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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: In the past you have been very pro NVDA and lukewarm to AMD. I am getting reports that AMD is "eating NVDA's lunch" when it comes to gaming chips and is now set to break out. The Google announcement early this week would seem to confirm this thesis, however it appears every chip company is on the rise. Have you altered your opinion on AMD? Before the announcement I got on AMD (2% position) and am up 20% very quickly. I am thinking of adding more. Should I?
Read Answer Asked by Barry on March 22, 2019
Q: What is the outlook for CRMD ? I am 21% under water. Hold, sell, buy more ?Thank you for the good work.
Jacques
Read Answer Asked by Jacques on March 21, 2019
Q: Hello,
Staring to set up a stock portfolio and looking for some guidance. Can you provide your must have stocks in CDN and US.

Enjoying 5i
Darryl
Read Answer Asked by Darryl on March 21, 2019
Q: I am puzzled by the recent strength, of PRU US. PRU has had ratings upgrades. TipRanks ™ ‘top analysts’ rate is as “Strong Buy”. RBC Cap has it as at outperform. All of the several financial sites I looked up rated PRU as a buy or above. FT of London has made favorable comment on Prudential Group in the past year. (MFC has also been showing signs of life only some of which is attributable to winning litigation this week). It is generally accepted that interest rates in the US and Canada will remain low for more than a year. These LifeCos are holding up well... why? What gives? SLF is doing well, but SLF has non-overlapping operations and has had better strategies than MFC.

Question: would you sell PRU and deploy proceeds elsewhere? Would you expect PRU to appreciate more than dividend plus about 3%, that business prospects for the LifeCos will improve? Although PRU looks great value, its ROE, ROA, ROIC look poor--- but then I see conflicting ratios and metrics… your Bloombergs or service provider would have the deeper stuff of substance that I always want to see before buy/sell decisions.
Read Answer Asked by Adam on March 21, 2019
Q: Hello Peter, Ryan and the 5-I Team,

I was very late to the cannabis party, but dipped my toes into a couple of stocks about 6 months ago. I have now done well on Village Farms and Canntrust in this short period of time. Of course, this may be a bubble, but with many states in the U.S. considering legalization, some argue that there is still a long runway ahead, especially for cannabis companies that will serving the American market. As well, with the change in US hemp farming laws, my understanding is that CBD products are now legal across the country.

I’ve also noticed (anecdotally) that at least a dozen of my friends and colleagues are using CBD oil on a regular basis (and I’m 55 years-old). It’s being recommended by some doctors and many naturopaths, leading me to think that it's becoming the new “aspirin”. My guess is that it’s going to be much more popular than Paw Patrol!

That brings me to my question. If you were going to take a position in a US CBD producer, would Charlotte's Web be one of your top picks, and if not, do you have any other suggestions? They have very slick marketing and claim to be the #1 brand by market share. Additionally, I read in the Globe yesterday, that Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index has just added Charlottes Web to their index.

Thanks,

Brad
Read Answer Asked by Bradley on March 20, 2019
Q: Celgene appears to be stumbling higher, presumably towards the value assigned to it from the Bristol Myers merger. In past months, you previously suggested holding on; is that still your view? Also, can you suggest a source for information on the tax treatment from the merger for Canadian taxpayers who hold Celgene? Thanks,
Read Answer Asked by Leonard on March 20, 2019
Q: In this month's MoneySaver magazine, there is an article by Rita Silvan titled "Spin-offs, Ticker Symbols and Other Investment Anomalies". In this article, she states that in the last 15 years, from 2002 to 2017, the Bloomberg US Spun-Off Index returned nearly 1,000% compared to the S&P 500 Index which returned 203.9%.

Are you aware of any ETFs which track this index? What is your view about ETFs which track spin-offs? Is this a strategy which you would recommend? I could only find the Invesco S&P Spin-Off ETF (CSD) and its returns appear to be 2.15% annually over the last 5 years, and is a significant underperformer compared to the S&P500.

Thank you again for your invaluable advice. This service is truly excellent!
Read Answer Asked by Dale on March 19, 2019
Q: Hello, A friend told me about this company that is moving well with the market. This is a new name to me. What do you think about this company in terms of financial situations such as, cash flow, debt levels, etc? From risk/reward considerations, for a medium risk investor, is it buyable at this level? Thanks. Lin
Read Answer Asked by Lin on March 19, 2019
Q: I am very fortunate to be a member of 5I,Thanks
I wish you were actively advising on US stocks meanwhile however
for me to start please suggest some US stocks or etf for not very aggressive
stocks with high volatility but something like BNS,SLF,td in Canada Income is not my priority but steady growth is in my mind not stocks like canabis?
I appreciate your sugestion and has always benefited from them
Nizar
Read Answer Asked by Nizar on March 19, 2019
Q: Hi 5i, I currently have 3 U.S. stocks now. Bank of America, Jpmorgan and Pfizer. Would like to add 1 or 2 more, thinking along the lines of a stock like Aqn ( just the quality doesn’t have to be in the category) just to let you know I’m up 117% on Aqn because of your recommendation sometime ago. So looking for decent growth, nice dividend and my time horizon is very long term.
Thx
Gerry
Read Answer Asked by Gerry on March 19, 2019