Investment Q&A

Q: Hello Peter et al:

A great question by James today and equally a great answer by you! AAPL wasn't included in James' question and hence the price targets characterized by Good price VS Great price for AAPL wasn't mentioned. I have added AAPL here.
(MSFT: 240/210; GOOG: 95/80: AMZN: 95/80.)

IF I were to request you to wear your Option trader's hat, (after all you manage a fund based on options!) how would you play these stocks. Assume that these are long term holdings and cash covered. Should one simply either buy puts or sell covered calls. Your "great" price targets roughly assume about 15% downside correction.

If indeed these solid stocks are going on sale and if one is determined to hold them for ever, why would one not make any money whilst one waits?
That's the thesis behind my question.

Many thanks in advance.

Mano

Q: Good morning 5i,
I enjoyed reading your latest market report on the potential for decreasing inflation, and am thinking of tweaking some sector realignment to capture this possibility.
I have had a good 2-3 year run with RSI but their earning do not look good so am planning on selling this. Will then redeploy funds into utilities which are underweight currently. Does this approach make sense for an income investor?

Q: Thank you for your report yesterday on month-to-month inflation, which I found very useful. Is month-to-month inflation something that you have been reporting consistently, or would you consider reporting it from now on given the focus at the moment?

Q: Hi 5i Team!

Respecting you don’t have a crystal ball and going on general wisdom that the markets like to look ahead.

How much of the full impact of rate hikes has been priced into the current market?

There is another (maybe last one?) almost certain rate hike coming for both the US and Canada, should we expect more volatility from this announcement or is for the most part already priced into the market?

Thanks for all you do!

Q: Hello Peter and Team,

We are celebrating the start of CPP and OAS this year. With that in mind we have to think about RRIF in 7 years, investments , bonds, and GIC's in our RRSP's. We also have a small TFSA for higher growth stocks. With that said, it is time to retool our investments. We have not been a fan of bonds for over 10 years though we are open to bonds now. .

Which mix of CDN/US/Foreign Bonds, GIC's, and top 10 stocks would you recommend for RRSP's if you have a clean slate with a 7 year outlook.?

Thank you so much for your service. It is the best site by far for advice, CDN portfolios, and general questions by subscribers.

Sincerely,
Debbie and Jerry

Q: I follow most of your balanced portfolio. Other names in my portfolio are ones you recommend highly.
I have 15% of portfolio in VGG, 2% google, 2% NIVDA
The rest is in Canadian equities and I am looking for advice for percentages in each sector..
4% Materials
7% Consumer Staples
6% consumer Disc
18.5% Financials
19.5 % Industrials
22.5% Tech
6% Utility
7% Energy
If you look at my percentages of Canadian equities please indicate areas I am too high in and areas I need to increase my exposure in.
I realize this question may take a little time. Please take as many question credits that are needed. Thanks for your excellent service over the years.
T Steve

Q: Hi there,

I've been reading up on the US vs International stock cycle as of late. It appears as the cycle of under and over performance tends to happen in cycles. Obviously no one can predict the future, but do you think International will outperform over the next few years considering where are are in the economic cycle, rates, valuations etc? Can I please have your thoughts?

Thanks!

Q: The market has been trading for 14 days this year - what has the market indicated to you? Clayton

Q: Hi 5iResearch
Is there a sector rotation happening now in the market?
If no, do you expect any sector rotation in the foreseeable future?
Unless the answers to both questions are no, can you please identify these sectors (favourable, unfavourable)?
Thank you,

Q: In many cases buying the top 3-5 stocks of an index gives a better end result than the whole index since you don't have to drag the less performing.
1-Do see the same apply to the S&P500?
2-In a 3% (normal?) fed rate what is the normal multiple for the S&P500?
3-What is the current forward PE for the S&P500?
4-How does this apply when the top 5 holdings are technology with higher multiples than the banks and oil companies?
Many questions but one goal, trying to put the dry powder in an optimal manner.

Thank you

Yves

Q: Hello 5i,

A general market question.

Seems a though the next “wall of worry”
to climb as inflation is receding is going to be the potential debt default of the US government. I think they will be extending the debt repayment for as long as possible into the summer/fall, but ultimately I believe a refusal by US congress to increase the debt ceiling to be very credible this time around.

Would appreciate your thoughts and how best to position a portfolio for the worst case scenario?

Q: May I have your thoughts on the USA’s debt ceiling? There is speculation in the press that the most conservative elements (called the “Freedom Caucus”) inside the Republican Party will refuse to raise the debt ceiling without drastic cuts to the country’s chronic budget deficit. In a worse case scenario an impasse will cause government bonds to default. The caucus is quite small but seems to have a large influence over the Republican Party due to its very slender majority in the House Of Representatives. I will need to take some money out of my RRIF this year not covered by the RRIF’s dividend income. Do you think I should be selling stock now or to put it another way will a government bond default is simply not realistic? After all it would take only about 10 Republicans to vote with the Democrats to raise the debt ceiling.

A bond rate spike is typically bad for gold prices but in this case might be positive for gold. Do you agree?

Any thoughts you have would be appreciated.
Jim

Q: I've notice preferred share markets gaining around 2% in a day on a couple of occasions. Obviously somebody's loading up..question...have you noted any other sector rotations that may be occurring or that you anticipate? Many thanks...

Q: Hi group I am out of credits...Hopefully you can give me some guidance on how to play China opening up from Covis restrictions. Commodities and oil seems to stand out if you agree what companies have the most potential upside. Also looks like big tech is another beneficiary if you agree what is your top picks in this sector as well. Thanks for your goodwill service it much appreciated

Q: Do you think the prospects of investing in Emerging markets funds is improving? Are they going to be better performing compared to developed markets? Does the rising interest rates impedes their progress?

Q: Bond market drives the stock market.

I keep hearing this message. Would you please provide a explanation of why this is the case ( if you agree) and how this works. And WHO are the drivers of the bond market.

Thanks as always.

Q: Hi 5i Team - I sometimes hear about the amount of money waiting on the sidelines for possible investments in the equities markets. Do you have an idea of what this might be in the U.S. or Canada or even globally. Also would you consider it a significant amount. Thanks.

Q: Hello, This is not a question about stocks but more towards interest rate and the effect on markets. How can the US un-employment rate still be around the 5% when we hear of mass layoffs everyday from major companies? It would seem that the 5% is skewed so as to give reason for the fed to keep raising rates which in turn would seem to affect the markets.

Q: Peter; When the tech sector “ rolled” over it was hard to decide,at the time, whether one should buy the dips, sell, or sit. I’m concerned the oil sector might do the same thing with yield only holding up the sector. How do you decide if a sector is rolling over or not ? Thanks
Rod

Q: I think it’s clear that within the next six months the US will teeter on the brink of technical insolvency given the more radical element of the GOP. This will likely result in a significant decline in the US dollar, what’s an easy way to invest in this, gold for example?