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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: I have been following WP Glimcher since it got a positive mention in Barron's. My main concern is their high level of debt. Your thoughts would be welcomed.
Read Answer Asked by george on November 25, 2015
Q: Hello team, Just to clarify....Kerri asked today (24 Nov) about your 5 picks in US market and you mentioned OSIS. You have, in the past, mentioned ISIS and was wondering if you meant ISIS instead of OSIS.
Thank you,
Silvia
Read Answer Asked by Silvia on November 25, 2015
Q: Hello 5i Team,

I hold BMY with a very nice dividend/gain, but notice that you seem to favour MRK. May I have your comparison of the two companies? I'm thinking of switching some money from BMY to MRK..... or maybe putting it all on NVO?

Thank you again for all your advice.

Thank you again for the advice.
Read Answer Asked by Molly on November 24, 2015
Q: nothwithstanding the valuation difficulties ....given the dominance of amazon ...marketplace,prime,AWS ......CAN YOU COMMENT HOW ANYONE ELSE CAN REASONABLY COMPETE??
Read Answer Asked by Kim on November 24, 2015
Q: Could you pls comment on PAH ...been fair bit of recnet insider buying
Read Answer Asked by Kim on November 24, 2015
Q: Hi there,
I am sitting on some US$ in my trading account. I basically follow your balanced portfolio plus some of your growth picks. I can't decide what stocks or ETF's to buy with my US $. My American holdings consist of Disney and VXUS. I realize you don't cover American stocks. What would be your top 5 picks in the US market. I can handle a moderate amount if risk and have the ability to hold long term if needed.
Thank you,
Kerri
Read Answer Asked by KERRI on November 24, 2015
Q: Hello Peter
I own Alergan stock and Pfizer & Alergan announced today 160 billion merger

The deal values Allergan at $363.63 per share, about 30% more than its price when reports of a deal first surfaced last month.

Allergan shareholders will get 11.3 shares of the new company for each of their shares. Pfizer shareholders will get one share of the new company’s stock for each of their shares.

After completion of the deal, which must be approved by U.S. and European regulators, Pfizer shareholders would own 56% of the combined company.
My question is what should I do with my shares, sell or wait for closing of the deal and what is good and what is bad in this deal for me as a shareholder.

Regards Andrew B.
Read Answer Asked by Andrzej on November 23, 2015
Q: I would appreciate your opinion of FAF.us at today's price of $38.19.
Read Answer Asked by Alfred on November 23, 2015
Q: Thinking of doing some bottom fishing here with either Finning or Caterpillar which both are long term performers. Any thoughts on my strategy of picking up some shares on the cheap for a long term hold and would you prefer one company over the other?
Read Answer Asked by John on November 23, 2015
Q: I would appreciate your thoughts on Chipotle. With the drop from the recent E. coli issue, is it a good time to buy? I suspect the E. coli issue will blow over, but do you think it will be able to maintain its growth rate, and if not, how quickly do these types of companies fall out of favour? Thanks for your insight. Great service!
Read Answer Asked by Donald on November 23, 2015
Q: With Nike announcing stock splits do you think it is a good long term buy and hold at new levels? When I buy nke does it mean I Nike class A shares or class B shares, does this matter?

From a buyers point of view, does it make sense buy US stocks before or after interest rate hikes? What is the tradeoff likely between stock prices and US$ (assuming one needs to convert CAD to US?

Enjoyed your talk on BNN! Great job. Cheers, Shyam
Read Answer Asked by Shyam on November 23, 2015
Q: Thank you for your great service. I dont know if you know this company or not but the stock declined 35% on November 20 as a result of unfavourable future guidance. I have taken a financial hit but fortunately this security is a very small percentage of my portfolio. If you feel comfortable answering the question I would like your opinion as to whether I should sell, add more or hold. Thank You.
Read Answer Asked by Brian on November 23, 2015
Q: Hello Peter,
Could you give me your analysis on Imax and would you prefer it to Disney to take advantage of the strong slate of movies coming up in the next year,
Thank You,
Barry
Read Answer Asked by Barry on November 23, 2015
Q: In response to my last question, you named VLS and XLI as possible industrial etfs. Is VLS a typo; having trouble looking it up.
Thanks for your response to that question and this one.
Read Answer Asked by Ron on November 23, 2015
Q: Hello Peter & 5i team,
So far so good in 2015, even though it was a tough year ; the equities (all canadian) I own have generated a 12.6% total return to Nov 20.
But these equities represent 82% of my RRIF portfolio ; this means that I’m sitting on 18% cash which I hesitate to redeploy.
You say that the US economy is pretty strong ; well, I’m not so sure about that. It is rather the best among a lousy bunch; in other words, in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed is king.
The S&P 500 rally is of low quality in terms of lack of breadth ; in 2015, its top 10 performing components represent over 100% of the total whereas that ratio was less than 20% in 2014 and slightly more that 10% in 2013. That’s a bad turn of situation.
The relative performance of the Russell 2000 vs the S&P 500 is in decline due to lack of liquidity in the small cap sector (which is the engine of growth). That’s no good either.
The Retail sector (consumer discretionary), which is a very important sector in the US economy, is dominated by only 3 names : Amazon, Netflix and Expedia. That’s hardly reassuring.
The US$ keeps gaining ground ; that causes enormous pressure on Emerging Markets debt and constitutes a substantial headwind on US multinationals profitability.
To top it all, the 2-year US yield is going up contributing to a flattening of the yield curve ; if (and its a big if) this situation perseveres for a few more months, we could face an economic downturn.
This is my rationale as to why I hesitate to redeploy my cash and look forward to your counter arguments,
Thanks as always,
Antoine


Read Answer Asked by Antoine on November 23, 2015
Q: Good morning,

I currently hold SPY, VIG and IWO for US exposure in equal amounts representing 8% of my portfolio. Would you recommend switching to/ or adding to these the specific ETFs that you outlined for tech, consumer discretionary and industrial sectors? Also, what portfolio % might you aim for in US currently.

Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Janet on November 23, 2015
Q: goodday
In your options strategy i notice that you renew the option or sell another one about once a month. I have heard that others look out to two or three months. I have looked at calm and noticed that on a $60 strike price, you stand to make pretty much the same premium, the feb premium just paying thrr times more than the dec premium. I would like to know if there is any kind of advantage in the once per month option
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by joseph on November 23, 2015
Q: Hi Peter,

This stock was suggested in the Financial Post prior to the health care correction. Would you consider it a hold? I could tax loss sell?

Thanks for the great service. I too recently renewed for two years.
Read Answer Asked by Kat on November 20, 2015
Q: Hi Guys. With all the hype of 5 Star Wars releases in the next 5 years plus the merchandising to go with it. Is Disney priced to perfection at this point or does it have room to move to the upside if it starts smashing worldwide box office records? This is of course in addition to all its other upcoming high profile film releases. Not to mention media properties, parks, cruise ships etc.
Read Answer Asked by Greg on November 20, 2015
Q: Team,

*Please count this as 4 questions*

Can I get your updated opinion on the following 4 US companies, all of which has had recent dips / corrections.

I own an avg. position in each as part of a balanced portfolio, thinking of adding more to each name, do you have a higher degree of confidence in any of these names more than the other? Thanks.

1. UTX
2. CSX
3. MRK
4. PG
Read Answer Asked by Ray on November 19, 2015