Investment Q&A

Q: Sold 1/2 my portfolio (except CSU, TOI, LMN) at the end of August. First week into Sept and I'm looking smart. While I think it's still too early, when and how do I get back into market? Holdings (some sold out in August) include AMZN, META, NVDA, AMD, VRT, BN, SHOP, AXON, SNPS, NOVT, GOOG, NU, ELF.

Q: Hi again,

I just want to confirm that my investment strategy aligns with our prior discussions (Questions on this forum) and see if you have any recommendations for improvement. Here’s the plan I’m considering:

1. FHSA: I’ll be investing in the VFV ETF over the next 8-10 years, aiming for solid growth with moderate volatility, to support my goal of purchasing a home within that time frame.
2. TFSA: I plan to fractionally invest in your growth portfolio over the next 45 years. I’ll be contributing bi-weekly to both my FHSA and TFSA until they are both maxed out, reviewing and adjusting the portfolio as necessary every month based on the portfolio reports.
3. Bitcoin: I intend to allocate 15-20% of my overall portfolio to Bitcoin (in self-custody). Currently, Bitcoin makes up 8%, and I’ll continue to average into it alongside my other investments until I reach my target allocation.

At this stage, my portfolio would consist of approximately 66% in VFV, 25% in the growth portfolio, and 8% in Bitcoin. Moving forward, I plan to:
- Max out my FHSA (VFV) contributions each year.
- Match or exceed those contributions in my TFSA (growth portfolio). Ideally, over time, the growth portfolio would come to make up the majority of my overall portfolio.
- Gradually increase my Bitcoin allocation to reach my target of 15%, then maintain that percentage.

Does this strategy look solid to you, and would you suggest any adjustments before I move forward?

Thank you for all of your help!

Q: Hi Peter, I am 60 years old. What is your opinion on the 100 year minus my age rule to determine the percentage that should be in equities? In other words should I invest 40% in an equity portfolio and put the rest into a ladder GIC or similar. I have a good risk tolerance. Thanks for your time.

Q: Hi. I watch various Youtube videos on investing, usually hosted by different people. I often notice that these individuals present various graphs showing change in EPS over many years or change in cash flow or change in revenue or change in <etc>… Do you know of different graphing tools that may be providing this data? Most graphing tools I see usually show change in stock price, dividends, volume, … The ability to see all the different fundamental data over time looks enticing. Thanks.

Q: What is your view on this article especially of the author's suggestion to reduce exposure to growth stocks in favour of value stocks and high quality bonds? https://epaper.calgaryherald.com/article/281947433202611

Q: Today, I heard Mike Philbrick on Market Call, and one of his top picks was a USA managed futures etf: DBMF (I couldn't see it in your co drop down above). Also, recently I heard on Animal Spirits a podcast on managed futures as well, etf: KMLM, by Krane Shares. I’m interested in knowing what 5i thinks about Managed Futures? It seems it might be a good diversifier for one’s portfolio. Do these etf’s have decays when their futures contracts get rolled over? What are the negatives of these etf’s? Which one would you prefer and why? Or is there another one you like better? Or is it simply better to raise some cash when we think markets get over valued?

Q: I am planning to sell a portion of my portfolio either now or in mid-September. I know September often tends to be a down month for the market. But this September, there will almost certainly be rate cuts in the US...and possibly in Canada, as well. If you were me, would you wait until September to sell...or would you be more inclined to sell now?

Q: You've stated that "We do not think conditions are in place for giant problems, and would be fine staying mostly fully invested."

Historically, every time we have an inverted yield curve paired with a flattening fed funds rate, the market has suffered steep declines when the fed cuts and the yield curve normalizes.

Given that these conditions are currently in place, why do you think a more cautious approach is not warranted?

Q: What 5 market industry sectors do you recommend for investing in now, ranked in descending order, in the USA, for ETFs that will yield 10% per year including both dividends and capital appreciation please? Same question for ETFs in Canada please?

Q: With the S&P's current P/E ratio at 27.93 far above the five-year average is it safe assume some profit taking might occur in the next few weeks? If capital gains aren't an issue, would it be wise to look at taking a portion of profits off the table post NVDIA earnings on companies with a high P/E?

Q: Fully agree with your comment on Downside Risk Exposure. So important to understand and track!!! The problem for me is finding a free fee site to get this data or info. Would calculate it myself but it is difficult to do. With that in mind, I track the changes in the 52 week high and low and also the % change, just as an indicator. But you know of a web site that is free of fees to track the downside risk exposure of stocks???.....Tom

Q: Everyone, there has been many questions asked and answered. What question has not been asked that you wish was? Clayton

Q: When members ask questions regarding buying a stock, often a distinction is made between starting a position or adding to a position. eg. would add to an existing position but not start a position.
What is the distinction between these two ideas?
Mike

Q: If Kamala Harris wins, what sectors do you think would be good for Canadian market? Any particular picks would be helpful.
Thank you.

Q: During the volatility shock two weeks ago (I’m writing this on Aug 18), you wrote the following in an emergency note to subscribers: “We would keep some powder dry as the type of volatility we will see this week can last a while.” In light of the stock market bouncing back so strongly, do you feel differently now? Would you sell into market rallies to raise cash, then await more volatility for the chance to redeploy?

Q: is there any particular way the stock markets behave before and during world wars or military escalations ?

Q: Do you think it likely that we are at or near the bottom for this correction in the tech stocks?/ Of MSFT, GOOG, AMD, which would you prefer and are any or all definite buys?? Thanks Jim

Q: All three companies came out with decent financials and all are down significantly with these results. GSY was the best and it is down 7 dollars. What if they had been bad results. Seems like you cant win in this enviornment. I feel like cashing out everything and waiting. This was also during very good trading days after the collapse. Does this sound wise because of an impending slowdown.

Q: Everyone, my mother in law is 90 and I ‘may’ soon be the person to look after her finances. She has $150,000 in something that I am not aware of. What stocks / ETFs should a 90 year old women own? Clayton

Q: Bill Gross from PIMCO just stated…
"Investors should stop talking about buying the dip and start asking about selling recoveries,"
Please comment on this quote. Is this true or false?
Thanks