Investment Q&A

Q: Worth reading:

How Banks Can Compete Against an Army of Fintech Startups

https://hbr.org/2017/04/how-banks-can-compete-against-an-army-of-fintech-startups

Q: Hi 5i
I know each stock in ones portfolio should not exceed about 5% of one`s total portfolio . Does this also apply to Bond ETF`s as well as Regular ETF`s .? My guess is that bond ETF`s can be upwards of 10% per ETF but regular ETF`s should be closer to 5%. Am i correct in this thinking ?
Thanks
Bill C.

Q: Hi5i,
If I hold GIC's in a TD webroker account.
$100,000.00 BMO
$100,000.00 RB
Am I insured on each GIC or $100,000.00 for total account.
Thanks Dave

Q: Great article: The Other Side - April 19, 2017 by Michael Batnick
http://theirrelevantinvestor.com/2017/04/19/the-other-side/

See/Insert graph:
http://theirrelevantinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/12.jpg

Excerpt:
...
If I were in the business of picking stocks, I would do two things: I would try to exclude the worst stocks rather than attempt to pick the best, and I would focus on value, which are really two sides of the same coin.

While the best performing stocks from year-to-year are all over the map, from deep value to high beta and everything in between, the worst performing stocks over time share similar characteristics. So maybe it’s not such a bad idea to be a closet indexer after all, except you should try to be in the closet that screens out stocks that are highly levered, have growing accruals, inventory build, or whatever metrics you prefer.

Investors are drawn to glamour stocks because the payoffs can be huge. But while they have great possibilities, they also have bad probabilities, as Patrick has shown. The best performing glamour stocks outperform by 112% on average, but the median result is underperformance of 11%. The best performing value stocks on the other hand, saw a 78% average excess return, while the median saw a 5% average excess return.
...

Comments? As usual, thank you for sound advise.

Q: SBC is going through some moves - issues preferred shares, giving holders of capital shares more shares, etc. Could you explain what is going on? I own 500 A-shares. Thank you!

Q: How much faith would you put in Morning Star ratings for mutual funds and ETFs? Thank You Ron

Q: I have searched but cannot find out if interest on US bonds held in a RRSP are taxed (i.e. withholding tax)? I am aware that US dividends in a RRSP are not. Thank you for your help. Peter

Q: In the question today by Thomas, what fund is being referenced?

Q: I have owned this fund for a very long time and averaged over 8% return through the time I have owned the fund. The fund has a monthly distribution which is reinvested and additional units distributed annually which are also reinvested, a healthy gain in NAV over the years.I'm now 1% over a full position in the portfolio should I continue to let it run, I have not added a dollar to this fund in 10 years or would you trim back to a 5% postion

Q: What information can you provide on crystal fuel (oro blanco)found in the Andes and Death Valley, and the name of companies that may be involved in the development of such. Thank you. Gaston

Q: I now have control over a LIRA that contains BNS377, a bond fund with a MER of 1.47. Would you recommend holding BNS377 or switch out to a bond ETF like VAB? This is a large holding that needs to stay in safe,conservative fixed income, so perhaps VAB and ......? Thank You Ron

Q: Could you recommend some ETF's that would provide a good hedge against rising markets...I was thinking of buying a gold, materials, or bond ETF...Do you have any suggestions?

Q: Dear 5i
I am two years away from retirement and currently switching over my portfolio to a self directed acct at Questrade .
I want to be fairly conservative in my portfolio and feel that a 30% Equity 70% Fixed income would be appropriate .
I will be using 5i for stock selection . I`m just uncertain if 70% Fixed income is too much or not considering possible interest rate hikes down the road . Are there other fixed income investments other than Bond ETF`s , GIC`s cash etc . Also with bond etf`s are both interest and yield paid or is it one or the other only ?
Thanks
Bill C.

Q: I'm having difficulty interpreting the CRA's defination of eligible expenses for investment consel. Are the fees paid for 5i's portfolio reviews considered an investment expense that can be claimed on tax returns? Thankyou for your reponse.

Q: Can you explain what is Full Position ?

Q: Hello 5i team, I try to better classify the whole portfolio by various sectors and I hesitate where should I put bonds - to treat it as a separate category, or to classify depending on fixed income type.. etc. Looks like a theoretical exercise but still important to assess sector weights properly :) Your advice is highly appreciated!

Q: I need to diversify our investments more outside of Canada/US. What is your opinion of VAH? The dividend is attractive. Thank you, Bill.

Q: I suggest you place a eValium button on a stock every time it tanks. I could prevent folks from jumping off windows. On second thought marijuana ETF would do the same.

Q: Good Morning. Further to questions and answers re dividend tax credits and the recent article in the Financial Post, how does income from pensions affect the tax credits? Is pension income considered different from income from a job? I could (and should) experiment in a tax program but wondered if you had a quick answer while the topic is current.

Thanks,
Cathy

Q: I had asked if all sectors would be covered in your Balanced Portfolio and you missed this question when you replied.

Do you think you could add another column to your portfolios and put in the sector. You are very familiar with what sector each would be but myself and possibly others are not.
Thanks so much again.