Investment Q&A

Q: As the market starts to recover, can you please give your opinion on what sectors do you expect to recover faster than others. Thanks

Q: Happy Easter. I have only been subscribed to your service 3 weeks and I already know it will be invaluable- thank you. I have started 1/2 postions in all 4 of these companies as per your recommendations. I have a 5yr plus time horizon and I am very comfortable with volatility. What I am struggling with is in how to approach taking larger positions in all four, when I suspect they will report in very different fashiosn over this quarter, the second and third quarter, and maybe several more. From reading your responses to the questions, GSY could report just fine and continue showing ok results. LSD will likely look so-so for a few quarters but has some recurring revenue. Finally, DOO and GC will likely look terrible for several quarters with poor boat/ATV sales and nobody sitting at a poker table in a big room with others. If I am a long term investor do I just dive into full positions in all of them in what could be great valuations 5 years from now? Do I approach the four companies differently? I understand your comments on slowly entering into this market because it may have dips over the next 1/2 year and they could be lower, but if i am looking 5 years out do I care, not wanting to chase if we proceed slowly up from here? Thanks in advance.

Q: This is a kind of crystal ball question. I have had trouble getting through to BMO yesterday and today. When I finally got through, the agent told me that one of the reasons for the slowness is that everyone is trying to rig their accounts for option selling. I wonder if this is a signal that the end of options season is getting close. I have made quite a bit of money on options myself in the last couple of months and would like to keep it up. But, I have a nagging worry that although I might make some money on options, if an upturn comes , I may miss out on getting some good companies for the long term. I read an adviser recently, for instance, who predicted that we may not have as long to buy as we think. Things could be turning up in just a few weeks. From your experience, can you give any advice on how to look at this situation and best handle it? What signs to look for when things begin to turn, and how much time will there be to leave one strategy behind and jump on the other. I realise this is a bit like crystal ball gazing. Bu,t, you have more experience that I do in the markets and probably can foresee the future better than I can.
thanks

Q: Hello peter and team,
I’ve been following Peter since he use to run Sprott mutual fund. appreciate over the years how much I learned. “The BIG picture of investment “
1.Currency is another form of hedge. Served me very well till today on many occasions
2. Diversification. Surely enough I have to believe it
3. Weed stocks valuations and Big picture outlook for Energy sector in general. No regret to miss the boom and bust. Sleep well! Healthy investment ha!
Here is my other questions:
1 Ignore the market indexes up and down, I have 50/50 split between S&P/Nasdaq( actually tech portion is over my 50% as SP has 25% tech), what’s your outlook the growth and earnings for the tech sector compare to the rest of the groups during the Q1 2020? Less impact or nearly the same as overall market
2 when people overstocked toilet paper instead of shopping for good companies in stock market in March, thinking about post virus investment strategies, What we learned from WFH, human can’t live without tech. It has changed humans life forever? I remember the article your investment thesis is simple, buy apple or blackberry? Go to the mall and airport have a look.
Looking forward to reading Peter’s articles on financial post !
Thanks you and team, keep up the great service

Q: Can you please tell me your top 5 investment themes that you would start to add to your portfolio (at these levels) for a mid to longer term hold.

Q: my question is on sector allocation. What would be the asset % in order of preference for a person who is 70 but does not need the funds for another 3 years...please also include the top 3 stocks or ETF allocated to each sector ( can be Cad Or US thanks for your help on this

Q: Thank you for your guidance during this challenging time.

I have followed all of the questions and answers about allocating capital during the downturn. The message of putting money to work gradually is rational and rings loud and clear. But, past bear markets took several months before a bottom was put in so why not wait at least one month to start and allow for a bit of a bottoming process? Does it make sense to begin allocating capital at the very onset of a global recession of unknown duration and severity?

Q: Someday soon the sun will rise and shine brightly. This new day we will see inflation arrive at our front door with a loud bang. Inflation will arrive quicker than we think due to a significant increase in money being printed from all countries. During inflationary times what sectors are good investments and what companies would excel.
Clayton

Q: Do you think this rally is sustainable? The markets have really rallied lately and was wondering if a guy should lighten up a bit.

Q: if this relief rally continues tomorrow does it make sense to trim some good stocks if I like liquidity

Q: Good morning, with current market turbulence does 60/40 index investing formula still make sense or is one better investing is good growth stocks for the long term?

Q: Good Morning

The goverments are doing the right thing by adding a huge amount of liquidity in the system.I agree with this, but..
at one point in time, you have to pay the piper

what are your thoughts on this

Q: I read an article that suggest that the US has essentially moved the FED's role to the Treasury Dept, thereby giving control (more at least) to the Trump admin. First, do you see this as the case, and second, if they were to devalue the US dollar as Trump has often called for to better compete with the world, and this brought structural support to the political move away from China and ROTW imports and boosted a reemergence of the US manufacturing/supply-chain system, what companies would look like a steal today ten years from now?

Q: When someone puts on a hedge overlay to protect profits on
portfolio what exactly is one doing. Should your clients be doing it
and is it easy to do.Can u give an example
tnx u.

Q: RE: Asked by Terence on March 30, 2020 - $1.3 million in stocks presently sitting with $800K (90 % cash).

Hi. I'm (60 & retired) in similar situation; understand everyone's different. Planning a similar strategy to what 5i suggested, but starting with a more conservative ETF (i.e. VCNS or even VCIP) for a period (i.e. 3 months), transitioning (on a strict schedule or market declines %) to VBAL once market volatility declines. I used to be a VGRO-type investor, but after -15% YTD, I've seen the light & am now a converted VBAL-type.
>> What is 5i's opinion of this transition strategy? <<

Also plan to add some Gold [PHYS] soon, and carefully/slowly add a few choice solid stocks (i.e. CSU, BAM.A, MSFT),
maintaining asset mix, over next 6 months.
>> What to do you thing of this Hybrid (ETFs + Stocks) approach? <<
>> My schedule was over 6 months; 5i is suggesting 12 months; can you explain rational of 5i's 'extend' period? <<

As always, thank you for your sound advice.

Q: Hi All at 5i!
I read an article by Jeff Booth entitled” Jolted awake from an economic fantasy “, in the Globe and Mail on Saturday. Basically, Jeff gave an example of a saver and a person who took on a large quantity of debt and kept doing so. In 2008 , when there should have been an economic reckoning ,the Saver was punished , but the indebted person was rewarded by the government pumping liquidity into the market, thus fuelling the economy with even more debt, and not allowing things to fail as a capitalistic market would dictate. So now, with this virus, and more government indebtedness, to help the country, where will this leave us? Will we be kicking the can of economic collapse further down the road? I am just trying to figure out the economic implications of all this, with my limited insight, as economics is not my area of expertise and I am getting a headache. I was hoping you could comment. I am heading into retirement, and am just wondering how I should position myself to safeguard my savings ...the market is unstable and the GICs are punishing the savers...again. Thanks, Tamara

Q: Good morning,
My grand childrens' (8 years old) in trust accounts each have $60K in CASH and would appreciate your thoughts and comment on the merits of my following investment plan:
Q1. Investing $20K in each of these funds (HXS, HXT and HXQ) and not selling any of them until the children are 18 years old at which time they would each open a TFSA account and start transferring each year the maximum annual TFSA contribution allowable from their non registered account to their newly opened TFSA account; and
Q2. Assuming that you are ok with the above plan and given that there may well be still a further sell off in all three sectors, when would you recommend initiating a full or partial position in all three sectors? Thank you.
Francesco

Q: Dear 5i,

Can you provide some ideas where one might invest some cash if we have negative interest rates.
Should we be borrowing money to take advantage of negative interest rates?
Do you think negative interest rates would inflate the Canadian real estate market prices?
What observations have you made from European negative interest rate policies?

thanks

Q: Hope everyone at 5i is doing well in these times!

I have been sitting on mostly cash in my RRSP/LIRA and would like your recommendations on the best ETFs to consider for my full US and International exposure. All of these would need to be listed on the TSX as I am purchasing in CAD $. While I know you prefer non-hedged, I’d greatly appreciate if you could explain benefits/workings of hedged vs. non-hedged considering the current environment. And provide ETF recommendations for each.

I am looking to achieve a balance of diversification, reasonable MER, minimizing any withholding tax while optimizing the potential in market recovery. For US, I would like to have a technology ETF, health care ETF and a broader spectrum ETF – but also open to ideas. Also, looking for recommendations on International – one broad ETF or perhaps that and a mix of ETFs. I recognize there can be overlap (e.g. between a tech and broad sector fund), so if you can give me a sense of the degree of duplication that may be present in your recommendations. Perhaps going heavier on tech right now could be a good thing.

While I started off thinking ETF selections would be relatively simple, in reading various Q&A there seem to be many important considerations - your assistance is appreciated. Again, all of these are being purchased in RRSP/LIRA accounts with the goal of optimizing my returns over a 10 year window.

Q: Hi Guys
a bit of a conundrum here, i came into the crash with 45% cash hoping to buy some U.S. stocks, but the low CDN dollar is making me question whether it's worth it. I'm usually a long term holder, buy U.S. stocks for their dividend growth over time. Whats the most you would be willing to pay for a U.S. dollar when buying U.S. companies, my thinking is around $1.40/ $1.41 is this to high?
thanks Gord