Investment Q&A

Q: I don't really want to spend C$1.45+ for each USD cash. So to gain US market exposure, does it make sense to buy CDRs of US companies (Cdn $ version of their large cap stocks) ? for example JPM, MSFT, GOOGL, BRK.B etc.

Q: Good morning 5i,

I'm expecting some turbulence coming for sure. I doubt all is priced in with the tariff battle. Of course nobody knows. But opportunity may be knocking.

I refreshed myself on Peter's cover call write up from years past. I'd love a new take on selling covered calls to enhance your income and some strategies relating to it. ie, OTM, time frame etc.

And some top stocks in your view for writing on. Excluding NVDA, already sell OTC cc on my position.

Thank you very much.

Q: Can you comment on the drop please and provide your valued insights. They are appreciated. Thanks

Q: Hi there,

If you were to create a US Balanced Equity Portfolio using CDRs only, what would it look like?

Thank you!

Q: Your parents give you $100k CAD and $100k USD to invest on behalf of your family for the next 5 years. They instruct you to invest $20k in five Cdn stocks and $20k in five U.S. stocks to hold over the duration. Considering current valuations, the fact this is your family's money, and the objective of maximizing total return over the period, what are your 10 picks?

Q: A couple of things I'm not understanding from the Nasdaq Deepseek sell off ..... I know META, Google, Apple, and others are pouring a lot of money into AI research.... But do any of them actually have a verifiable revenue stream as a result of this research ? .....And as I understand it Deepseek's solution is " open architecture " Doesn't that mean anybody can use it as a base for their own uses ?

Also in an answer this morning to Jim you stated that HBND, FMAX, and HBIL were subject to with holding taxes in non registered accounts. What is their status in a SDRIF ? Thanks for your terrific service ......

Q: I have the above tech stocks sitting at just over 30% weighting in portfolio. Could you please rank them as to which you might sell first. I sadly sold Crowdstrike last summer when they had their issues and I am thinking I need a cybersecurity stock. Would you buy Crowdstrike or Palo Alto or half of both. Also, What do you think about Saleforce? With the thought of cheaper AI, is that one that would possibly benefit and how where would it rank within my aboce tech stocks? Thanks for all your help. With all your advice, last year was awesome and still up this year following yesterday’s falloff.

Q: Hi 5i team,

I'm looking to deploy some new TFSA money for a 15-20+ year hold, ideally for a CAD stock given the current high US exchange rate. I currently have more tech than other industries with stocks like NVDA, SHOP, GOOGL, CSU, MFST, LMN, TOI and TTD.

I'm looking for some non-tech growth CAD options. Can you please recommend and rank 5-10 options in order of their leadership and balance sheet?

For CAD non-tech stocks, I currently own WSP, TVK, GSY, BN, EQB, ATD, BYD, ATZ, HPS, SLF, TD, TFII, LULU, WELL, CS, and ATS. Would you add or start new positions in your recommendation?

Q: I have about 10% cash that I am considering putting in U.S. stocks. Even with our $.69 dollar, I don't see any catalysts to improve that over the next few years. I have a good diverse portfolio in both $Cdn and $US, but I am definitely lighter in US exposure.
With the uncertainty of tariffs, Canada with no real leadership for the foreseeable months ahead, the US "Drill baby drill", and Canada not seeming able to attract large international investment, is there anything left to drive growth in Canada?
I am retired, so I want something that should be a little less volatile. I'm thinking of adding to MSFT and JPM, to bring them to a full 5% position. Is this a good idea, and if so, can you also recommend 2 other stocks for me to look at. What are your thoughts on Healthcare, stocks or ETFs, with the new administration? Everything US is inside my RRSP. Thank you

Q: With DeepSeek Chinese open source models being competitive with American models using less compute power, I can see other American tech giants and small players try to replicate the same very soon.

How bad is this new development for companies like NVDA and AMD? Should we cash in some of our profits now and wait for further development?

Will companies like Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon... suddenly feel like they have wasted their billions? Will this drive a negative sentiment for their own stock prices in the short term ?

What does 5i recommend if we have large gains in the bive mentioned stocks?

Q: In a question yesterday - attached - I asked you to recommend one or two US equities and listed those already held. In response, you gave me two equities which I had listed as already owned. Clearly you have not had your morning coffee:-) Please try again.

Yesterday's Question:
VRT has now grown to 9.5% of my total portfolio. (Thank you for the recommendation!) Would you let this winner run? Or would you be inclined to trim? If trim, what one or two US equities would you purchase (any sector) with the proceeds with a similar risk/growth profile...and why? The following US/international equities are already held: GOOG, NVDA, AMZN, MSFT, V, COST, AXON, ISRG, CLBT, and NBIS. Thank you.

Answer:

In our view, as a company aproaches 10% of a portfolio, the portfolio starts to become a bet on that single name and we would typically prefer to trim the position down. For something with a similar risk profile and growth potential, we might consider NBIS and CLBT, but both are higher risk.

Q: VRT has now grown to 9.5% of my total portfolio. (Thank you for the recommendation!) Would you let this winner run? Or would you be inclined to trim? If trim, what one or two US equities would you purchase (any sector) with the proceeds with a similar risk/growth profile...and why? The following US/international equities are already held: GOOG, NVDA, AMZN, MSFT, V, COST, AXON, ISRG, CLBT, and NBIS. Thank you.

Q: Hi 5i Team, If you could only pick one of the 3 above large Tech companies, which would you choose for a 10 +year hold. Could you please provide your reason for your choice.
Thank you

Q: My current portfolio is heavily oriented towards growth and is very high risk. Over the next few to several months I plan on repositioning towards a more balanced approach. I will be looking to add some growing but steady large caps. Toward that end I have the following short list: TR, BN, GOOG, Canadian Banks, SLF, MSFT, NVDA, BEPC. Is there anything in that list that you would not see fitting into that category? Can you please add a half dozen or so of your preferred other names that fit with this idea. Please exclude defense contractors, the Oil and Gas sector and usurious money lenders.
Thank-you.

Q: Hello Peter and team,
Any idea why well health is trending down? For AI exposure would amzn, msft, and goog be good plays or would I be better off with etf, CHAT. Sorry i was not able to get the symbol from your search list.. Thank you

Q: I am looking at rebalancing my portfolio. I am currently overweight Tech and financials and underweight health care, Consumer Discretionary, and Communication.

Can you please provide suggestions on which of the tech stocks you would recommend trimming (maybe Apple? priced as a growth stock but not growing much?) and which of the listed health stocks (or other) would you recommend starting a position in?

Thank you!

Peter

Q: Apple and Microsoft have grown to be well over 10% of my portfolio. I do not have Google or Amazon. Would you rebalance the 4 stocks into 4 equal parts? I also own NVDA.

Q: Hi there,

I’ve done ok with these stocks but I want to raise some cash for diversification - in what order would you reduce/sell?

Ok thanks!

Q: Hi Folks,
I'm looking to add some money to my RRSP - looking at adding to my position in either MSFT or GOOGL. Can I gave your opinion as to which one you would add to today.
Thanks

Q: I have made some updates to my portfolio before heading into the new year and am looking for your thoughts on total portfolio. I have it all in TFSA and am 28 years old with a long time horizon. Could you give me your opinion over next 1, 3, 5 years of portfolio.

What changes might you make to this portfolio to stengthen it?

Portfolio Breakdown:
Stock Amount Invested (USD) % of Portfolio
NVDA $6,500 12.04%
SHOP $2,840 (converted from CAD) 5.26%
AMZN $2,650 4.91%
MSFT $2,520 4.67%
MELI $2,483 4.60%
PLTR $2,250 4.17%
TSM $2,000 3.70%
CRWD $1,830 3.39%
GOOGL $1,780 3.30%
TTD $1,767 3.28%
ISRG $2,180 (converted from CAD) 4.04%
META $2,150 (converted from CAD) 3.98%
BRK.B $1,470 2.72%
AXP $1,560 2.89%
LLY $1,500 2.78%
DIS $1,280 (converted from CAD) 2.37%
NBIS $840 1.56%
CELH $700 1.30%
SMCI $392 0.73%
SPCE $188 0.35%
XRP $120 (converted from CAD) 0.22%

Thanks,
Dan