Investment Q&A

Q: Hi 5i team,

I want to sell into the market now to raise the level of cash in my portfolio. I need advice as to what stocks to sell first, given the current market conditions. Should I sell growth stocks first? Or income stocks first? Should I sell certain sectors first? Should I first sell stocks that are in a loss? Or stocks that have the highest % of gain over book value (ignoring tax)? Should I sell stocks that are close to 52 weeks high first? Please explain your strategies if you were to reduce the equity holdings to raise cash for your portfolio. Thanks for your guidance.

Q: I don't usually like market timing and don't really believe in this "sell in may..." stuff, but this year is a little different. What are your thoughts if the Trump administration is unable to come up with a concrete tax reform plan by may/june? Would they have time given congress goes into break shortly after? I would expect there would be volatility ahead, but have you experienced similar events like this in the past where there's been bets on policy changes that don't materialize?

Q: WHEN A COMPANY SAYS IT IS EXPLORING ALTERNATIVES AND HIRES AN INVESTMENT
BANKER TO EXPLORE THOSE ALTERNATIVES; HOW OFTEN WILL A SALE HAPPEN IN YOUR OPINION? I REALIZE THE BOARD WILL ONLY SELL IF THEY GET A GOOD PRICE BUT I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR THOUGHTS AND DO YOU THINK CDI-N IS WORTH HOLDING FOR A POSSIBLE SALE? I DO NOT OWN THIS COMPANY YET BUT WOULD CONSIDER PURCHASING IT. THANKS

Q: I purchased today 10000 shares of HXD. I consider it like an insurance policy in the event of a bear market to cover my long positions. Is this a reasonable approach?

Q: Hi Peter and group as always I value your opinion. I am getting increasingly nervous about world affairs (Trump)- do you have an opinion on taking some risk off the table?If I decide to take some profits on my cash trading account do you know any way that can off set the Capitol gain?. Just to confirm my understanding is that the Capitol gain is due and payable immediately. Does leaving the cash in the account make any difference as to when the tax is due and payable. Thanks PS I understand this is 2 questions

Q: Good morning 5i team!
I have a joint RESP account for my children who are 11 and 9.
At this time I have approx $85k in the account distributed as follows
$23 bond 2.10% mat June/2018
$22 k in VDY
$32K in VFV

I have a remaining $7k+ and wanting some growth, dividend with stability so I won't lose as it is a more short term time frame.
What do you think of the overall weighing of the portfolio and what would your suggestions stock wise be for the $7K.

Q: Savaria on a nice roll of late. Dividend rate now around 2%. How does a Company in a situation like this decide how much to raise and when. What factors are involved.

Q: Hi,

I have cash after some bonds came due and am considering either ZWC or a rate reset preferred such as RY.PR.R. I am risk averse and hate to lose money! I feel that there will be some sort of correction soon. Your views much appreciated...

Thank you

Q: For a moderate risk investor, who tends towards long-term hold (with occasional portfolio adjustment), what would be a reasonable sector allocation? I have been a long-term member of 5iResearch and have learned a lot about investing. Thanks for the great service.

Q: From your experience did you find that, in an upward market, inflow of money into mutual funds increases and therefore accelerates the upward momentum and the opposite is true as well? Today with all these ETFS can this occur with ETFS as well? Is the popularity of ETFS (funds flowing in and out) is adding to the volatility of the market. Would you see a panic scenario causing a major collapse?

Thanks.

Q: What happens to the Cdn dollar if the US dollar tanks? Is the Cdn $ value based on a basket of foreign currencies of which the US$ is held in abundance?
Thanks

Q: Hello 5i.
Thanks for the ongoing investor communication/Education.
I have had slightly positive overall results with mixed individual stock selection results utilizing 5i information.
Would have liked to be on the Shop ride but I could not buy into a stock moving up everyday and now doubled in three months. How do I not miss this next time?
I did buy the indicated holdings (SIS, GUD, ET, SYZ, PUR, TNC=cash)
Excluding TNC, the mix leaves me up 6.9% in the time frame of about a year or so..SYZ since 2014 and some various buying along the way.
I am not doing as well as you Portfolio so stock selection and timing clearly makes a difference.

With this list, should the Holdings be at full weights now for all of them?
For example, PUR is under small cap $ allotment while SYZ is over allotment.
Is there something I should be adding that is most appealing today even though I personally may have to hold my nose and buy? (Portfolio is well diversified and balanced)

Also, it is clear I am not benefiting from the stock category you sometimes highlight as "winners" or "1000% gainers" to help propel my portfolio gains. Should I be trying to buy all the investment in your total portfolio or how does one use 5i service to benefit to the max?

Thanks
Dave

Q: Can you please explain he correlation between bonds, stocks, reits and gold?

id like 30% of my portfolio to move differently than the markets in case of market correction but dont want it all in bond funds due to rising interest rates. how would something like this look over the long term or do you have a better suggestion?

10% bond fund
10% REITs
10% Gold half xgd, half bullion
70% equities (CND, US and ITL)

Q: Market timing is generally frowned upon by professionals including 5I.I find myself selling a number of my positions because of valuations and good profitable outcomes. I also find that I am not redeploying that cash because of valuations! I firmly believe in taking profit and some of the greatest mistakes I have made are in regards to holding positions to long. To many times in my early investment life (the round trip) occurred. After a number of years I relized that you are investing 2 commodities "dollars and time" and I could not continue to keep exposing my dollars and losing time. So if I sell my winners and do not redeploy my cash in a timely fashion then I would seem to be guilty of "market timing".

Why am I so wrong!

Randy

Q: My question is about portfolio balance. Right now I am very overweight in technology (30%) But it isn't all the same kind of technology. For example , Facebook, Shopify and Google are not the same sort of business as Avago and Texas Instruments. And they, in turn, are different from Constellation Software and Kinaxis (also different countries). These are the companies I own. So would you recommend I reduce my tech weighting, and to how much?

Q: I am trying to make a spreadsheet where I collect the best stocks I can find with different metrics and ratios and rank them. When I say best I think about quality and predictability, not price. Since these stocks will be from different industries, what metrics and ratios should I use to compare them against each other? Or maybe I must ask what ratios and metrics should I NOT use to compare stocks from different industries against each other?

Q: I am concerned about a correction in the market (both USA and Canada) and am wondering if I should take some profit given the great run over the last 4 months and hold some cash for better buying opportunities should the correction occur later this year. Recent analysts on BNN are also calling for a defensive position with holding cash. What do you think about this strategy and what percent of a portfolio would you suggest to have in cash? Does 10 to 15% make sense? Thank you for your great service.
Deborah

Q: In my overall portfolio (RSP, RIF, Unregistered & TFSA) my low weighted sectors are:
2.5% in Telecom (BCE & T);
3% in Consumer Staples (WPK & ATD),
3% in energy (RRX, SPB, WCP, VET);
5% in Materials (SJ, SLW/FR, RUS);
6% in Health (GUD, SIS, ECI, CRH, CSH.un)
With the sale of RDM, I have some cash in my RSP which is mostly 'Balanced' equities. Which one or two of my underweight sectors would you consider the first place to deploy the cash in my RSP at this time? And what would your top stock selections be - of either my existing stocks, or new ones ? As always, thank you for your help.

Q: Do you ever give any advice on market timing? For example, if you thought the market was at risk of a 5-10% correction, would you advise subscribers?

Q: Please accept my apologies for what could be a request for a long-winded answer. You welcome to debit my 5i bankroll for 5 question credits in effort to better compensate you for your time.
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If possible, please provide your opinion on something I wish to term "Peak Credit" in Canada. We are all aware that Canadians are spending themselves into a life-long love affair with mortgages, lines of credit and credit cards. With Canadian interest rates at 35 year lows, the availability of loans and credit climb while region-specific real estate prices inflate to valuations that seem to defy logic. Young families in their 30's commonly have mortgage debt over $500k and barely earn the income to cover payments at today's rates.

In general, what is the mix of insured/un-insured mortgage debt on the books of Canadian banks? If wages are not keeping pace with inflation and the cost of living, how are Canadians ever going to own their own home? Are we doomed to a life of the English, where the concept of home ownership is more of a dream than it is a reality?

Do you feel banks in Canada are prepared for higher rates in the next 3yrs?

Is Canada showing the early signs of a credit bubble?

Do bank common stock investors have anything for fear?

Am I a coyote howling at the credit moon?


Thank you for your guidance. This topic should be on the minds of many Canadians.