Investment Q&A

Q: I turned 71 this year and I am pulled between GROWTH & DIVIDEND stocks in my RRIF starting in January. Am I wrong in thinking that it does not make a difference, if: (I do have growth stocks in my Cash & TFSA accounts).
My Tech & other Growth stocks appreciate by 6% or more and I withdraw 6 % via my RRIF, or
Withdraw 6% of my Dividend stocks? Compounding does work, as I bought $20K of RBC a few years ago @ $112 & is now @ $172. Tried the same with TD which did not work.
Obviously, the idea is to not deplete my assets by the RRIF withdrawals? Am I right in my thinking?

Thanks!

Q: Good morning,

Recently I have become concerned about the potential for a US sovereign debt crisis. From my understanding the amount of US debt is growing at an unsustainable rate and eventually it will become apparent that the US cannot pay back its debt while offering a real return to investors. Once this happens the US will have an issue borrowing money because there is a lack of lenders which will lead to them either having to cut back services (which would almost certainly cause a recession), defaulting because they can't roll over their debt (also causing a recession) or trying to change the rules of the fed to try and print the debt away (which would cause almost nobody to lend money to the US government again and almost certainly cause hyper inflation). To me any action that would involve cutting back services which would be better for the long term but really bad (and political suicide) for the short term would probably not be implemented because the politicians would be voted out. This line of thinking terrifies me and I am really hoping that I am missing something. Am I correct with my analysis? Is there anything that I am missing?

Thanks,
A

Q: Donald Trump has previously signaled his desire for a lower US dollar. JD Vance has recently signalled an even stronger desire for a lower dollar, saying it would bring manufacturing back and calling China a currency manipulator. And if history is any indicator, Vance will be running just about everything in the day-to-day operations of the White House while Trump golfs and engages in twitter wars with celebrities (as Pence did 4 years ago). Right now most of my US holdings are in unhedged ETFs. Would it be wiser to shift some of that over to hedged ETFs? If the US starts trying to lower the dollar how quickly would that happen?

Q: What are some canadain companies that could do well under a trump administration

Q: Hello:

First, athis point and post-election, do you think the markets have gotten ahead of themselves?

Second, markets are enjoying a post US election upswing and while most expect further interest rate cuts, why are utilities down in the past fewdays, for example CPX and FTS.

Thank you

Q: Where would 5i see things in terms of an ideal cash level in a portfolio today? Fully deployment or is there a % you would reserve in cash for opportunities in a bad day/week/month? Would you agree that volatility should be expected in the months ahead based on Trump's comments moving the market as they did in the past?

Q: Everyone, what are the next headwinds and when will they show up in the markets. Clayton

Q: Hello 5i,
I caught a headline on BNN regarding BofC sentiment around interest rates. I took from it that the BOC might be poised for a much larger cut than it has done so far, perhaps 0.75, even 1.0 bp cut. Now, with a Trump win and policies that could fuel Canadian inflation by increasing the cost of U.S. imports on the one hand and a potential dampening effect on the Canadian economy as whole on the other, do you see any strong sense of direction for Canadian interest rate policy for the next meeting in December?
I know this kind of prognostication is problematic, but I would value your insights as to what Canadians might reasonably expect from the Bank of Canada on Dec. 11.
Many thanks for any analysis you can provide.
Cheers,
Mike

Q: What is your take on near to mid term inflation, rates and bond prices/yields based on proposed US tax cuts?

Q: Dear 5i team.

The common theory of interest rates decling was long bonds would benifit most. This does not appear to be the case currently, and I've seen some not so clear responses thus far in the Q+A. Please explain in further detial, why long bonds have not performed to this expectation thus far, and what you see as a catalyst for long bonds to perform as expected with possible future declining interest rates..

Many thanks for your help.

Q: If the S&P were to drop 5-7% as Fund Strat is suggesting between now and the end of November, are there any specific stocks or sectors that 5i thinks would be hurt the most.

FS has an enviable record of calling market trends accurately. And not being doom and gloomers. In fact they are still calling for further upside in total out to the end of the year.

Of course no one is right all the time. But I have been looking to raise some cash and this might be a good time to do so.

Thank you for your help.

Q: If Trump were to win the US Election he suggested he would create a Dept overseen by Elon Musk to reduce US spending by 1/3rd. One of his targets is Green Energy which clearly he would be happy to eliminate.

How would this affect Renewable Producers like BEPC. Northland Power. Algonquin and other TSX wind n Solar Producers with operations in the US as well as other Canadian Power Generators like Capital Power and Altagas?

Would Trump go as far as to reduce the mandated usage of corn based ethanol or this would not be a target as it would hurt the US Ag industry?

Q: With the US election coming up on Nov 5 2024 when there is going to be volatility, what are some companies on 5i's hit list?

Q: The Canadian Dollar has weakened against the US and is reaching relatively historic lows (for the last 10 years). For Registered accounts like an RRSP and TSFA where there are no tax implications of selling, would you support the switch from Non-hedged ETFs to CAD-Hedged ETFs? For example, the switch from XUU.CA to XUH.CA

Q: How do you see the Cdn and US market sectors reacting to a Democratic or Republican win.

Q: Hi 5i,
I've searched the miscellaneous question category back to early September and, surprisingly, haven't seen this or a related question:
It appears the chances of a Trump win in 10 days' time are at least 50/50. He has said he will impose 10-20% tariffs on everything the US imports. He has said he will look at the USMCA agreement, which could mean he'll just tear it up. There's no real reason to think he won't do the things he says he's going to do, and he may well do a whole bunch more, economically and trade related, that he hasn't talked about. Whatever actually transpires, his economic policy is likely to be very disruptive, both in the US and abroad. As Canada's largest trading partner (although we mean considerably less to the US, relatively speaking) the impacts could be significant here.
Do you agree the impact on Canada could be significant, what do you think the impact(s) might be and what, if anything, would you recommend a Canadian with a diversified portfolio of Canadian equities do to Trump proof the portfolio and reduce the shock?
Frankly, I'm worried ...
Thanks,
Peter

Q: Good morning. I have some sizeable gains in my U. S. unregistered account. Average for the portfolio is 32,5% in 2024 so far. Would you trim some names to sit on the sidelines until the dust from the election settles and hopefully rebuy at a lower price, considering taxes payable as well? Thanks David

Q: please list the 5 most negatively impacted Canadian companies(any industry) should Trump win the November 5th election thanks Richard

Q: In a portfolio with banks at 42% (TD, and National), energy at 35% (TC, Sobo, and Tourmaline) and consumer discretionary 16% (ATD), what companies would you suggest diversifying into? This is my husband's account and he buys and holds. He will be selling Telus and needs some options for telecommunications and more. Could he be more diversified? He is asking my advice but I appreciate hearing from you.

Many thanks.
V.

Q: Hi 5i,
The BoC announced the largest rate reduction in 15 years (not including during the pandemic) this morning, and since that announcement my well diversified portfolio has experienced its largest single day loss (right across the board) since I began managing my own investments 8 years ago.
I've been looking forward to today's announcement because I had thought it would lead to an increase in my portfolio value, but it seems to have had the opposite effect - in spades!
Can you explain what's going on? And should I be worried?
Thanks 5i.
Peter