Investment Q&A

Q: Johnson and Johnson is a highly rated company. However they are facing a large number of law suits, mostly related to talcum powder. Although the scientific basis for these lawsuits is extremely weak, I am concerned about the legal system in the USA. Would you recommend I keep holding my JNJ shares or sell and invest in something else in the USA? Diversification is not an issue.

Q: Healthcare is approximately 10% of our portfolio. Medical Facilities is the largest investment which we have held for a long time. JNJ and HCP we have added more recently. NVS and AZN we inherited. We want to simplify our portfolio and plan to sell NVS and AZN and add to JNJ. Wonder what your opinion is of DR and HCP specifically and also AZN which I didn't see mentioned in your question section.
Thank you, Marie

Q: Hello, I am looking to add IHI to the healthcare allocation of my portfolio (10%) but would like to sell one existing holding first. Current healthcare related holdings are JNJ, ABBV, GUD and SIS (although I have SIS filed under Industrials). My question: which of JNJ and ABBV would you advise selling? Thank-you.

Q: We have a 3.5% weighting in JNJ. We like it for its exposure to the USD, its steady dividend income, its blue-chip size and very modest share price growth. However I am concerned about the potential losses arising from their "baby-powder" lawsuit. We have owned the stock for years. I am thinking about switching out around 2% weighting into PFE. Its dividend appears to be higher and its chart seems to be better.
Reading over 5i responses on JNJ you seem fairly sanguine about JNJ so I hesitate to sell. We are retired but not currently spending our USD dividends - they are kept for foreign travel.
I must say I like XBI's chart. However its dividend is much lower so potentially we would need to sell stock if we needed USD. XBI should lower our risk profile as it is an ETF which is probably a smart move.
My questions are...
1) Would you recommend selling all our part of our JNJ or just do nothing?
2) Would you recommend purchasing PFE or XBI or both?
Please deduct as many credits as you feel my question(s) justify.
Thank you for your assistance.
Jim

Q: Hello 5i: Reading your answer today about JNJ and while you like it would maybe pick something else at this time, What would be your suggestions in the US,
Thank you as always. Barbara

Q: JNJ is looking very soft on the charts - understand they have some legal issues (which I don't understand ) I have a near full position - time horizon 2 years, hold or sell?? Thanks Jim.

Q: Hi Peter and Staff
Looking to start small positions in some US growth stocks for a daughter with a long term hold in mind. If you would not buy any of the ones below, please indicate that. If not, would you please rank them in order of most desirable to buy .
FB, SPOT, NFLX, Visa,JNJ,HD,AAPL,MSFT

Thanks for all you do
Dennis

Q: I have 2 questions.
I am looking to buy a few / up to 3 high dividend yielding US stocks for an income portfolio. What could you recommend ?
Looking to hold these US dividend stocks for at least 5 years, does the exchange rate and the premium to buy a US stock matter ? Or is that a long enough time horizon to migitate most of the exchange risk . Thank you

Q: Good morning,
Could you suggest a company that would replace P.G. in my portfolio. I have held P.G. for 7 years, bought in at 60 and watched it go to 90, now back to 72. I am starting to think there is a problem with this company.
Thank you,
Dorthy

Q: Hi Team, any thoughts on JNJ's reporting yesterday. The stock is down today, should I pick up more? Thank-you in advance. Sam

Q: Could you please rank these USA healthcare stocks in terms of long term capital appreciation. No immediate need for income, looking more for growth. Besides these names, do you see any other interesting healthcare names in the USA with good long term growth prospects? Thanks as always

Q: Hey guys,
What do you think about buying these 2 stocks at the present time for a long term hold or would you wait.
Thank you, John.

Q: Your opinion on JNJ, please. Does recent correction put it in a buying range? Perhaps you might mention 2 or 3 other large American blue chips (regardless of sector) you like as well or better. take credits accordingly. Thanks. Jim

Q: I hold CVS in my wifes RRSP account for US$ exposure. Would you suggest AET might be a better choice? Or some other alternative to get US exposure in the healthcare field?

Q: Hello 5i team,
I am up over $5000 U.S. in each: JNJ, PEP, and SU. Should I trim them by $3000 each? If so, can you suggest replacement? I am a value investor with a ten year horizon with 50/50 equities to fixed and a portfolio of $700,000 at 71 years. Now: CAN 57%, U.S. 38% INTL 5%
Thank you
Stanley

Q: Hi David,
I'm looking to add three positions to my business passive account -- i'm up 15% year to date.
I have equal weight in each stock and am looking to add more diversity. A combination of income and growth US or Canadian -- minimum $1 billion market cap.

What would you recommend here.
Thanks,
Raymond

Q: Greetings 5i,

I am making an effort to increase my exposure to US stocks, and am considering adding a US healthcare position to augment my Canadian healthcare holdings of CSH.UN and GUD.

JNJ was my first thought, given its strong history, massive valuation, and diversification. However, I am (like many, I assume) concerned about its legal troubles; particularly given the severity of the issues that surround them. Moreover, it appears that said troubles may be present for quite a long time.

I am thinking long term (I am 36), am a "buy and hold" investor, and will not need the capital I would be deploying for the foreseeable future.

Do you feel as if this is a good entry point for JNJ (perhaps a half position to start), or would you wait to see how the legal situations unfold before considering this purchase? If the latter, is there another American healthcare stock you might recommend in its place?

Thank you.

Q: Good morning,

With sells as it was going up, I am still about breakeven on CRH but it has dropped to 1% of my portfolio. I have lost confidence such that I won't put more in. I am, however, looking for additional healthcare exposure. Right now I am also holding JNJ (3%) Danaher (DHR, 4%) which is mostly medical/dental since the spin-off of Fortive. I have been thinking of exiting JNJ due to the price that they paid for their latest acquisition. It seems a little inconsistent with their historically very conservative nature.

Would you think that adding a 2.5-3% SIS or GUD is a better approach, or should I keep CRH given its longer term potential? I prefer to not watch my investments every day and have a diversified portfolio across market cap and Canada/US with a lot of multinational companies (like CCL in Canada and UL in the US, for instance).

Do you have any perspective on the JNJ acquisition? If so, please feel free to deduct two questions.

Thanks!

Derek

Q: 5i

I have held JNJ for a few years and it has grown to be 10% of my portfolio. Using your sage advice I need to reduce the shares in JNJ. I am retired, have JNJ in my RRIF and depend on dividends to enhance my retirement pension. Would like a suggestion as to any USA stocks you would recommend that is as safe as JNJ and pay a dividend of 3% or more with some growth I know you do not cover USA stocks but thought you might have a suggestion. If not is there an ETF with USA exposure that may accomplish these goals. I am currently 74% Canadian and 26% USA invested.Look forward to your thoughts and recommendations

Regards

w

Q: Although I know you do not cover US companies, I was wondering about your take on JNJ. Especially given recent lawsuit activity with regard to their baby talcum powder and ovarian cancer, and possible upcoming class action lawsuit with regard to same. I know of at least one advisor recommending a sell due to this issue, but I am puzzled as there has been no negative reaction to the stock price so far. Your thoughts? Thanks.