Investment Q&A

Q: I see that George Soros is buying gold. Carl Icahn has made a big bear bet on the market of 150% net short. Bill Gross calls negative yield bond gang up a "supernova" waiting to explode. 10 year bonds of UK, Japan ad Germany are at record lows. How is 5i feeling about the market? These factors do give me pause to worry!

Q: Using Uranium as a fuel seems like a no-brainer. It is available, cheap, and naturally disintegrates energy by half-life. Nuclear reactors make electricity, produce no CO2, and should last 50-60 years with proper maintenance. Why are "climate change" countries not rushing into nuclear energy and be done with "fossil fuels"?
The questions I have are:
1. How many years does it take to pay back the cost and be nuclear profitable?
2. For me, Chernobyl was the only disaster, 3 mile bend was a scare and Japan was poor private maintenance.
3. Will the world not see this as the best alternative compared to huge wind farms, solar acres, trainloads of crude or pipelines everywhere.
4. Does 5i see the day in the near future when nuclear is the answer to the carbon imprint and pollution.
Thank you, I read 5i everyday. Rene

Q: Given today's market and the expectation of a US rate hike, could you identify 5 ETF's that you would be comfortable with to provide safety of principal and income. Thanks.

Q: I am thinking about parking some cash in one or both of these ETF's (perhaps a 50/50 split) for the next 12 months. I understand that rate increases could adversely impact the unit price but given that rates are not expected to increase in Canada anytime soon and these are Canadian corporate bond funds not American would there be any impact from a US rate hike? If so, why? Secondly, what do you think of the downside risk and is there a better option you would suggest.
Thank you

Q: Hello 5i Do you think that ZPW could act as a hedge against choppy markets while collecting a nice dividend. Thanks. Gary

Q: I have some cash in my account and am thinking of adding to MAL and to XHY. Recent news and performance of MAL has been good, but I am concerned about the effect of US rate increases on XHY. My account is well diversified. I would appreciate your comments on both.

Q: This ETF in your Income P/F has been pretty flat since 5i started it, I think in 2014, and do you think it will remain a long term hold? How much of a hit would you expect it to take with a quarter point rise in the Fed rate and what is its duration? Thanks, J.

Q: Hi again,
Sorry the symbol I was asking about is HEU. I've copied the question again below.

Hi 5i, I think over the next 3-5 years oil is going to rally up. In doing some reading I found this etf. The management fee is definitely higher than I like. I'm not exactly sure how the 200% correlation works but it sounds like if energy goes up it would be a good thing. Could you give your opinion on this fund, also could you give some better options for getting some more energy in my portfolio if you know of some. Thanks!

Q: Hi 5i'ers,
is it time for XEG and what do you think of their prospects going forward as oil seems to be on the mend or is this a dead cat bounce?

Q: Could you please comment on this ETF. I have held CWW for about 5 years and done well but am wondering what, if any, other approach you would take to replacing this investment in the water related sector? Many thanks.

Q: What would your 3 favorite growth stocks be going forward (US or Canada) and 3 fav dividend stocks (US or Can)
Tks

Q: Hi Peter & Co.,
I sent in a question yesterday regarding Dream Industrial REIT (DIR.UN), however the answer I received was geared towards Dream Office REIT (D.UN). Could you please let me know your thoughts on DIR.UN, and whether or not the industrial space is preferable to the office space at this time? thanks,
Brian

Q: Sorry my previous question referred to ZBK.US it should have been ZBK.
Thanks
Mike

Q: Hello Team,
In one of Peter's recent articles he indicated that sector selection was more important than the choice of specific stocks within the sector.
Could you advise which sectors you suggest would have the greatest momentum over the next year or two.
And, if you want to throw in a couple of sector gems I won't complain.
As always, really appreciate your help.

Q: I understand that some individual reits are considered 'fully valued' on a P/E basis - based on historical 'norms'

question: looking at ZRE can you provide a 'rough' calc on the overall P/E with an eye to whether you feel it is at, near or over its traditional long term valuation range

or, more importantly, based on metrics you (5I) would use, what is your currently concern about reit valuations?

thank you in advance

Q: Hello Peter and Team, What are thoughts about this ETF for a 3 year hold ? Thank you.

Q: Interest rate anxiety seems to be sweeping the markets again. Refresh my memory about what sectors are likely to be hurt worst in this silliness. I would have thought reits, utilities and telcom but it was consumer staples that got hammered today while the telcos did fine.

Q: Hello,

I am looking to get some exposure in emerging markets. I currently own only Canadian and US equity. I am looking into ETFs, more specifically; XAW, XEF, VEE, amongst others. I'm looking to invest moderate to long term.

Doing you have a preference amongst those, or other suggestions? Secondly, do you think the timing is right, especially with respects to China? And finally, which countries/continents would you have a preference for?

Thank you

Q: What do you think of XSB as a short term hold, six months or less? Bonds generally do well, relatively, in the summer.

Q: Hi,
Thanks for the tip of TMXMONEY to identify the sectors. It turns out I had miss-classified 3 of my stocks (SJ, IPL and ECI). I'm now questioning my weightings. I currently have the following:

Cons. Cyclical 11.9%
Cons. Defensive 0.0%
Financials 17.1%
Healthcare 3.6%
Energy 14.7%
Precious Metals 13.9%
Real Estate 0.0%
Industrials 9.2%
Utilities 0.0%
Technology 24.5%
Materials 4.6%
Communication 0.0%

I'm ok with some risk, which is probably evident from above. My precious metals may be a little high due to the recent bounce in this sector.

Based on the current market environment, do you see these weighting as appropriate? Are there any particular red flags that you see?

Thanks, Ian