Investment Q&A

Q: For several years I have used Google Finance as a good starting point to understand a specific company's historical stock price trends, dividends, etc. as well as a means to compare with other stocks. This all changed in November 2017 when Google decided to abandon this excellent site with one that, from my perspective, is essentially useless. The new site also concentrates on US stocks, ETF's, etc. whereas the old site also contained information on Canadian securities. The change has prompted me to look at other sites. The only one I can see which provides something is Microsoft Money. It is somewhat more unwieldy than the old Google FInance but does provide some information. Can you provide some information as to what you would recommend as a replacement for the old, excellent Google Finance? I read that perhaps Morningstar or Yahoo were good alternates but it seems that Morningstar is somewhat restricted. I have not tried Yahoo
Thank you very much

Q: In your model portfolios you hold almost 100% Cdn companies with little allocation to US or International. Can you speak to why when the industry is constantly preaching to diversify outside Canada.
Thanks
Mike

Q: I hold Enb DD 3.19 % bond and IPL 3.776 % bond AND multiple preferred shares from different companies

I will need to liquidate both bonds and preferred shares in next 3 months for home renovation .

1. Am I better off liquidating now or is there any upside to holding on ?
2. some preferreds have capital losts , can they be written off against equity capital gains (assuming I sell some equities as well.) ?

thanks

Ernie

Q: What was the sector rotation in the US you spoke of yesterday?? It was "a fairly strange market day with a giant US stock reversal."

Q: Hello

I have a question on ''ANNUALIZED RETURNS'' definition.


I came upon this website and it has caused me some confusion.
https://www.wealthenabler.in/knowledge-center/financial-freedom-demystified/annualized-returns-vs-cagr/

I was under the impression ''ANNUALIZED RETURNS'' AND "COMPOUND ANNUAL GRowth RATE'' was the same thing but this web site suggests maybe it is not?


In my questrade account under returns it shows ''Annualized'', and I always believed that included ''compounding'' and was not just Overall % Gains / Number of years?


I am hoping you can straighten me out here.

Thank you so much.

Q: Hi 5i, If you use DRIPS do you still have to claim the dividends for tax purposes at the end of the year.
Thanks Dave

Q: My father recently sold his share in his company. He knows I manage my investments myself (with your help of course thank you!) and asked me if I wanted to manage part of the resulting cash. It represents 400K$ that he doesn't need for his retirement income. I was thinking of using the Balanced Equity portfolio. I am about start initiating positions. Do you think it's better to buy over several months to spread the timing risk or just buy all at once? At the moment what would be your top 5 stocks based on growth and overall company quality?

Q: The Q & A is now saturated with ETF related queries. There has to be a macro message here. I am assuming this is a major contributor to the overvaluations in all markets. Your comments please.

Q: Iteq- israel tech etf
Hi,

Israel has a lot going on for it on the tech front. A lot of interesting start ups as well. Would ITEQ be a good way to invest in this growth? Would you suggest other etfs or individual stocks? Thanks.

Shyam

Q: Which mutual funds would you recommend today for non US / non Canada exposure. Large cap or smaller cap focus? Any specific geographic areas ? Thank you

Q: This is a general strategy question for younger investors. At what threshold ($-wise) would you recommend switching from an ETF-based strategy to buying individual stocks to build your portfolio?

Thanks guys,
A.B.

Q: Hello Peter and Team:

As a recent retiree, I am looking for a good book to educate myself on portfolio construction for an income investor. I would appreciate any recommendations.

Thanks

Q: Do you expect gold and precious metals to do well over the next year ? It seems that from a technical point of view, the price of gold has been on an uptrend for the past few months.

Q: Which 3-5 small to midcap US traded companies would you consider the best "Capital Compounders", i.e. with long-term competitive advantages, growing EPS, ROIC and FCF?
Thanks for your invaluable service!

Yvonne

Q: Hello 5i team,
S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI recently announced revisions to the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) structure for 2018. I think it would make a great topic for a 5i blog. In the meantime, I have a some questions: (1) does this announcement confirms that we should not always follow blindly industrial classification? (2) the classification is not always up to date, especially in developing industries (internet, telecom, media, communication) or when companies are transitioning activities? (3) Investors should allow themselves to split classification 50%/50% for some companies? (4) Could you list some companies that you think are currently "misclassified" by index providers (SHOP communications?) including companies either under coverage or in 5i Research portfolios or that will be reclassified?; (5) Would you agree that this announcement confirms that long term investors should not care that much about short term sector weighting fluctuations (rounding to the closest 5% is good enough) and should focus on selecting the best investments (stocks) whatever the sector, while just avoiding too high sector concentration, instead of doing mandatory diversification among all sectors in less good companies (for exemple recently : energy)? My main point is: many investors will change the composition of their portfolio (trade) following S&P and MSCI decision while their portfolio exposition (economic drivers) will not have change. Reading most 5i Research questions every day, I see many questions about sector allocation. I thought my questions would help some clients. Any other thoughts?
Thank you for your collaboration, Eric

Q: I have held this dog for years I know hope is not a strategy.
Is there any chance of share price increasing in the next 12 to 24 months Do they have any proven reserves I see one of the major sharholders is dumping the stock

Could you give my your valued opinion on this company
Much Appreciated
Paul

Q: Can you provide an etf based portfolio for my son’s TFSA & RRSP accounts ( approx total of $50k). He is 21 years old and probably will not require the money for the next couple of decades. Thank you

Q: Could you shine some light on the proposed transaction involving Oriana (NEX.V), Hut 8 and Bitfury? Once the reverse takeover occurs, would you support opening a small (speculative) position or would you wait and see?

Q: Is there a web site that lists Canadian corporate bonds that are available for purchase and their rating? What minimum rating would you recommend for purchase of Canadian corporate bonds?

Thanks

Q: If a company decides to adopt Blockchain where would you look to track the effects? For example would the company look to increase their revenues, or lower costs? Or is the benefit simply one of efficiency in record keeping? How would a company like Kodak be enriched?