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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: I started resp for my daughters 15 years ago. My older daughter will start university in close to 3 years, and my younger one will be completing her univeristy in 9 years. Currently, in their RESP portfolio, 67% is cash, 11% is mawer global small cap, 14% is mawer global equity, 4% is mawer canadian equity, and 4% is BAM.a. I would like to put more cash to work to get some safer growth. BAM.a seems to be cheap right now. Is it a good time to buy some more? The Canadian dividend etfs only half recovered from their March lows. Is it a good time to buy some? If so, do you have any favourable etf names? Or do you have any suggestion on alternatives? Any tips on the portofolio weightings will also be appreciated!
Read Answer Asked by Ching on November 02, 2020
Q: Like an older Robin Hood I have been buying the fang stocks and selling covered call options since the Covid arrived. Well, not quire like the Robin Hood kids, I suppose. I have done quite well with this strategy. But, I have been worrying that the fang's are flying pretty high and might be ready for a fall. Especially with a volatile US election on the near horizon. I also wonder there might be a shift to value as the economy might start to kick in before too long. So, l am thinking about selling a lot of my Fang stocks before the election and waiting till after it is over and buy RSP, the equal weight S and P etf. Even if it doesn't work out as I have envisioned, this is pretty much the direction I had planned when l started buying and selling the tech stocks. I have always found it informative and usually profitable to get 5i's reaction to my plans
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by joseph on October 30, 2020
Q: Ishares US REAL ESTATE ETF (not in your data base)
can you comment on this ETF for a diversified real estate play. Do you view this as a decent entry point.
What's your view of starting a portfolio of these 5 ETFS with a 20% weighting in each, then rebalancing every year back to the original 20% weighting. Im hoping maintaining the 20% cash position will help smooth out the portfolio in these uncertain times, maybe it will outperform the more popular 60/40 portfolio.
thanks Gordie
Read Answer Asked by Gordon on October 28, 2020
Q: The Cdn dollar is trading at around 76 vents US. At this exchange rate would you buy a hedged or unhedged S&P 500 ETF in Cdn dollars
Read Answer Asked by Lakis on October 27, 2020
Q: As MARKET went down and perhaps will continue for few days what a panic investor like me do?SELL, HOLD, OR SELL HALF?
Read Answer Asked by Nizar on October 27, 2020
Q: Hello. The other day, a friend of mine told me he will be retiring soon but because he doesn't have sufficient income, he is planning to refinance a $300,000 mortgage on his fully paid principal residence and invest that amount in Canadian large cap dividend stocks.

The difference between the 5 years fixed mortgage rate (1.6%) and the dividend he earns from stocks (6%) will be around 4.5%. $300,000 x 4.5%= $13,500/ annum. Given that dividend stocks such as Enbridge, TD, BCE, some REITs are quite depressed at the moment, there is also the possibility of capital gains as well.

I wonder about the risks of such an action. The 2 worst scenarios I can think are that (1) The pandemic will linger for many years and stocks will not recover for a decade or longer (esp. stocks like O&G stocks like Enbridge). It may force even the largest institutions to stop paying their dividends. (2) As a result of the financial hardship and further stock market crash, there will be capital loss at the end of the 5 years mortgage term. Besides these two scenarios, are there any risks that you can think of?

Supplementary questions:
1) Do you think the risks are higher than the reward?
2) Is the current market condition at this moment a good time to do something like this?
3) Lastly, if I were to do something like this, please suggest several price depressed large cap stocks that you think their dividends could be reasonably secured through 2021.

The answer may take you longer than necessary. Please deduct as many points as you wish. Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Esther on October 26, 2020
Q: If Biden is elected and the Dems sweep,is it reasonable to expect folks to sell their winners to lock in the present significantly lower capital gains tax when compared to Biden's proposed tax?
Read Answer Asked by maurice on October 26, 2020
Q: I have a taxable corp account, 94% equities,(28% US, 6% cash. Just read an article that bonds even at 0% expected return would help off set losses in this and upcoming volatile market, even though interest would be fully taxed.
Would you suggest;
1. sell some winners or tax loss some losers and buy a bond fund, ?CLF. ?CBO-or another one you might recommend. What weight percentage would you suggest?
2. use the cash to buy the same bond fund or a combo of the above two or your alternative
3. buy a preferred corporate share or shares? suggestions or preferred ETF ?HPR or another suggestion
4. Would you suggest a US Bond fund, ?suggestion
5. do nothing
Thanks and deduct what you see fit
Read Answer Asked by JEFF on October 22, 2020
Q: Looking to Mr. Buffett's behaviour in the past, he seems to be investing in whole industries, like airlines and most recently with the Japanese trading houses.

Do you think taking a similar strategy works in select Canadian industries as well?

For example:
Buy and hold all the Big 5 Canadian Banks (BMO, BNS, TD, RBC, CM)
Buy and hold all Major Grocers (Empire, Metro, Loblaw)
Buy and hold all Major Telecoms (Rogers, Telus, BCE)

Or do you think there's a better way to mimic this through an ETF?
Read Answer Asked by Eugene on October 20, 2020
Q: FOMO with my current stash of cash....I've cleaned up some small positions and been sitting on the cash for what seems like forever now....The market is always right but I still have red lights flashing and alarms bells blaring in my investor brain with the markets continued moving along like all is normal. I am buying some target names that haven't bounced back in small amounts but I am starting to question if I should get back into the market again with my hoard of cash....

What are the 5i collectives thoughts on good cash position right now. Currently I am at 15% cash while I am usually at 2% range. So it isn't like I am 100% cash but still some FOMO thoughts fighting against market correction coming cash hold.
Read Answer Asked by Tom on October 19, 2020
Q: When we are facing the specter of the federal government spending without regard to the future and the Governor of the Bank of Canada saying negative interest rates are back on the table, how could investors reposition their portfolios to mitigate the negative aspects of these events? Can you provide a few examples across the various sectors where one could start to reposition a portfolio?
Thank you...
Read Answer Asked by Ronald on October 14, 2020
Q: When Trump won the White House in the last election stock market rebounded sharply. If he is successful next month I would think we would see the same, however if Biden wins his election platform is quite different and wonder what your opinion would be if this is the case.
As an investor should we be locking in gains now.
Thanks and look forward to response
Rick
Read Answer Asked by Rick on October 09, 2020
Q: I was wondering if you would be able to give me a few stock buy and sells based on the upcoming US election.

1. If Trump wins, what stocks could do well and what stock will not do well.
2. If Biden wins, what stocks could do well and what stocks will not do well.

Can you give me a few of your Growth Portfolio stocks that you might considering lightening up on and a few stocks that you might consider purchasing more. (Feel free to add in any other CAN stocks and a few US stock as well).
Read Answer Asked by Kevin on October 07, 2020
Q: Hello Folks:
I have about 20% of my portfolio currently in cash and am usually close to 100% invested. In your humble opinion is this as good a time as any to buy or do you feel we have enough significant risk to hold off?
I certainly understand no one has a perfect crystal ball, however do value your insight!
Thanks again!
brian
Read Answer Asked by Brian on October 06, 2020
Q: Hi

Based on the current events show going on in the US.
I am thinking of selling all my US holdings and buying them back when the dust settles.
Capture the gains and buy them back at a steep discount.
Your comments Please

Thanks
Mike
Read Answer Asked by Mike on October 06, 2020
Q: I’m considering adding to my SHOP and KXS positions and initiating LSPD and CJT positions. I’m in no hurry and would like to purchase shares that have gone on sale(lol). I’d appreciate your commentary on the likelihood of the impact of two events in our immediate future and their impact on prices. My concerns involve: (1) the coming of winter and the impact on LSPD as restaurants shutter, potentially for good and (2) the impact of the US election if the result is dragged out for weeks in an ugly transition of power. I have no problem buying today, and I know you don’t recommend timing the market as there is always something to worry about, but it seems foolhardy to not consider the impact of events staring us in the face. Thanks for the guidance.
Read Answer Asked by Warren on October 05, 2020
Q: Thanks for the recent update, I look forward to your monthly emails.

With respect to point two about locking in some profits, I've often wondered how this works for institutions. Would they actually sell their portfolio and go to cash for the remainder of the year? Do most mutual funds not have to be mostly in the market thus having only a small cash position? I suppose you're referencing other major institutions like pension funds, hedge funds, etc.? Are they more flexible in how much cash they can hold?

Personally I'm tempted to sell to lock in my 2020 gains which have been my best ever (lots of great 5i picks, thanks) but then the question of when to get back in always confounds me. I'm all registered accounts to so no loss to write off and no gains to worry about at tax season.

Say one did want to lock in some gains what would you suggest? Selling high fliers, only to potentially miss some more gains? Sell the lagards? Sell the high risk? Balanced?

Cam
Read Answer Asked by Cameron on October 01, 2020
Q: In one of your recent updates there was a bar graph which compared the performance of all sectors of the economy. Technology outperformed all.
Going forward over the next year. is there a sector or sectors that you think will perform better than others?
Read Answer Asked by Ron on September 30, 2020
Q: I've encountered, in less than a week, no less than four articles in various media, predicting that the US dollar is going to 'crash' in 2021 with suggestions it could drop 35%-50% in the coming year. This one on CNBC is an example. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/23/us-faces-dollar-crash-high-double-dip-recession-odds-stephen-roach.html

Obviously this would be disastrous to anyone with US dollar holdings or stocks in US accounts. What do you think of this? I know you're generally against hedged ETFs but do you think that might be a decent idea now for those wanting to hold US stocks?
Read Answer Asked by John on September 29, 2020
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