Investment Q&A

Q: Generic question: according to one money manager, a number of stocks are now being priced at “zero” …. clearly not zero , but well below traditional metrics for evaluating stocks.( FRC the most obvious example)

AND also arguing that this has not happened since 2008.

As always I am interested in the 5i perspective, please and thank you.

And can you think of stocks that fall into that category?

Q: My Tech holdings are getting too high, thanks to your good advice. Would you please provide your current ranking of the stocks listed? I've included GOOGL, even though I believe you place it in the comm/serv sector.

Q: Hi Team,
A couple parts to this question: Looking at a 10yr chart on ATS, the share price has gone from being fairly flat for several years, to parabolic since Oct. of 2020. Was wondering if you could shed some light on this and the company itself. I like the looks of the company but am hesitant of buying at a "peak". I see between Feb-May of 2022 it took a major dive. What are the chances the share price is due for another one of these draw downs? This all being said, ATS is the biggest weighting in the growth portfolio right now. Does this mean it's 5i's top idea at the moment? For new money I am torn between buying something like ATS which is flying high, or buying something that has been beat down and near recent lows such as something like SHOP or NVEI. Placing bets on total return for the next 10yrs would ATS rank up there as a top buy today with medium risk in mind? If not, could you provide your 3-4 top ideas to buy today with a longer term mindset? Thanks

Shane.

Q: Hi Team,
Understanding that weightings are personal, what is the highest weight that YOU would be comfortable with before trimming the stocks above?
Thanks

Q: I own SHOP, AMZN and BABA and might be a bit overweight in the online shopping space. I am thinking it might be wise to dump one of the three. SHOP is the smallest weighting of the three thanks to it's spectacular decline from where I purchased. All are in regestered accounts so no tax considerations. How would you rank these three against each other today and if you were going to drop one which one would it be?

Q: I currently own shares in SHOP and am thinking of selling them and using the proceeds to buy shares in GOOG. Can you think of any concerns that you might have about this action?
I appreciate the good advice that you have always provided me in the past.

Q: What are some "swing for the fences", i.e. high risk but potentially high reward, ideas on your radar at the moment. Looking for U.S./Canada ideas regardless of sector. Thank you!

Q: What are your thoughts on comments around SHOP never becoming profitable enough to justify its crazy valuation. They added 1B in opex while only adding 270M in gross profit. They keep spending more and more money on R&D, new comp plans, to compete with Amazon. But mgmt has never given shareholders a plan on when and how they are going to reap the rewards of this hyper growth mode. Like many of these big tech stocks they are following the model of growth at all costs, then eventually we are so big and have so many customers that we increase prices, and cutdown on our costs, then the profits flow in. SHOP has never mentioned a plan for this and Toby isn't exactly the guy thats going to cut pay and let people go for the sake of profits. Starting to wonder if SHOP will ever be a massively profitable company like it was meant to?

Q: This is an excellent response which shows that 5i clearly understands both companies:

“SHOP is in talks to add AMZN's Buy with Prime service. It allows SHOP customers to get Prime benefits, such as fast shipping, free delivery and free returns. End customers will like it, but analysts are worried that it will effectively shift business from SHOP to AMZN. SHOP needs to be careful here. Some are calling it a Trojan Horse that could backfire on the company. Most SHOP merchants use SHOP because they don't want AMZN controlling the customer relationship. Thus, SHOP needs to maintain the customer relationships it has, and this is likely why it is taking its time with this decision.”

My next question: Amzn targets each individual customer and the customer buys straight from Amzn without needing to go through a merchant store. Amzn fulfillment/shipping/delivery is a huge competitive advantage. Shop on the other hand targets the merchant stores and gives them the tools to sell online directly to the individual customers. Individual customers want goods delivered quickly with option to return. If shop is using Amzn shipping then Amzn will be a part of the shop experience and Amzn will potentially control aspects of the customer experience at shop. What will then stop Amzn from completely absorbing shop within Amzn? Amzn will already be an integral part of shop so is the monopoly power and competition regularly approvals the only thing that would hold Amzn back from taking shop over on day???

Q: shop web call was a good primer for understanding its business and pointed to setting things up for growth but market and analysts are skeptical.
shop gave back a good chunk of its recent positive movement today. most analysts now have it as a hold which is as close to reduce as you can get without saying sell, with target prices close to what it is now. what does 5i say? where do you see things going short, medium and longer term. can you provide some price ranges. Thinking about topping up position but trying to decide when.

Q: There is mention of a partnership with Amazon. Is this a good or bad thing? Please explain

Q: I have SHOP and LSPD in my RRSP at loss and realize it will take time to return to the plus side, so throwing caution into the wind (for the 3rd time!!!), I am thinking of selling both and replacing with ARKK.

The logic being that it could erase the loses quicker than with the other two. What do you think ... is this swap a good or reasonable idea? Should I just do one of the two or hold tight? Thanks as usual for your thoughtful advice.

Q: I am considering buying some shop in tfsa please advise your reading on the company going forward after the company report today. Would you wait or is it time to buy now?
Cheers Doug

Q: Hi, Shopify released excellent results, but stock is taking a 10% hit ( after 7% run up yesterday) in pre-market due to softer guidance. Will see how stock trades today and over next 2/3 days. Most analysts, this morning have been lukewarm to results, except RBC, which raised its price target.

What are your thoughts ? Do you think the market reaction seems a bit too harsh?

Thanks

Q: I have in my wife's TFSA: BIP.UN, SIS, SPB, STC and ETF XIT. First 3 holdings for long time. STC down 78% - ouch, XIT about even now but holds two dogs LSP and SHOP. Was thinking of selling STC and XIT and buying AD.UN and KMP.UN. We are holding $72K in cash as well. Ideas/suggestions appreciated. She already owns GSY and GRT.UN in RRSP - purchased last year. A lot of stocks are up a fair bit - so, do not see any bargains.

Q: In a recent response, you ranked from your Growth Portfolio: KXS, NVEI, TCS, CTS, DND, TIXT, STC. Where would LSPD and SHOP fit in this ranking? What are your current expectations for LSPD and SHOP and would you buy them here?

Q: Could you please rank the above tech stocks. I am trying reduce the number of stocks i have and I can't decide which of the above i should sell or trim.
Thaks

Q: About 2 weeks ago, Adam asked a question and 5i answered, as follows:

Q. Would now be a time to review ones stock holdings, maybe raise some cash in anticipation of slight pull back or considering a pause in rate hikes, would you go all in with growth stocks?

A. We think it is too early to go all in on growth or add risks. While we think the overall outlook is positive, there are still plenty of challenges. .....We still wouldn't time the market with a cash call.....When doing a review, however, we would still focus on the fundamentals rather than the stock movements. We think high-quality growth stocks look good, and there is no need to keep or layer on extra risk when solid companies still remain cheap even after recent moves.

Two questions from me:

1. Two weeks is a mere blip in the investment time horizon, nonetheless with a bit of news (interest rate + market response, some earnings releases, etc,) do you have any further thoughts about the overall outlook for adding cash or more of a tilt to growth?

2. Can you list 10 high - quality growth names (Cdn or US) that fit your desired fundamental profiles, contemplated by your answer to Adam?

Many thanks for your excellent service.

Q: when does shop next report? what are street expectations and what are 5i's expectations? what is one point each that might positively and negatively significantly affect earnings as a surprise?

Q: iI have about $8,500 to invest in TFSA;'a what should I invest int?? Pretty balanced otherwise.