Investment Q&A

Q: Hi Peter and the Team,
I would like to have your opinion and advise on my plan for my RIf. 200K and I do not intend to withdraw more than the legal annual requirement about 7%. My goal is to protect my capital therfore expect a 7% annual gain.

Cnd. Equity 40%: TD Cnd. Index 16%, Mawer Cnd. Equity 12%, RBC O'Shaughnessy All Cdn Equity 12%.
US Equity 20%: VUS 10%, O'Shaghnessy US growth 10%.
Global Equity 20%: VEF 10%, Mawer Global Equity 10%.
Fixed Income 20%: CBO 10%, VSB 10%.

I would like your views on the composition of this portfolio, my expectations and my choice of investments.

Thank you so much for your excellent service.
Regards

Q: What is your opinion on selling "cash covered puts" as a way to generate additional income? Thankd

Q: I believe the direction and level of the US 10 year treasury bond yield is frequently used as a portfolio weightings benchmark. I recall the quant/strategist Peter Gibson (formerly CIBC and SCM) used to say he would shift weightings in stocks as this 10 year rate approached 3.75%. (do you know where he woks now by chance?). Stocks still seem to have the heaviest weightings but as treasuries have moved rapidly toward 3%, I was wondering what rate do you think a shift into a heavier fixed income weighting in a balanced portfolio should occur. Thanks for all you great work.

Q: hi team,

What's your view on low vol etf vs. using dividend etfs

Q: Dear Peter and Staff,
My husband and I have recently received an inheritance of $200,000. We are concerned about the future purchasing power of our pensions and riff income due to the effects of inflation. Please recommend a portfolio strategy (including stocks) that should give us an ever increasing stream of income at a rate that is greater than that of inflation. Many thanks, I look forward to your answer.

Q: Peter,

I have an RRSP question. If you have Canadian ETF's with international exposure, is there a limit on how much of those ETF's should be as a percentage of your total RRSP portfolio. Lets say my Canadian ETF's with foreign exposure are 50% of my total RRSP portfolio, would this be allowed. Thanks

Q: I have $33,000 to invest for 2 years. At that time I may need some income and/or capital from it. I would appreciate any advice you can give on deployment of the cash. Thanks again for the great service and the education.

Q: Hi,

New member here but have a question as to your thoughts with regards to total portfolio diversification. Obviously the stock picks and model portfolio on 5i is limited to CDN securities. What would you generally advise in terms of percentage weightings of CDN, USD, and international equities? I am quite "overweight" in the CDN security area and try to purchase USD & international security ETFs to offset this.. Curious what your thoughts here are. Thanks!

Q: Hello 5i Group
I am a new member to 5i and to investing although watching and reading for the last year and a half. I see your Model portfolio. Is this " model portfolio" updated annually? then tracked for 12 months? If I am looking at this list now as an " investment start date" how do I determine which ones on the list you are still recommending as " buy" positions?
I am looking for a combination of income and growth. Based on your reports that I have read I have recently bought small positions in AW.Un, BEP.UN and HR.Un
Thanks for your comment.

Q: In my investment portfolio I own preferred shares, bought for safety and peace of mind in my investments. The preferred shares are from good stocks such as bce, banks, brookfield. The preferred shares make up about 10% of my portfolio. All these pref shrs are down quite significantly right now. Am I correct in my understanding that on the five year maturity these shares can be redeemed for $25. If this is right, would it be a good investment to buy more of these pref shrs right now while they are down in value and make more capital gain?

Thank you for your help

Q: Do you know how much money is on margin in the Cdn market and what kind of a percentage drop would occur is all that borrowed money left the Cdn market? Thank you.

Q: Could you please give me your opinion on market growth GIC's.

Thank you,
Milan

Q: Hi: In today's Globe and Mail Scott Barlow writes an article that paints a gloomy picture on the future of the Canadian Equity market. I would appreciate your thoughts on this article. Thanks Brian

Q: Hi Peter,



Firstly, thank you for your service. It is much appreciated and quite the bargain.



I was looking at your model portfolio and noticed that 17 of the 20 stocks pay dividends. However, 10 of the 20 the stocks either pay no dividend or pay one below 2.5% per annum.

You may have seen in the papers that an interesting tax planning opportunity(making 1% loans to spouses and family members) is coming to an end after September 30th. The idea behind the planning is to avoid the attribution rules and get income into the hands of related taxpayers who have a lower marginal tax rate then the person making the loan. To do so, the investements made by the family member(or the trust of which they are a beneficiary) must earn more than the 1% charged by the person loaning the funds as it is the spread between the return earned on the borrowed funds and the 1% interest paid that gets taxed in the hands of the family member/trust. Clearly, the higher the dividend yield the better so long as there is limited risk to the loaned capital.

Without wanting to impose an undue burden upon you, can you share 20-25 names of companies that would be appropriate for this planning. i.e. ones that have a good safe dividend while having growth potential? I assume that the 10 companies from your model portfolio which pay 2.5% or more are suitable choices. Can you provide an alternate model portfolio for this income splitting planning that expires in about a month?

Regards,

Philip

Q: hi, i have cash available to invest; is it best to wait for the annual volatility in sept. oct.to end? with thanks

Q: With the tensions in Syria and the Middle East rising it seems that there is a possibility of another war starting. If this was the case, what stocks would benefit and which would really be hurt?

Q: Re: VUN
I am a longterm investor and have become overweight Canadian equities particularly versus US equities. My question relates to whether I should buy the US broad index now or wait for a more substantial pullback?

Q: Hello, I would like your opinion on a macro economic situation. The "govt" keeps expounding the line that there is virtually no inflation and the central bankers (fed etc) can keep printing more money because of this. However, in your answer about G you mentioned that the cost of production keeps going up for the miners. All of us "commoners" know that everything that we have to buy is going up in price or being disguised with smaller packages etc...so my question is this: how do these two opposing situations of talk vs reality play out? As a small retail investor I am very concerned about where we are headed and what is going to happen to ones savings?
Thanks for your insights.

Q: Hello, I hold an extensive blue chip portfolio aimed at the rising middle class in emerging markets (BRIC's). Portfolio includes KO, NSRGY, NKE, CMI, BUD, GE, HON, ETN IBM & VALE. With reporting season approaching & in light of BRIC slowdown, should I back down or stay the course? Any separate view on VALE (only resource stock)? Appreciate your help.

Q: Hi Peter & 5i: You mentioned the potential for the flooding in the western prairies area to impact drilling operations on effected lands. I'm wondering more broadly about whether you have any thoughts on other businesses that may be impacted significantly. Unfortunately located REIT properties come to mind on the negative side but there must be other examples. I don't know whether there are "clean-up" oriented businesses that might actually may do well as a result of the disaster. Can you expand my thinking here with suggestions of any stocks that bear extra-careful watching while the waters recede? Thanks!