment approach provides the best risk-return profile? More specifically, how would you rank the following investment approaches: lump-sum, dollar cost averaging, (DCA) and augmented DCA?

Augmented DCA is a modified version of DCA where the investment strategy is more aggressive if the economy is expanding and more conservative if the economy is contracting. Macroeconomic factors are employed to determine if the economy is expanding or contracting (e.g., market volatility, unemployment rate, and capacity utilization).

If an investor chooses DCA or augmented DCA, over what investment period would be reasonable? Is it 6 months? 9 months? 12 months? 15 months?

Thanks

George

Q: BNN has adopted a new policy of only having money managers on Market Call which seems a bit much given 5i’s excellent record. I’ve created a New Topic in Forums suggesting we send BNN objections to this. Rod