Investment Q&A

Q: The CEO of Brookfield made the following comments in recent Letter to Shareholders: "With no meaningful inflation on the horizon and high unemployment numbers, there is an expectation that interest rates will stay low and that stocks that were not bolstered by the pandemic trade will recover....Low interest rates will continue to drive demand for alternative investments. Interest rates appear to be set to stay in a lowish band for several years".

Any thoughts on the low inflation comments? Thanks
Robert

Q: I need some help determining if/when I should sell some of my winners. I've more than doubled the money I invested in the above names and so I feel inclined to sell enough shares to recoup all/some of my initial investment. I'm worried that may be overly cautious though and I should hang onto the winners to see larger gains.

Can you outline some of the things I should be considering to help me make this call?
Is the better option to stay 'dispassionate' and just sell if any of these holdings rise well above a full position?
Given the price increases, I currently have a half-position in each of LSPD, WELL, PBX and a full position in each in SKYY and IGV.
Thanks for all the help, you have been really great guidance
Michael

Q: Hi Guys
How do you think Mawer International fund will perform going out 5 or 10 years, or would you choose Emerging Markets instead, Would China be a risk ?
Geographic Allocation
45.9% Europe Ex. U.K.
20.0% United Kingdom
14.2% Asia Pacific Ex. Japan
10.7% Japan
5.3% United States
3.9% Cash & Cash Equivalents
0.0% Middle East/Africa
0.0% Latin America
0.0% Canada

Q: I keep hearing the equity market will move down when the Fed begins to indicate rate increases are on the way, when that occurs where would one go as Bonds will also fall when rates rise? I'm just looking for safety with a modest yield, say 4%.

Q: I bought ZEC, ZEM & XSU Dec. 24 . They have all done very well & amount to about 7.5% of my portfolio. I wanted to add XAW &/or XMC. Should I replace XSU with XMC or keep both? Will there be too much duplication with these ETF funds? I'd appreciate your comments on these changes.Thanks ,as always. Really enjoyed your "battle of the ETF funds".
Dave

Q: I am looking for suggested sector weighting’s for a senior (75 plus), mostly conservative, investor.
Much appreciated as usual - ram

Q: Hello 5i Team,
Recently my sister and brother-in-law sold their restaurant business. They are both in their early 50's. They've been working hard for 30 years and don't have many investments other than a few mutual funds. They would be conservative investors, so, mostly dividend growers. If you were recommending someone starting a portfolio of 15-20 names to build a foundation on; which companies would they be?

Thank you very much,
Brent

Q: Good afternoon, I am starting to get nervous.... hearing lots of predictions on BNN from different sources of market being in dangerous territory and tech bubble about to burst. What is your advice?

Q: Hello -
I have a concern about the grossing up of Canadian dividends (non registered account) affecting my OAS when I reach 71. By that time I will be forced to RRIF, I'll have my CPP, and I also have a company pension that I will be drawing from prior to that.

I know you are not tax experts, but wondered if you see anything wrong with my thinking here. I am leaning more towards lower paying dividend paying blue chips in that non-registered account. I already have ATD.B and CNR. Are there any other quality Canadian companies that you are comfortable with in this "lower dividend" category?

Alternatively I was thinking I could "swap" some investments. i.e. have more Canadian dividend payers in my RRSP and have my emerging market ETF's - ZID and VEE - in my non-registered account. Do you think this is worth considering?
At least those dividends would not be grossed up. Although the trade-off is that you lose the dividend credit.......sigh.

Q: The shift to EVs has now increased with intensity and resolve. With many governments now mandating this pivot it would seem investments will need to recognize and not fight the trend.
What are the favourable ways left to invest that are not overpriced. I would like your opinion in the many parts of the sector from battery components, assembly, and technology.
Please feel free to deduct questions appropriately for your response.

Q: In researching the recent Gamestop madness, I have read that many of the shorts will expire on Friday. Given that the shorting hedge funds have been doubling down on their positions:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/citadel-point72-to-invest-2-75-billion-into-melvin-capital-management-11611604340
is there any possibility that there is a cascading effect of hedge funds potentially getting liquidated? I know that speculating in this matter is akin to mental gymnastics, but I think that the GME holders are here to prove a point about the shady dealings on Wall Street. Is it possible that a showdown between greedy hedge funds and Robinhood/Reddit millenials leads to a wider market shock?

Q: I have looked at the delinquency rates for credit card rates on the St Louis Fed site and the third quarter of 2020 shows a significant decline which, given unemployment rates, seems surprising. Do you know if the data reflects reality or is it affected by moratoriums / forebearance?
Thanks
Mike

Q: I have $60,000 in an RDSP that I am transferring to a self directed account. At least $6000 of new money per year will be available for new investments. I have a 20 year investment horizon with a balanced to growth focus. Luckily I subscribed to 5i in September and have been closely following the Questions and Answers, your posts and updates, and company reports.

I will use the sector allocations you provided to Tom on Jan 6th for 2021. I need your guidance on how much of the portfolio to invest in the Canadian and US markets, and other geographic regions / countries. For the Canadian market I plan to invest in individual stocks. For the rest of the portfolio I will use ETFs.

Q: Should investors change their goalpost metrics of valuing companies when investing?
Nowadays many complain about seemingly high valuations of many companies.

In the past, companies with a high P/E ratio would raise alarms - now it seems it's de rigeur - Apple has a P/E ratio of 43 for example! Does this go hand-in-had with investors accepting very low interest rates?

At first I thought it crazy that a company like Apple would earn $1 for every $43 dollars of share price but then realaized the US 10yr treasury currently gives me $1.09 for every $100 of principal .

Should the yardstick of what constitutes fair value be changed in light of these lower interest rates?

I know there are many ways to value companies but what would you say would be a 'fair' P/E ratio nowadays? Benjamin Graham had a formula and I'd like to see your opinion.

Q: There seems to be lots of buzz in the media lately about dividend stocks being hit hard when inflation/interest rates rise. What are your thoughts on this? Isn't this just short term noise for the long term dividend investor.

Q: Since 1974, with my 1st investment in koffler stores (shoppers drug mart),I have looked for some rational reason to purchase a stock.
Obviously I have seen some times that I cannot explain. Today is one of those days.
I own fdx market cap 60 b more or less
I see door dash has a market cap of the same
How can this be reasonable in any way.
Have investors lost their collective minds or is it possible we are entering a dangerous time in the market .

Q: Hello! Wondering if you still like TMX group and Thompson Reuters. They both seem to be trading sideways when many stocks are gaining. As well, I know you really like BAM but this too, has been heading lower when many stocks like financials and insurers are going higher. In a diversified portfolio is it better to have a mix of different companies and just be patient with stocks that are doing nothing, as opposed to selling those (which may have potential) and moving into something like TD or SLF which seem to have more momentum right now. Dividends and growth are my objectives. Thank you!

Q: 10 Years Treasury Yield is rising fast laterly. Is that a result of Fed asset purchases slowing down? Where can we find such information (such as monthly or weekly purchase amount)? Thanks.

Q: What to you consider the long term consequences of the Democrats now having control of the Senate and House of Representatives with regards to prospects for Enbridge? Of immediate concern is the rumoured pending announcement by Biden to cancel the XL pipeline in an effort to appease the left leaning members of his party.

Q: Hello
In Friday's (Jan 15th) Globe & Mail, Clyde Russell warned that the 2020 bullishness on commodities may not continue into 2021 because China's massive buying spree seems to be ending (e.g. Dec imports of copper were down 8.7% from Nov's imports etc). What is your view on commodities for 2021?
thanks