Investment Q&A

Q: Of the companies listed, which one would you start a new half position in today for a potential 5 plus year hold in a balanced portfolio. And would any in particular benefit from reopening? I understand that I would need to keep on eye on the cyclicals with a view to exiting if needed.

Q: I am looking to add new position in the C.Non Cycl. sector. My lean is to the balanced and income portfolios. How would you rank the above and which companies represent the best buying opportunity now( or is now not the time for this sector) and why?
Thanks,
Mike

Q: I am a 3-5 year medium and long term investor. I need to increase my position in Consumer Staples by about 3%. I currently hold ATD 3% and PBH 3% are in my taxable account. I have full confidence in the management of ATD but I now wonder if their business model has not changed a bit compared to the company I bought a few years ago.
1- If the electrification of transport raises from 2 to 10% within 3-5 years, how many customers will ATD lose?
2- If you have an electric car will you wait 15 minutes to recharge your battery in a convenience store?
3- Can ATD still grow by buying competitors at attractive prices?
4- Will future growth come in less profitable areas such as grocers and if so the P.E. will drop.

What do I do? Can you help me sort this out?
Buy more ATD? Add DOL? Add a little to the 2 already owned and add DOL, not DOL...

I'm lost.

Thank you.

Yves

Q: What 2-3 stocks would you add to this portfolio for more diversification and some growth?

Thanks

Q: Do you think ATD.B would ever take a run at (or a portion of) PKI?

Q: Could you please rank these consumer defensive stocks and why - STZ, DOL, ATD.B, MRU and PG.
Need to increase my US and International exposure, however considering selling STZ (in a RRSP)
What are you thoughts? Is there an ETF in this sector you favour with US /International exposure? Thank you

Q: I currently own ATD.B in my RRSP. I am considering selling ATD.B and replacing with BAM or BIP.UN. I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thank You

Kim

Q: in a posting this past week, you indicated that you preferred ATD.b over PKI. Both of the companies sell gas but ATD.b is listed as consumer non-cyl in the balanced portfolio and PKI as energy. Do you see them as similar? Do you see them as picking up once the pandemic is under control? what would be a good entry level price?
thanks

Q: Would it make sense for both Couche Tard and Suncor to strike a deal for the former to take over the latter's retail gas stations? Would such a deal unlock value for Suncor, and at the same time be a meaningful addition to Couche Tard?

Q: Hello,
Do you think ATD.B is looking attractive? the Circle K brand is trying to bring EV charging stations to the US market and possibly Canada eventually..I think this will be very good for the company. I am thinking of building up a full position.What are your thoughts?

Q: Which one offers the best return over the next 5 years?

Q: I wonder if you think the risk level has risen in Couchetarde? The bmo analyst that follows the stock seemed perturbed when he heard Alain Bouchard saying unequivocally on a French language interview that he needs to be, wants to be and plans to be as big as Amazon and Walmart. I don’t think that it is ego pushing him to this. I believe he honestly believes this is the only way forward in the current market climate. Great if he could pull it off. But does this news not change the perception of this company from a relatively fast growth comfortably company to something far more risky?

Q: Hi guys,

I have these "retailers" inside my portfolio, all around a half of a position. Would you recommend keeping all 4 of these or should I consolidate into two of them?

thanks
Jim

Q: Hello -
I have a concern about the grossing up of Canadian dividends (non registered account) affecting my OAS when I reach 71. By that time I will be forced to RRIF, I'll have my CPP, and I also have a company pension that I will be drawing from prior to that.

I know you are not tax experts, but wondered if you see anything wrong with my thinking here. I am leaning more towards lower paying dividend paying blue chips in that non-registered account. I already have ATD.B and CNR. Are there any other quality Canadian companies that you are comfortable with in this "lower dividend" category?

Alternatively I was thinking I could "swap" some investments. i.e. have more Canadian dividend payers in my RRSP and have my emerging market ETF's - ZID and VEE - in my non-registered account. Do you think this is worth considering?
At least those dividends would not be grossed up. Although the trade-off is that you lose the dividend credit.......sigh.

Q: Good morning
On a recent post, you commented "Shareholders are still a little shocked that it even decided to go after a low margin grocery chain, so may just be a little more wary." Balancing that, you also noted the partnership with Carrefour could help Couche-Tard 'get closer' and position them to acquire the parts of Carrefour they really want. Against that backdrop, my question is,
Does 5i feel that ATD is working to strategically reposition itself given the momentum building with electric vehicles? Do you feel ATD will be able to adjust strategically to make its network of stores still attractive in future with many more electric cars on the road? Thank you.

Q: Hello: This firm hasn't done anything for some time which would increase their share value. I don't have a lot of it but I like to see some action and all I've seen is a drop in price of several dollars over the past year. Would you suggest getting rid of it or hanging on.

Q: First of all, thank you for your amazing work. Cannot express how helpful my 5i subscription has been. Life-changing in all honesty.

My positions in LSPD (17.3%) and GSY (12.7%) have gotten a little out of hand. I was fortunate to pick them up near their lows in April. I've already trimmed both a couple of times, but I am really struggling to sell more given the positive outlook 5i has of both for the future. I've seen similar questions asked about trimming and selling positions with phenomenal growth and seen your responses suggesting to trim positions to reasonable weightings. I thought I might have an easier time doing so if you suggested some positions to add to or some new ones viewed as favourably as LSPD and GSY.

I have the following companies in a TFSA and have included the weightings only of positions I think might warrant a second look. While I anticipate a comment about weightings needing to be personal what would YOU suggest as the highest weighting for LSPD and GSY? And, again, please suggest some positions to add to or new ones.

Feel free to take question credits as you see fit.

DOO (2.1%), ATZ (2%), AW.UN, BYD
ATD.B
BMO, BRK-B:US, GSY (12.7%)
WELL (4%), VEEV:US (1.3%)
CAE, DAL:US, AC (1%), XBC (3%)
LSPD (17.3%), KXS (7.6%), DSG (3%), CSU, PHO (1.1%), AMD:US, CRWD:US (2.4%), U:US (2.1%), NVDA:US (0.83%), TTD:US(1.2%)
ROKU:US (1.9%), TTWO:US (1.2%), PINS:US (1.5%)
AQN, BEP.UN
REAL

Thank you again

Q: What is your opinion on the bid by Couche-Tard to take over Carrefour? Did management not do their "due diligence" as they seem to have been very surprised - that their was push back by the French government on the grounds of "food security".
Is the governments excuse a reasonable one or was it just to keep a major head office in country?
In the past Couche-Tard usually did very good job of looking for potential problems before attempting a takeover - usually only walking away because of a higher bid they were not willing to beat.

Q: Have you any thoughts as to why ATD.B did not bounce back to its pre-announcement- Carrefour-purchase price of about $42 or so? Thank you for your sevice.

Q: I am considering selling my PBH position and using the proceeds to add to ATD. I'm not concerned about the sector differences, particularly, and it looks like this could be a good time to add ATD, notwithstanding the uncertainties around the Carrefour offer. Is ATD in some ways like BAM, rather unique Canadian companies that can play skillfully on the biggest stages? What are your thoughts on such a switch, from one good company to another? Thanks, as always.