Investment Q&A

Q: In light of current market actions and the now widely anticipated economic recession, I am looking for your thoughts on stocks you would buy for long term (10 plus years) and/or forever holds -- Canadian and U.S. names please. I am investing for retirement (within 5 years) but also for our heirs. We have built a portfolio of sleep at night holdings over the past 25 years and just looking to tweak the portfolio. Although we do not like to see these kinds of volatile markets, we also do not get freaked out by them. We have ample cash or near cash always in hand to combat such actions -- something you learn through experience! Thanking you in advance for your answer.

Q: Hi 5i,
I am not 100% clear on stock and ETF's allocations for investment plans. Take as many points as needed to answer the questions below. I apologize in advance for the length of the question.

As a Canadian investing through a Canadian site (RBC in this case), split into CDN and US sections (moved CDN funds to USD and paid the exchange), which stocks and ETF's should be allocated to RRSP (CDN or US sections), TFSA, & Non-Registered accounts?

As an example, an RBC RRSP account is split into CAD and USD segments. If I purchase VWO in USD on the US segment instead of VEE on the CDN segment do I retain the 15% withholding tax? If I purchase VWO in CDN funds on the CDN side of the RRSP, what happens to the 15% withholding tax?

Is there a tax difference when filing a CRA 1135 form. e.g if VWO or VEE are 100+k CDN value: VWO on the USD segment or VEE on the CDN segment or VWO on the CDN segment.

If a US stock has a dividend, should this ever be purchased on the CDN side of the RRSP or in a TFSA? .. e.g. CRM with a small dividend or AMGN with a larger dividend

Can you please assign the best allocations (RRSP, TFSA, Non-Registered) to examples a the bottom of the question.
e.g. Non-dividend Growth US stocks (Googl, AMZN): TFSA, RRSP
This tells me that AMZN is best in the TFSA for growth, and in an RRSP purchased in CDN or US funds is the same effect other than currency at the time of purchase.
If a stock or ETF should be in CDN or US sections can you note that as well? e.g. RRSP(CDN or US).
It is a lot to ask so limited examples below will hopefully reduce the effort.

5i recommendations
Non-dividend Growth US stocks (e.g. Googl, AMZN):
US small Dividend Growth (e.g. IWO):
US Foreign ETF (e.g. VWO):
CDN ETF with US stocks and other int'l stocks (e.g. VEE):
CDN High Dividend (e.g. CDN Utilities/Reits/ETF's):
US High Dividend (e.g. US Utilities/Reits/Medical/ETF's)
All World ETF (VT):
All World ETF (XAW):

I very much appreciate your service and time to answer questions.

Jerry

Q: Hi 5i Team,
In this crazy market, your opinion is very appreciated. I listed my holdings in both US and CA. Are you seeing any stock in the list concerning ( fundamentals changed or poor balance sheet etc) with SELL recommendation even with a loss. These are hold in 2 tfsa and the investments are 5+ years. These companies are hold with 4 diversified etfs and follow the markets and nothing to do about them and i'm always with 6 to 8% cash with "see and wait mode".
USA: MSFT,V,CRM,AMZN,ADBE,TTD,GH,AYX,DXCM,ISRG,AVLR
CANADA: ATD-B.TO,BAM-A.TO,TRI.TO,LSPD.TO,ECN.TO, REAL.TO, CAE.TO
TFII.TO,SHOP.TO, WSP.TO, PBH.TO, DSG.TO, KXS.TO, PLC.TO,GSY.TO
BYD.TO, CSU.TO, PEO.VN

Thanks for help with this"Knocking Out market"

Q: I am considering purchasing Microsoft and Amazon? Would this be a good time to buy? If so, which do you prefer and why?

Q: If you only have enough funds to buy either AMZN or AAPL which one would you buy?
Thanks

Q: Hello Peter and Co,
My 20 year old grandson has opened a TFSA with $22000 in cash, and is asking for advice how to start investing. Our suggestion is that he put a fairly large amount into an index fund ETF, such as VFV, and then buy several individual stocks with the rest. They would be small positions (~$2500 per stock) but a good way for him to start learning, and with markets down, the timing seems quite fortuitous.
He is considering the following:
100 shares VFV: ~$7500
40 shares GSY: ~$2500
35 shares BEP.UN: ~$2500
1 share AMZN: ~$2500 (CAD)
7 shares NVDA: ~$2500 (CAD)
200 shares VET: ~$2500
-------------------------------
TOTAL: ~$20000

We had also suggested CSU, SHOP, KXS, PKI, TTD, GOOG, AAPL, ROKU, FB

What do you think of the above approach, and what changes might you suggest? I realize VET stands out as quite risky, but should probably do well long term.
Are there any sectors or stocks or ETF that you would suggest adding/replacing? Obviously he has a multi-decade time horizon.
Thanks for your sage advice!

Q: I started picking away at these names a week ago and bought half positions in each (I'm always too early!!). I'll probably look to buy the other half in each this week if we get more spikes to the downside. I'm a relatively longer term holder (say next 5-10 years at least). With respect to IHI I usually stick to individual stocks but took a look at the top 10 holdings and decided they were all good companies so just bought the ETF. Do you see any issue holding these names?

Q: hi Ryan,
today market is 900points down again. at this stage which five stocks in US you prefer to jump in without any sector taking in consideration?
which sector you like the most?
Thank you,
KT

Q: Hello Peter,
Convention says do nothing in a sharp downturn, although this has the potential to be more like 2008, deep recession included.
What would you say if i were to sell some or all of AFN, MX,FLIR, BAC, GH (US),GIL,TD,CCL and SIS? And buy COST, MSFT, AMZN(GOOGL), DSG(add) and NVDA(orQCOM).? The thesis being, that these would do better from where they are now, over the next 2 quarters. Or just sit tight.
Thanks for your advice.
Regards.
P.S. Which would you prefer- AMZN or GOOGL? NVDA or QCOM

Q: In response to the question by Satish, your suggestion was to look at tech growth stocks for a faster recovery. I had been considering TTD, NVDA, MSFT, GOOGL ,AMZN, COST and UTX before the correction; waiting for pullback. While UTX and COST have held up the others have dropped by varying degrees.
Could you please suggest your order of preference to buy in this volatile period.
As always, value your opinion.
Regards

Q: Hi, Can you name a few companies say 3 Us and 3 canadian companies who have been prolific in creating value for their shareholders either by buying back shares/not increasing their share count while growing consistently. A small dividend if applicable but leaning more towards growth in earnings. Preferably with some sort of monopoly or advantage in their field. Thank you.

Shyam

Q: Hi,
Just a quick comment on after hours trading from the question from Barry on AMZN. Publish if you think it night be helpful. TD allows this for all. There is no club. Day orders only. On the order entry screen, you just tick a box for a day order and after hours. I tried it once with a small order just out of curiosity really. It is essential you place a limit order to protect yourself. Never enter a market order. There are wide swings with thin trading. My bid was off the normal range. It did get filled and I felt pretty good. Then the CEO said something negative on the conference call. The next morning the stock opened lower than my fill and I did not feel as good then. I never did it again. You want a market with full liquidity and all the public information disclosed.
Dave

Q: I was in my car yesterday listening to CNBC when a chain of events occurred.
3.59PM - We look forward to to the results from Amazon's quarterly report after the bell.
4.01 PM - Interesting but AMZN is up 5% after the close. We await the results.
4.03 PM - We now have the results
4.05 PM - AMZN beats top and bottom line. The stock now up 10% "after hours"
Next morning the G & M reports the results. Stock is up 13% "after hours".
My questions are these . Who are these people that trade "after hours" and how do I get into this club?
Say I placed a $2000 US sale order at the beginning of the week on AMZN, is that only good during "normal" hours. What if I wanted to take that down after seeing the results? Or was it able to be sold at 4.01 PM yesterday?
How were people able to discern they wanted to buy the company at 4.01 PM? My guess, insiders who knew the financials prior to release?
Why does the SEC allow this? It only propagates the notion that the whole system is rigged.

Q: Hi, I am looking to deploy some US dollars I have in cash. My thinking is to focus on US tech - in particular the software, internet and semiconductor industries. Could you recommend names in each industry you feel would be a good choice, considering solid companies with growth prospects that could be held longer term?
Thank you for all your hard work!
Dawn

Q: Good morning,
I currently hold BABA.US in my RRSP and was considering a switch to AMZN.US. In an effort to further reduce risk while maintaining a tech component in my overall diversified portfolio, I'm now looking at selling my current BABA.US holdings and buying either QQQ.US or XLK.US which both hold some AMZN.US.
What are your thoughts on this potential move and of the two ETFs mentioned, which would you recommend and why?
I thank you and look forward to your response.
Francesco

Q: It seems Amazon will disrupt the pharmacy business worldwide with the announcement today (Jan.21) of an opening in 3 countries. Stock reacted with a nice pop on heavy volume. PillPack was a $750 mm business when Amazon bought it 18 months ago; how big is it now and what do you think of its potential?

Q: In my well diversified portfolio, ignoring taxes and cash requirements, which of the above equities would it prudent to be sell or add to currently? Thank you.

Q: I started following the 5i balanced equity portfolio in my LIRA a couple of months ago, but to change it up I am thinking about taking a 5% portfolio position in one of these companies. I have a 25-year investment time horizon for my LIRA. If I wanted to replace one of the 5i balanced equity portfolio funds with one of SHOP, APPL, TSLA, GOOG or AMZN, what would you recommend (both the one I would sell and the one to replace it with)?

Q: Hi,

Is there an ETF that focuses on the streaming wars - Disney, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, etc.

Q: Hello 5i
I own all of the companies noted. I'm wondering if there is excessive overlap here and if I should sell one or more in an effort to reduce overall holdings?
Thanks
Dave