Investment Q&A

Q: If this sector 'breaks' or the market cracks, some of these EV names are going to be hit very hard. For now, we would pass.
A quote from your answer to Austin on Jan. 4, I am just curious about what happens when a sector breaks.
In the case of EV charging being early in development how would it break?
Thank you, Peter

Q: Firstly Happy New Year to all. Your forward view on grn. TD this morning reduced rnw to hold. Will this curb the upside projected upside for TA. Have a great day

Q: Good morning, i will be converting my RSP to a Riff, so what would be a good source and/ or book to learn more and educate myself about RIF's in general, thanks? I do plan on keeping mostly stocjs in my RIF.

Q: At BMO Investorline you need the help of an agent to journal DLR from Can to US. With wait times of well over an hour this can be quite frustrating. It took me 2 weeks to complete this transaction and exposed me to currency risk I didn't expect. Keep this in mind if you are considering this transaction and your broker is not answering the phones.

Q: My broker allows when buying or selling a stock to have it good for the day or to specify a good through date, like a week from when the order is placed. Me, I hesitate to specify a good through date as the price might dramatically change one way or the other and I would rather re-enter the order the next day,
Is there a reason(s) to change my view?
......Thanks for your trading insight.....Tom

Q: Hello 5i,
Regarding the questions on Norbert's Gambit. I would like to suggest that since there is already a Forum thread on N.G., if 5i could add some trusted links to resources on this Forum and then direct members there, it would provide a permanent "one-stop" shop for answers and help on this process.
In doing an on-line search I came across an article by Dan Bortoluzzi (spelling?) and Justin Bender that walks you through the process in fairly good detail and I have subsequently used it several times with the only issues being from mistakes I have made, not from the resource itself. Norbert's Gambit is well recognized by most brokers, and mine (RBC D.I.), allows it although perhaps not all do. Should members need any help, I am sure there are many other members out there who could be of some help for questions posted on the Forum - which I encourage more members to use. It is still very disappointing to see this great service not more fully utilized. The Forums are "ours" and will only be as good as we make them.
All the best for the New Year!!
Cheers,
Mike

Q: In response to Dennis question on Jan 9 I use my watchlist the Globe and Mail to get company info.
Of the 40 companies in my list there were 24 announcements between Jan 4 to 9th
Can I claim the cost of my Globe and Mail subscription as a tax write off?

Q: Your answer to Peter on Jan. 6 about when to sell stocks was that if something has changed and you list a numerous amount of reasons for these changes - where would a member get this type of information in a timely manner? Stocks of mine have dropped a great deal in a short period of time. Example, AT - I found out they have applied to issue more stocks, if need be. Seems to be a lot of terminology used in these types of cases, i.e. bought deals, secondary issues, etc.. Unfortunately, by the time I find this out the stock is already down considerably. Could 5i perhaps have an area where this type of information could be retrieved on stocks that 5i follows? Thank you again for your good information.

Q: Hi the great 5i team, can you explain the cost of buying and selling ETF? Where does MER come in the picture? What is the difference between trading stocks and ETF?Thanks.

Q: I understand that this co will be issuing warrants. Don't know anything about warrants, how do they work and is it a good idea?

Q: I have read were some investors will sell half their holdings of a stock if it doubles. The theory I suppose is to take your own money off the table and let the excess run. I have two stocks now that have recently doubled - ZBC & WCP. I invested a full position in both of these stocks which for me is $10,000. Now both have a market value of over $20,000, but I believe both these stocks have a ways to run yet. Do you feel I should sell half of my position or let things go as they are for awhile? Do you believe in the theory about selling half a positions if a stock doubles? Is there merit in doing it? Thanks for your thouights.

Q: I would like to buy US dollars with Canadian funds. One option is to use Norbert's Gambit, using DLR and DLR,U. To get the best out of this way, do I want to get the lowest price for DLR and then the highest price for DLR.U?
Also using this Gambit, do you know if there is a break even point rule of thumb where it is better to just do it with the brokerage firm, like iTrade?
Oh, is there an advantage to use Royal Bank stock on the TSX and then on the New York Exchange?
Thanks for the assistance.......Tom

Q: ARKW's annual report shows that this fund owns one share of Shopify. I'm curious as to why such a fund would retain only one share of any company. Can you explain the purpose of this?
Thanks Peter.

Q: would like your comment on Analyst ratings. when doing research and I look at an Analyst rating, are we looking at the star rating or perhaps the win loss rate. A hundred percent win would be nice but in reality would we be looking at say 75% and better? I would think an Analyst would have better insight into a company and better prediction than I. Just wondering how many investors follow Analyst ratings and if they follow specific analyst that have a high success rate?

Thanks Dave

Q: Hi Peter...I am 69 years old. My thoughts on my RIF withdrawal strategy are to first take out any cash collected from the dividend paying companies which get me to about 50% of the minimum withdrawal. The next step would be to transfer out Canadian or US capital appreciation companies into our margin accounts. I realize it could be argued it is best to shelter capital appreciation companies inside the RIF as long as possible so an alternative approach would be to take out Canadian dividend paying companies (like BNS or TD) first. However in the end it might be preferable to work down the RIF size to reduce a sizeable tax hit upon death. In spite of 2020 withdrawals and market gyrations my RIF grew by 11% over the year.
I suppose if the RIF is to go to charity upon my or my spouse's death it is best to maximize the RIF. Only take out enough money to keep CRA happy and suit one's lifestyle.
I know you are just a youngster (!) but any thoughts you have on this "ageing" topic would be appreciated.
Regards,
Jim

Q: I own shares of China Mobile in my RRIF--what should I do with them?
Lloyd

Q: Thanks for the January 5th guidance on US stocks for TFSA.
I like your "growth stocks with at least some degree of stability" suggestions as it fits my risk/reward mental framework. 
One stock I was thinking about was SQ.  But with its volatility as measured by beta being 2.33, I'm now thinking of putting it on hold as a transfer from a trading account to the TFSA or might just do 50% of the number of shares.
Besides beta, is there a way I could also assess or calculate US stocks with steady growth that for me is relatively easy to do?
 Continuous learner via 5iR....Yahoo!.....Thanks....Tom

Q: Hi team - what do you think are the biggest advantages/strategies that individual DIY investors can use compared to the larger institutional investors? For example, I would imagine companies traded on the TSXV aren't followed as closely by the larger funds (I believe I read that here). Thanks in advance

Q: Hi 5i,
I have trouble making good decisions about when to sell, both when a stock has risen and when one has fallen. I've found myself selling winners too soon (which at least only leads to loss of opportunity, not actual loss) and holding on to falling stocks too long which ultimately leads to both loss of opportunity because the money is not better deployed elsewhere as well as to eventual actual loss.
I have a general question and also specific questions related to this conundrum - please deduct points as you see fit.
Can you suggest 'rules' or at least guidelines that I can incorporate into my investing methodology regarding when to sell which, although they likely won't work perfectly in every instance will, if applied consistently over time, help me to make better decisions about when to sell?
And specifically: I've done well with DCBO but can't confidently determine whether I should hold longer or take my profits and look to use the cash elsewhere. In discussions about LSPD for example, your view seems to be that it has lots of runway left and continuing to hold could well be worthwhile. I haven't heard that about DCBO though, and can't confidently determine if its future prospects realistically support continuing to hold rather than cashing in at its current high levels.
Which brings me to the opposite scenario involving AT, which I bought recently in my TFSA only to see it nosedive almost immediately afterwards. I'm down 22% in the space of a week and for the life of me don't know whether I should bail now and cut potential future losses, or hold on hoping for an increase to at least near where I bought - $16.65 .
Your advice regarding the above specific scenarios would be greatly appreciated - and maybe if there are worthwhile general rules or guidelines for when to sell you could also explain how you'd apply them to the 2 opposing scenarios I've described as I'm sure that would help me going forward.
Thanks a ton for your anticipated help in dealing with this issue that vexes me greatly!
Peter

Q: Hi 5i team, I would like to convert $6000 Canadian to US dollars in a tfsa at Qtrade using Norbert’s Gambit. Is this a good strategy? Is there a preferred holding for this strategy like DLR? Are there any pitfalls to watch for? Thank you for your help!