Investment Q&A

Q: I have a target allocation of 40-45% for total portfolio US exposure. Which ETFs would you suggest (either currency) to form the core of this allocation? Could you also please provide a handful of individual US picks to supplement. Aiming for long term growth with 20+ yr time horizon. Thanks!

Q: I have been lucky with MS which I accumulated during periods when many analysts seemed to misunderstand the poor thing. MS has become a full position. However when reviewing some analyses following MS’ recent results, opinions read as if they were written by bipolar CFAs. Views seem too divided for me to base a decision on. Is it time for me to trim MS —or best to ignore the noise and keep holding. Please do give your reasoning and I would appreciate very much your updating your response to my September 2, 2020 question on MS.

Q: Howdy - Why didn't Warren buy some Stanley instead of Bank of America? Too small? So for exposure to US financials in the form of a sorta bank isn't MS better positioned than most with no loan default concerns and great exposure to wealth management (high net worth concentration?) Decent divi too. Why no 5i love for MS - is it the symbol of the stock matching what most associate with something horrible? Bothers me. Fondly, Ken

Q: I am puzzled by your July 16, 2020 comments in response to a question on JPM vs. MS. You wrote “.... we would not consider them very different overall. JPM is significantly larger” ; “ business mix is very similar”. JPM and MS look different to me. MS has no retail business . MS has or will have an even larger presence in wealth management after its announced acquisition of eTrade. The deal was announced early 2020. The transaction has been approved and is expected to close before end of year 2020. Further, the above is an all-stock deal and although that affects capital structure, it should have little impact on MS’ debt level. However I may have missed things in which case your clarification would be welcome.
If I am correct: is MS a holding that is well worth adding to? I have a full allocation to US financials but hold only a modest position in MS. I am thinking of reducing BAC, OR another US banks and add to MS. My reasoning primarily: MS is not much exposed to loan losses; the brokerage and wealth management businesses seem poised for much growth in the US; its business model looks more attractive for the next two to 3 years. Would you agree or am I missing some important factors?

Q: Could you tell me the difference between JPM and MS.Thanks Phil.

Q: Hello Team,
May I have your thoughts on both Invesco and Lazard asAmerican Asset Management companies.
Both I believe have growth and the valuation has been blown out of proportion.
If not, would you recommend siding with Morgan Stanley or JP Morgan as the better choices.

Thank you

Q: What would be your preference among those companies based on the fundamentals and longterm potential in the global investment field.
Thanks as always for good and balanced advice

Q: I was left with a small position in MS due to a partial fill on a sell order. Recently however MS has stirred back to life, and I now wonder: rather than sell the remaining MS, perhaps add and bring it back to a full position.
1. I understand MS has a very good and growing wealth management business. Is this true?
2. Is MS a good buy based on:
ROE
ROCI
PEG
Price to FCF and Price to EDITDA
Dividend growth

3. I assume one cannot compare MS to a retail-oriented bank like BAC or any of the regionals. Is this correct? If yes, is MS less vulnerable to ultra low interest rates which squeeze net interest margin than , say, Goldman Sachs?

Q: May I please have your thoughts on US financials at this time and Visa, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan in particular? Thank you,

Jason

Q: Greetings,
All of the US investment banks are struggling so far in 2018. Is there some reason for this and is this a good time to add to ones holdings (i own JPM) or would you prefer something like a Bank of American or the Regional Bank ETF.

Q: Interested in a large cap US financial stock. Which would you prefer, BAC or C or JPM or MS, or do you have another option.

Many thanks.

Clayton

Q: I have about 35 % in the above stocks in my TFSA and they have gone up nicely. The rest of my TFSA portfolio is following loosely your income portfolio ( + ZPW, ZWE, ZWH etc). My question is whether I should lower my exposure to the financial sector above?
Do you have some suggestions as to which US companies I could buy were I to sell some of the banks. I bought the US banks for growth as the rest of the stocks on the Can. side are mostly income producers.I already own Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft and Visa in my RRSP.
Thank you for your answer.
Heidi

Q: I am thinking of selling my positions in either USB or BBT and instead buy Morgan Stanley (MS). Does this make any sense? If yes, which of USB and BBT would you sell?
Thank you

Q: Hello 5i.

I have some cash and would like to add another US stock to my portfolio, and looking for a recommendation.

I currently own Enbridge (US market), Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, UnitedHealth Group AT&T and McDonald's.

Based on what I own, can you recommend 3 or 4 stocks which you think would be good for my portfolio?

Income is not necessary, but not a problem if it has a dividend. I am looking to invest in a well managed company, with good balance sheet, and good growth potential.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.

Q: Thanks to 5i I have a well diversified Canadian portfolio. I have been augmenting it with Large Cap US stocks that expose me to markets that are not available to me through the TSX and most of these US names have done very well for me. I am comfortable with being more concentrated in my US holdings as my Cdn investments make up 75-80% of my total portfolio and are well diversified across sectors. My US holdings are in a non-resgistered account and break down as follows:
AAPL - 35%
AGN/REGN/BIIB - 15%
BAC/MS - 27%
LYB - 3%
PYPL - 8%
SWKS - 7%
WBA - 5%

AAPL has done so well for me over the past few years that it is now a large part of my US exposure. My microchip stock (SWKS) has also done extremely well, but it is closely tied to AAPL. My question is given the current announcement by AAPL and its strong recent performance would you be inclined to take some profits off the table or let the "winners continue to run"? I have a reasonably high risk tolerance but do not want to be unduly foolish/greedy. Would you suggest any other changes to what I am holding? What would be your top 3 or 4 US stocks to augment this portfolio?

I value and appreciate your guidance.

Many Thanks
Scott

Q: Many analysts on BNN are recommending owning US banks vs Canadian, as dividend growth looks better for the US banks.. Would the benefit of owning a US bank be worth sacrificing the dividend tax break Canadians currently get,and the currency conversion to US dollars. Thank you