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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: Hi team,
I go to the U.S. mainly for tech stocks. I have FB, GOOG and SQ for some time now, happy with all. In Canada, I have KXS (thank you very much), BYL and OTEX (my perennial laggard that I still like).

There are many U.S. tech stocks on my watch list but I will ask about TTD, The Trade Desk. As I understand its model, it is into digital advertising by selling programming on a real-time electronic auction basis. TTD went public last year, had a strong run, faded back and seems to be acting better these days. I have seen positive comments on it on several U.S. business sites in the past month or so. One U.S. analyst (for what that’s worth) had it among his top ideas for 2018.

Your thoughts on this one?

Thanks again,
dave
Read Answer Asked by Dave on January 24, 2018
Q: I've been looking for an ETF that covers the Blockchain space. BLOK.N from Amplify looks interesting as a managed ETF. This should be much safer that trying to play on the Cryptocurrency side. I'm in the technology space (software) and sort of the exponential growth of unstructured data we now create, I have not seen such a transformational new technology such as Blockchain.

https://www.amplifyetfs.com/blok
Read Answer Asked by Greg on January 24, 2018
Q: I have visited the Pimco website but am still unable to get a clear understanding of the holdings of the Pimco High Income Fund ( PHK:US). In your opinion, in general, would this fund be suitable for a retired senior? The income is high but does it come at a price to risk?
Thank you for considering my question.
Read Answer Asked by Gail on January 23, 2018
Q: Hello 5i. Just wondered if you had seen the article on this topic in the Globe & Mail over the weekend. What it suggests is that dividends from US-listed ETFs held in an RRSP account are not subject to US taxes. However, the article states that this is not the case for dividends paid by Canadian-listed ETFs that invest in US stocks. In this case, dividends ARE subject to US withholding taxes, even if the ETF is held in an RRSP account. The article goes on to say that these taxes cannot be recovered. (Same situation would apply to mutual funds.)

Assuming the article got this, I'm not sure that all ETF investors are aware of this nuance.
Read Answer Asked by Thomas on January 23, 2018
Q: Hello Peter
What are your thoughts on Nomura Instinet analyst comment on CNBC about SQ Inc.
(Payment company Square is "analogous to Amazon or Google in their early days" but Wall Street is valuing the stock all wrong, according to Nomura Instinet)
Thank you always for your valuable advice.
Regards
Claudio
Read Answer Asked by claudio on January 22, 2018
Q: I have virtually no direct exposure to the US market at the moment and wish to rectify that. My risk tolerance is moderate with a minimum hold of 5+ years.
I am considering adding IWO and MTUM to my RRSP plus 2 or 3 other stocks for diversified exposure. What are your thoughts with this strategy and can you provide a couple stock suggestions, your reasoning behind them, and perhaps how best to allocate the funds?
Thanks for the great service.
Read Answer Asked by Ron on January 22, 2018
Q: Firstly, let me compliment your staff on the VERY quick response to my latest question!
Now, picking up on our changes to the Cash Acct, I have decided to move the bulk of our RIFF accounts to the US to counter the larger CDN investments in our Cash Acts.
I have picked only ETFS as I believe they best represent US national growth potential at this time.
I would appreciate your best advice & rationale on 4 or 5 of the following: UDOW, DDM, SPSM, XLE, DIA, VTI, XLF, SPY, IGM. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Robert on January 22, 2018
Q: Greetings 5i,

I am considering adding a long-term, full position (5%) in V. This addition is attractive to me based on its international brand presence, solid track record, and the rising interest rates that will likely help profits moving forward. I am not concerned about the short-term ramifications of the recent US tax reform on its long-term viability.

My current financial exposure consists of TD.TO and BNS.TO (roughly 3.5% each), as well as full positions in BRK.B and BAM.A (although, due to the breadth of their holdings, I look at BRK and BAM more like diversified "hybrids" than single financial positions).

I am 36 years old, debt-free, conservative (although not totally adverse to risk), and greatly prefer long-term holds that do not require constant monitoring. My investment portfolio is strictly for the purpose of expediting my retirement, and I have no need of its funds for the foreseeable future.

Does the addition of V sound like a reasonable course of action at this time?

Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Lucas on January 22, 2018
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