Investment Q&A

Q: With the conflict that is on going with the U.S.A and North Korea is it better to have a wait and see attitude before putting anymore funds into the Stock Market. Thanks . Ernie

Q: Just watching BNN and an analysis by CITi reports that a consistent metric to use is free cash flow per share .....FCF/S.
When you eveluate a company and do a report,do you screen and report this metric?
Thanks

Q: I would like to hear your opinion on holding a cash position inside a stock portfolio (not counting any sort of life emergency fund). I read lots of company (Berkshire, Apple, etc) are building up big cash position to better pull the trigger when a market downturn occurs. If it can temporarily be good for a company, is it the same for an individual investor ?

If we take my current situation, I am 27, no debt with a decent job income which I put steadily towards stock investing. I currently hold a 5% cash position as a buffer between my income and my investing. Do you believe it’s enough ? Is my strategy of buying over time with my income without building a larger cash position my best option ? Would you consider building a larger cash position 8 years into a bull run as market timing ?

Thank you !

Q: I have just read a new article with a doomsday comment about another financial crisis being on its way. "The same problems that caused the financial crisis are back". I understand that no one can really predict things but given the strong upward trends that we have seen one could expect some sort of correction. To take a conservation approach how should one adjust their investment distribution. What sectors are less affected? and would ETF's or mutual funds be safer that stocks? What about bonds? This is probably worth a couple of credits. Thank you, Doug

Q: Just comments.AIF-basing on better than expected Q2 revenue & eps,3 firms(TD,CF & RY) raised target price to $36 & upgraded stock.Reportedly best one day performance since 8/15 PKI-RY & BNS downgraded target price to $31 & $33.75 CGX-6 out of 7 firms downgraded to $46-$52.1st time in the last 3 years that Ellis Jacob is not that upbeat in interview on BNN after release of results. In this strong earnings season,strong results will be handsomely rewarded(eg AIF,SHOP,TOY),& vice versa.

Q: Hello: I am trying to find the list of those companies (Canadian, US, global) who have increased dividends year over year +for ever+. I know I have seen it but am not able to find it right now. Can you please point me to this, I am going to try to use it more in my portfolio planning. Many thanks to you, Marilyn

Q: Can you explain currency hedging with a SIMPLE example. Maybe include when it would be advantageous to use a hedged product versus unhedged. I don't think I'm slow, but it's just not clear to me, and I may not be alone.
Len

Q: Hi Peter & team,
What would quantitive tightening do to the markets if the feds move ahead with that, and which investments would benefit the most?
Thanks!

Q: I have seen my investments total value in US stocks and non hedged ETFs going down lately, although individual stock price are doing OK.
I know it is very difficult to predict currency fluctuations, I would like your view and recommendation on how to protect my portfolio. Is buying hedged ETFs is the solution and what about your view on the Canadian dollar against the US $ and the Euro.
I value your opinion
Raouf

Q: What is 5I's current position on hedging the C$ when buying/holding Int'l ETFs. Do you suspect that this is a short-lived situation?

Carl

Q: What could make the TSX and NASDAQ drop over a hundred points in an hour at mid-day on no news?

Q: The 8% gain of the Cdn dollar over the past few weeks could have a huge impact on stocks like NFI and others in a negative way.
With the Cdn dollar on a terror lately what sectors if any would stand to gain from this currency move and what would be two individual stocks that you think could gain by the US/Cdn exchange rate moving closer to par.
Always appreciate your perspective.
Thank you
Terry

Q: When a correction (5-15% downturn) is in process, how can you tell that it is simply a correction as opposed to a bear market (greater than 20% downturn)? What metrics do you use to tell the difference between a correction versus a bear market?

Q: I am trying to make a plan for what I will specifically do when the next correction comes. I am making a list of stocks that I will buy. I have set aside some cash. My plan is to spend 25% of my cash at each 5% downturn interval. So when the market corrects 5% I will spend 25%. If the market corrects another 5% I will spend another 25%. My plan is too keep going until I run out of cash. When I do run out of cash (when the market is down 20%) I would tap into a line of credit using the same strategy.

What do you think of this plan? Is it a good way to manage a correction? If not, can you suggest a better way? Thank you.

Q: On BNN this morning it stated our Canadian Stock Market ranked 96th out 100 world markets. Is there any way to find the figure for foreign buying of Canadian stocks and compare these figures to the past. Are we not in play due to Nafta changes coming and fear of Pres. Trump.,the low demand for commodities, our Liberal Governments Federal & Ontario Provincial, NDP in Alberta and BC. Our high home prices in Toronto and B C and fear of real Estate Collapse or What ? RAK

Q: My overall portfolio is down 3% the last 6-8 weeks which I justify as the downside of having equities in the portfolio. I am 40% in cash so the drawdown could have been worse. My concern is that the 3% drawdown is just over $20000 and that is a lot of money. We are 70 with defined benefit pensions and really don't need any more capital; just want to preserve what we have. You preach the downside of market timing, but I see $ 20000 worth of paper gains slipping through our fingers. Short of investing 100% in gic's should someone with my profile be more of a trader ie use tight downside tolerances and sell when a predetermined gain or loss is met rather than buy and hold. Please comment as I very much value your opinion. Thank you.

Q: I just read this from a respected member of an American investment service and would like to know your thoughts. Do you agree with his reason that the fund industry does their tax loss selling in September? If so, is this the case in Canada also?

"If anyone out there expects to do tax loss selling this year, I have a few words of wisdom for you.
September is the worst month of the year for the market historically. Look it up, you'll see. The reason September is such a poor performing month is that the fund industry does their tax loss selling in September because that's the end of their fiscal year. They don't operate on calendar year.
The reason we usually get a Santa Claus rally is because wash rules have been exhausted, cash has been raised, and cash goes back to work because fund charters stipulate they can't hold over a certain percentage of cash.
So, if you are going to sell something for tax losses, and want to buy the company back a little later and establish a lower cost basis, the time to do your selling is in August, prior to the funds doing their selling. You'll have time for the wash rules to play out so that you can reinvest in time for the Santa Claus rally."

Q: Hi 5i,

I currently have 14% of my portfolio in materials, which include MX (3.2%), CCL (4.25%), ZCL (3.47%) and AEM (2.84%).

I also have 12% of my portfolio in consumer non-disc, which include PBH (4.85%), DOL (3.47%) and ZZZ (3.2%).

For a growth oriented investor with 30 years until retirement what do you recommend as an appropriate allocation to materials and consumer non-disc? I will need to trim my holdings in each of these sectors to re-balance as I feel I am overweight so any suggestions on what should go?

Thank you as always,

Jon

Q: In my portfolio, small cap and technology has weakened in the last two months, yet l see indexs making new highs, at least in the US, where are the gains; sectors?

Q: Hello again. I’m interested to know how to consider currency when deciding between hedged, unhedged, and US dollar ETFs. In your answer to my last question, you mentioned that you prefer VPL over VAH; how was currency a factor in your judgment? Also wondering if you would approach European ETFs similarly, with respect to fluctuations between the Euro, USD and CAD (e.g. VEH, VE, VGK). Are there separate currency considerations I should take into account for each region, including EM? (e.g. VEE vs VWO)

When I hear professionals recommend CAD-hedged ETFs when the USD is falling, it sounds tactical but what if an investor has a long time horizon in mind? I’ve heard that unhedged ETFs yield better returns over time, say for a period of 15 years, but I’m wondering if US dollar ETFs are even more preferable, considering that I’ve already got some US cash ready to deploy.

Thanks for clearing up my confusion!