Investment Q&A

Q: I’m trying to understand the core business proposition of Amazon as comments on earnings were how great its last quarter was. Their online retailing is very competitive and a valuable service. But not very lucrative.
The AWS part of their business is very profitable but it would seem that it’s an oligopoly at best and subject to possible margin reduction.
Do you have any thoughts on why it’s growth and margins going forward look so attractive?

Q: How would you rank these for adding to my TFSA today? They have all been beaten up, but are good stocks. Thanks as always!

Q: Hi Folks,

I am looking to add to my TFSA - AMZN and ATZ are the two stocks I am looking to buy. Is AMZN a company that you would put in your TFSA or would ATZ be a better choice?
Thanks

Q: Has Amazon’s online retail segment ever made a profit? Will it ever given its never-stopping investment into the future? If no prospect of profit, what’s the point of keeping on investing into the segment? Do you like its retail model - owning and selling goods? Isn’t Alibaba’s model better by only providing online retail space? Thanks. Liping

Q: Hello Peter,
Why is suncor not participating to the same degree as others in the sector with surging oil prices? Would i be better off moving to another name and if so, which is a better buy? Also, what do you think of Amazon's results? The stock has not done much if looking at one year timeframe.. Given the potential rise in rates, is it better not to take full position in Amazon? Thanks.

Q: Is there an etf that has google facebook apple and microsoft that trades on tsx in canadian funds.
T Steve

Q: For the 6 big techs listed above, could you please list in order of best to "least best", for a buy and forget 10-year hold. Can you also list the 6 from least risky to highest risk. If you were going concentrate on only 4, what would they be at this time?
Thanks!!

Q: Hello Peter,
On yahoo, i get a pe of 32 for shopify. Does this make sense ? What are the metrics one should use to evaluate good value for shopify? Given that there is competition for shopify, do you think the company deserve a full weighting of 5 percent? I am just concerned about what happened with black berry (RIM in early days) when apple and samsung came along.. can this happen to shopify as well as there is competition building.. Much appreciated

Q: I hold a share of Amazon stock and was wondering if it is time to sell or continue to hold.
It seems to have lost its momentum and the support it once had, seems to be getting lower.

Q: Hi, we are trying reduce our Technology exposure in US stocks. These are the companies held in our portfolio, in this sector, with weighting in descending order as follows: AAPL,MSFT,AMZN,MA,V,GOOG,PYPL,NVDA and ISRG.

How would you rank them, Today, based on the current valuation, growth prospects and risk ?

Also, should MA,V and PYPL be considered different than others ?

Thank You

Q: I have CCP corporation and would appreciate your recommendations for buy and forget stocks (moderate risk; 10-year hold). With such high dividend taxes in the CCPC, I would prefer stocks that pay a lower dividend or no dividend. Could you please recommend the 10 CAN and 5 US stock you would buy today, if you were starting this account?
Thanks for the great advise!!
Grant

Q: Re your response to John, January 17th, you answered "it's hard to beat a single great company that compounds year after year".
Could you please recommend 5 Canadian and 5 US companies that fit into said catagory that have declined recently due to the tech sell off, and represent a good buy/nibble point,
Please include a mix of larger e.g CSU and Google, along with more recent up and comers e.g. Shop and Roku, which seem to be among your most obvious favourites.
Thanks Peter.

Q: I get that there is money moving out of growth (tech) and into other areas of the market. However, all the mentioned names here have CAGR of > 25% amongst other great fundamentals (free cash flow, equity,...). So long as fundamentals don't change, I can't see any reason to sell - only to add to these names on this opportunity. So long as business grows (and >25% is huge!) all these should be winners in the long term, no?

I've experienced significant whiplash with most of these stocks but am optimistic that with a longer timeline I should be okay.

I'm hoping for two things in your response:
1. Giving me comfort that my thinking is correct and if I hold on I should be okay, and;
2. Of the list, the one stock you would add to today.

Thx for the comfort,

Cam.

Q: Hi Peter,

I have been a big fan of the FAANGM group and have been fortunate to invest in all of these companies.

What is your ranking over the next three to five years of the above group of stocks from a risk-return perspective?

Thanks,

George

Q: Shares of AMZN and some other high priced shares are available at very much lower denomination on the TSX. Do these have a significant hidden cost that would give the clear preference to buying AMZN on the US exchange? Thank you for your answer. Cheers

Q: Which company do you believe has greater up-side in 2022: SLF or LWRK?

I currently hold both LULU (down 12%, TFSA) and ATZ (up 40%, cash account). Am contemplating:
* continuing to hold LULU
* selling LULU and buying more ATZ (thus raising my ATZ holding to 4.35%)
* selling LULU and purchasing AMZN. Your advice would be most welcome.

Thank you,

Maureen

Q: Hi, Technology is the largest weight at about 45% ( even after the recent sell off) in our investment portfolio. Most of these holdings have been down 25-50% from the highs, over past 2-3 months, following the general market trend of indiscriminate selling in High multiple Tech stocks. LSPD and NVEI, of course, saw much steeper losses.
We do have the rest of the portfolio invested in Cdn large cap banks, industrials, utilities and telcos, generating decent dividend income.
We recently retired and as a part of portfolio planning/risk management, would like have a strategy to reduce the Technology weight to less than 35%, over next 2-3 years. The plan could be executed in phases, once the current tech rout is over and valuations have recovered.

From the perspective of risk, growth, stability and valuation, what would be the recommended/desired weighting for each company, balancing these factors. What would you suggest to be order of priority for the purpose of initiating sale of each stock. Also, it would be really helpful, if you could provide a reasonable price range for sale/trimming of these companies, based on price history and future expectation over 2-3 years.

CSU 14.5%
SHOP 9 %
TOI 5.2%
SYZ 3.5 %
LSPD 3 %
KXS 2.5%
NVEI 1%
US Large Cap Tech ( AAPL,AMZN,MSFT,MA,V,PYPL etc) 8% (we want to keep as is)

Thank You for your insight, which we value so much.

Q: Hi 5i, what is your current opinion of Ebay in terms of value and future growth potential for exposure to e-commerce. Also, how does the firm compare to AMZN on its investment merits? Long term investor, no short term trading.

Q: I understand that Amazon made an investment of less than 10% in a Canadian public company in November 2021. Do you know what company that is? Thanks Mike

Q: What are your thoughts on this etf? Are there any similar options to get exposure to these companies?