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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: Hello,

What is the proper way to assess ones portfolio performance and over what period of time should it be underperforming before you change your approach?

The equity portion of my portfolio is down 8% for the year which is horrible compared to the TSX. I have lots of solid blue chips and stocks from your balanced, but 25% of my portfolio are small caps (mostly from your growth portfolio) that are not doing well at all.

It makes me kinda depressed to be underperforming an index but on the other hand I know that small caps aren't doing well right now and generally need to be held for several years. Also, if one or two doing really well, my portfolio will too.

So how long do I wait to see if I get the 9% yearly returns I'm aiming for?

Best,

Carla

Read Answer Asked by Carla on July 04, 2016
Q: I have noticed with low trading companies, quite often a bid or ask of one lot hiding behind it a larger numbers of bids and asks. Often enough I put my bid or ask 1 cent lower or higher than the competing bid or ask and that particular one lot bid or ask moves ahead of me. Are these traders trying to hide the larger number from regular investors that don't have access to second level quotes? What would be the purpose of their actions.

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Saad on June 30, 2016
Q: Hi 5i. I just read an article at pbs.org about the growing monetary bubble and its eventual unwinding which is supposedly inevitable given the unprecedented level of money creation in the world that is going on. What is your take on the subject? Do you agree that a day of reckoning is inevitable, and what would it look like? Doesn't Econ 101 say we should be seeing escalating inflation if this is the case? What would be the best defence to protect savings in a bad scenario?

Deduct questions as you see fit. Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Rick on June 30, 2016
Q: This is a comment on Austin question this morning. Some fund companies and in particular Sprott charges performance fees even when the fund loses money. So in the example you have shown if the market went down by 50% and the fund went down by 30% the some performance fees are charged. So they get on the upside and downside, which I think it is unfair. I would like to see fund companies, charging only on the upside with a specific percentage of absolute return. Or better yet giving back what they earned in performance fees when the investor loose money.
Read Answer Asked by Saad on June 27, 2016
Q: As a pensioner, I just came into $150K of "extra" money that I would like to invest in the 5 year and more time frame. (I'm optimistic). I would like 6 names you can recommend within the following framework.
1. Must be TSE listed company.
2. Much of the income must be from outside of Canada.
3. Must be in the top tier of stable companies.
4. Should be growth rather than dividend focused.
Three "ideal" investments I have in mind is TD, MG, and BAM.A. So along this line, what can you recommend? Thank You.
Read Answer Asked by Jim on June 14, 2016
Q: Where do you see the greatest risk to equity and bond investments?
1. High inflation caused by economic growth finally putting to work all the money that was printed by central bank quantitive easing around the world; or,
2. Deflation caused by slow growth due to unfavourable demographics and financial deleveraging by consumers.

What would you recommend as the best defense in each of these scenarios?
Thanks,
Read Answer Asked by Hans on June 13, 2016
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