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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Own STC(1.5% position) & XBC(1%) Should I add to these 2 or start a position in Well?Please list in order of preference,or your ideas.They are your past picks. Txs for u usual great services & views
Read Answer Asked by Peter on August 27, 2020
Q: Hi 5i team
As a long-time BNS shareholder, I am disappointed to learn of the US$127 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding manipulation in metal markets. As part of this, the bank admitted they (this surely involved senior management) made false statements (nice way of saying 'lied') to U.S. authorities in 2018 as part of a small settlement on the same matter. The bank stated "At Scotiabank, we understand that in order to maintain the trust of our stakeholders, we must adhere to trading-related regulatory requirements and compliance policies. We are committed to adhering to these standards."
How wonderful of BNS to say this (please forgive the sarcasm).
My questions are: What actions do you know of that BNS took to fire the people involved for cause, with no severance, AND to cancel stock options the perpetrators would have enjoyed, to send a crystal clear signal to every BNS employee that these sorts of actions will not in future be tolerated?
And finally, what is your view of BNS shares today?
Thank you.
Edward
Read Answer Asked by Edward on August 26, 2020
Q: Good Afternoon,
I heard someone speaking on the tv today about REAL and how they have access to a large amount of data in regards to home inspections that need to be completed to qualify for refinancing. I have never thought of this angle before, all the homes out there that require a new roof, plumbing , windows etc. They are wondering how they can monetize this data . This could be very valuable data in the right hands, thoughts on this concept?
thanks
Read Answer Asked by Chris on August 26, 2020
Q: Hello Peter and Ryan.

I was looking back at your portfolio updates from Mid March to July, congrats to you, I think all of your stock buys have been winners since March-17 updates. Specifically WELL up over 80%, SLF, LNF, XBC, DOL, DSG, QSR and more all up 20, 30, 40 percent or more. Also I wish somehow there was a way to track your USA stock picks as I imagine those would be even better since the March lows.

I am wondering though, how close you were to buying more of GSY, DOO and LSPD (all in your growth portfolio). These stocks in January and February of this year before COVID had all hit all time highs DOO - $75, LSPD - $45, GSY - $79. I know they were favourites before and still are, knowing that GSY and DOO were well managed with many years of great execution and Lightspeed which has been public for 1 year, but was clearly much stronger now after a year of growth and acquisitions and now in a business environment that really should accelerate its growth in the end (e-commerce and payment processing becoming a must have for mostt/all businesses).

5i was asked on March 19th about LSPD
Question: “Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined LSPD at $11.03 and closing at $12. Is this the beginning of the end of a company like LSPD if the coronavirus issue continues to persist?”
Answer: “LSPD is fortunate in that it has about $300M in cash which is more than 15 years of cash (at 2019's spend rate) and no debt. We do not see this as the 'end'.”

I bought more LSPD shortly after I read your answer, so thank you for that and for all of the advice shared each day.

GSY reached a low of $22, LSPD $11 and DOO $20 March 18-19 and that last week of March wasn’t much better and buying any of these stocks at these lows essentially would get 300-400 % return if they ever returned to February highs (which seemed likely with a 5 year timeline), even in April on the 23rd when you bought again these stocks were still down 50% from previous highs.

Did you come close to buying these 3 stocks and what was your major hurdle for each?
Read Answer Asked by Michael on August 24, 2020
Q: Hi Ryan and Peter,

I had been watching PHO for months. After their earnings call and the pull back and your words on earnings, I was encouraged and finally took a position at $1.80. I have averaged down during this pullback as I thought it was a bit "silly" as Nigel is just trying to temper expectations. They have no debt, nearly 40 cents per share is cash and a great gross margin. Am I correct in thinking the risk is the 3 companies that represent 80% of revenues and revenues dipping/not growing.

So a couple questions:
1. Am I misguided in my thought that it is very cheap right now and a couple more solid quarters would change sentiment?
2. Your past company report estimated value to be $1.93 a share. What do you believe the share price is now?
3. Who do you believe the key 3 customers are and do they have a chance to pick up more?
4. Do you know who their competitors are? I cant seem to find them.
5. At what point, would you "back up the truck"?

Thank you.

James
Read Answer Asked by James on August 24, 2020
Q: Hi there , do you know how I can find the % of revenues and profit that BNS gets from its Latin american operations ?, following a previous question from another member : I travel to Chile often and I am always amazed at the high activity of the economy and the low service standards for banks . BNS ought to benefit from these favourable conditions.
Read Answer Asked by Alejandro (Alex) on August 19, 2020
Q: I'm somewhat concerned that we'll see more COVID this fall and I wouldn't mind trimming my portfolio of positions less able to benefit (short term). Boyd Income Fund comes top of mind due to people driving (crashing) less and it is also one of my larger positions (4.5%) but also still up (50%). Can you provide me with a quick note on how they've been doing this year (business, not stock price) and how significantly their revenues have been impacted? What is their outlook like?

Honestly, they seem to me to have held up better than I might have expected...

Cam.
Read Answer Asked by Cameron on August 18, 2020
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