Investment Q&A

Q: I started an RESP for my granddaughter in May 2017 with equal weights of PBH, MX, BNS, SIS, KXS and ZCL. The total return of the RESP is 10% YTD. When ZCL had a poor earnings report in November 2017, I sold those shares and purchased ENB. Going forward, would you suggest any changes to the current holdings, and what would you purchase with new contribution money? My best wishes of the holiday season to the wonderful 5i staff, as well as all 5i members!

Q: Hi Peter & team,

Over the years I have been focused on paying off my mortgage and putting the majority of any savings I have into my RRSP account and contributing into my child's RESP account. As a result, the RRSP account has over 80% of the savings that I have accumulated to this point while my TFSA and non-registered accounts total the remaining 20%. I finally have paid off my mortgage and I was wondering whether I should now be focusing on putting most of my money into the TFSA and non-registered accounts, so that the ratio between the RRSP/TFSA/non-registered accounts become more balanced? Is there such thing as a good balance between the 3 types of accounts?

Thanks for the wonderful work and all the insightful answers you provide.

Marvin

Q: I am about to manage my grandkids resp. They have about 52000 to eventually cover the 10 and 6 year old. Monthly contributions of 300 are being made with some "top ups" as available. I would like to have them invest about 20-25% in individual stock or stocks and the balance in ETFS. How should I approach the ETF portion and do you have recommendations?
Bryan

Q: WE HOLD THE ABOVE STOCKS IN OUR CHILDS RESP AND HAVE A FEW THOUSAND TO ADD, WE WONDER SHOULD WE ADD TO ONE OF THE ABOVE OR ADD AN ADDITIONAL STOCK. SHE HOLDS ABOUT 10% OF EACH

Q: Hello 5i Team
I have about $1100 in cash in an RESP account ( grandchildren are 4 and 2 years old) to invest and unsure what sector / stocks to choose next. Current holdings are ECI, ENB, SIA and Car.un with nice gains in all. I want to diversify of course but banks seem expensive right now. Would you please suggest a few alternatives. I have considered Brookfield companies but unfortunately, I think that corporate set up causes tax reporting issues for the sponsor on the RESP account. If you know this to be untrue, please let me know.
Regards
Kathy

Q: Hi Peter and 5i team,
we would like to add a new name to our grandson's [age 4] RESP. In your opinion , what would be a good addition.
thanks

Q: I opened a self-directed RESP for my new born. Do you suggest starting with ETF's or specific stocks? If ETF's or stock, what do you suggest is a good starting investment and dollar amount for ETF or stock given that we have at least 18 years before needing the funds. If ETF's first at what point do we start investing in specific companies? I guess I'm also trying to get an idea of how to build my sons RESP portfolio.

Thanks.

Q: Hi Peter and Team,

In our grandchildren's RESP (ages 15 and 16) I have been using accumulated dividends to 'top up' the above ETFs, as I'm able to do so commission-free through Scotia iTrade. The portfolio is balanced, with the majority of holdings from the 5i portfolios. Can you suggest a strategy as to which ETF(s) I should invest this extra cash at any given time? Since the 16-year-old is in grade eleven, and the 15-year-old is in grade ten, is it safer to use CLF and/or CBO, even though their charts don't look so great, as compared to CDZ and CUD?

Thanks in advance for your valued advice.

Q: Good afternoon. I currently have $30k in my daughters RESP. Where should I park it for 3 more years?

Q: I am starting a RESP on my 5 month old grand daughter. High growth and high risk are not issues for me. Would you be so kind as to put forth some suggestions? Does SHOP still have legs?

Q: Hi Peter, would you consider Fairfax as proxy to market /financial sector.
would you SUGGEST FFH or buy BNS, SLF, BAM, CSH.UN (in equil weight totalling amount equal to FFH). This would be for RESP with 8 years to go and regular contribution over that time. OR any other suggestions for resp account. Thanks for your great service.

Q: Hi team,
I wanted to get your opinion on the start of my son's RESP.
BYD 30%, GUD 40%, PHO 15%, CRH 15%
I recently added CRH on what I viewed as a value play, however I'm not sure about this move. Would you swap CRH out, and if so for what? Any suggestions or tips are appreciated.

Keep up the good work. Cheers

Q: I had AW.UN in the kids RESP, sold when it bottomed, now looks like it may be on the way back. Is there a time restriction before I can repurchase?

Q: I have an etf portfolio for my 3 & 5 year old daughters RESP account consisting of the following:
XCS(small cap) 6.5%
VDY (CDN Div) 26%
VEE (EM) 18%
VXC (Global)26%
VSP (American) 21%
Would you mind suggesting an ETF to help diversify the portfolio or would you feel comfortable continuing with these weightings given the long time horizon?
Thanks so much.

Q: I have opened an RESP for my 5month old with 3K in it (2500 plus 500 from govt). I know its small the first year, but I don't want to add a Canadian ETF as they are too oil and gas and financial focused.

I would like to own some good Canadian growth names that will hopefully be worth a lot when she heads off to school in 18 years and would like to keep it small since it is a small account to start. My idea was the following 7: GUD, SHOP, SIS, T, TD, AQN, PBH. I would like your opinion on them. Would you do anything differently?

Once I own all of the Canadian stocks my plan is to add XAW for world diversification.

What do you think of this idea? Which stocks would you add to the account first? I was thinking of starting with either 3 of 1K each or 4 of 750 each. I pay 7 dollars to buy them which isn't too bad.

What order would you add in?

With only 3K per year in the account it would take 3 years to get the stocks and ETF. I could just add another 2500 to the account now so that I can buy more of it now and be instantly diversified. I would not receive the grant on it but would I still receive future grants?

Q: Hello 5i - I am soon to become a grandparent and would like to start a $1,000 portfolio the day the baby is born and continue contributing $1,000 on each birthday for the next 18 years. Which two stocks, or ETF(s), if that would be a better choice, would you suggest starting with?

Q: Good Morning! I am going to become a grandparent for the very first time in the next couple of weeks!! I would like to build a stock portfolio for my grandchild over the next 18 to 20 years, investing $1,000 each birthday year. Which two stocks (or ETFs, if you think that is better) would be excellent choices to begin a long-term portfolio the day the baby is born, with dividends reinvested through DRIP? Thank you so much for your help!

Q: Gentlemen,
RESP has BNS,GUD,OTEX,T in equal parts. There's room for 2 more.
I'd appreciate your thoughts on what you would select at this time. Thank you.

Q: HI team,

I am looking to start a RESP with a 15+ year time line. My 5 month old son loves the stomach churning world of small cap investing, just like his old man. What are your thoughts on putting all 2500 of this year's contributions towards PHO at its current value. I was also considering allocating 1000 shares in PHO and the remaining in GUD. My thoughts are that we start off with some higher risk/growth opportunity, which can be throttled down as our time line decreases. I would appreciate any strategic guidance or alternative suggestions.

Thanks

Q: My portfolio has been sitting unchanged for some time (2 yrs), many winners are 5i recommendations, some not so much. With that said, my portfolio is well underperforming the model equity portfolio. Below are my current holdings. If I am to sell off those not included, and change the weight to match those in the model portfolio, how would you go about executing this? Big bang? Are there names you would wait to get into today, or those that you are considering a change in the near future? The value is about 500K, so the trades(from my perspective) will be significant. % are approximate on the add side. Your advise would be really appreciated.

AYA-6.3 (%) - Sell
AVO - 3.7 - Sell
BAD - 3.5 - Increase to 5%
BNS - 6.3 - trim to 5%
BDI - .6 - Sell
CGX - 4.8 - Sell
CSU - 5.6 - No Change
DSG - 4.0 - Sell
DHX - 3.7 - Sell
ENB - 3.5 - Maintain
ENGH - 4.2 - Maintain
XTC - 1.05 - Sell
HCG - 1.1 (ugh) - Sell and burn transaction receipt
MUX - 4.6 - Sell
PKI - 6.4 - Trim to 5%
PLI - 2 - Sell
SSL - 3.8 - Sell
TOY - 6.7 - Trim to 5%
STN - 3.8 - Sell
SJ - 4.1 - Maintain
SLF - 5.2 - Maintain
SYZ - 4.1 - Trim to 3%
TOU - 3.5 - Sell
WCP - .7 - Increase to 3%
Add: AEM 3%, AIF 3%, ATD 4%, CCL 5%, CLS 3%, CXI 3%, GUD 3%, MG 5%, MX 3%, KXS 5%, NFI 3%, PBH 5%, SIS 5%, T 3%, WSP 4%

Also - (I have asked about as many questions of late as I have traded) - for RESP for 4 yr old, roughly 12K in there now, where would you park this given building a portfolio of names is a challenge with the limited funds.

Thanks,

Eric