Investment Q&A

Q: Hello 5i,

Could you please expand on an answer to V on the 20 stocks to purchase today if you were to start over? We are assuming that stocks/ETF’s are equal weight and the recommendation is considered a growth portfolio. If not, please elaborate. We were also surprised to see Prudential on the list.

If you were 70+ would you alter the list slightly?

If you were in your mid 30’s and 40’s now and have limited funds (30k-70k) would you recommend purchasing all the stocks/ETF’s equally and expand over time or are there specific stocks/ETF’s that would be considered a “starter pack”?

Thank you so much for your website and advice.

D&J

Q: Donald Trump is causing so much uncertainty in both Canadian and US markets. Canada might even go into a recession.

I know that you mentioned that we should not react to the Trump threat.

However, if I had to sell all my stocks and ETFs ($400k) and start from scratch today, what would be the top 20 stocks/ETFs ( US and/or Canadian) that that you would invest in.

Would you just buy SPY/ZSP.to/ VGT/ SCHG ETFs in the USA market for safety?

Fyi, I don't like bonds.

Q: Hi, sold my IFC and would like to replace it with an American company. What are your suggestions? Thanks, Peter.

Q: I bought Hershey in my RRSP in mid-2024. While mostly known for chocolate, the company has been diversifying into non-chocolatey snacks. However, the stock price remains down due to high cocoa prices. Would you be content to hold Hershey and collect the dividend until cocoa prices drop? Would you have some other suggestions? I tend to go for boring US dividend payers that also have some growth potential in my RRSP. My top holdings right now are MSFT, COST, MA, BIP.UN, ENB, and O. I also hold VOO as an underlying holding. Thank you.

Q: Stop me if you've heard this story this year: I am having a once in a generation year with my portfolio up 50%, a chunk of that driven by Nvidia and its explosive growth. NVDA is now 40% of my portfolio which I acknowledge is insane. But having owned it since 2016 and benefitted massively, I have no intention of selling it, at least not yet. The rest of my portfolio is made up of successful U.S. and Canadian tech, and, on the other end of the scale, conservative, low beta, mostly Canadian dividend payers. They provide ballast to my tech/NVDA risk. Getting to the point: I have $35K to invest and it should be directed to the conservative part of my portfolio. What names would you suggest that tick the following boxes: +4 % well-covered yield, slow but steady share price growth, solid fundamentals, probably Canadian though open to U.S. stocks, irrespective of sector. In the conservative part of my portfolio I already own: all 6 big banks, FTS, ENB, GRT.UN, BAM, BRE, EIF, FC, FFH, PPL, SLF, TFII, TRI.

Apologies for the windy question and thanks!

Q: I sold my full positions in APPL and NEE plus sold half my position in VERT this morning. I would like 2 good dividend payers with a growth metric, and 2 small/ mid caps for a 2-3 year hold.
Other positions currently held are: MSFT, SYK, AMZN, ISRG, GOOG, ABBV, JPM, PRU, AGX, CRS.
Thanks for all the above over the years. David

Q: Hi group on my last question to you I asked for 2 stocks in US and Cad (financials+ I also asked for 2 financial ETFs stocks same sector- I did not get the US and Cad etf sugestions...can you please revisit the question. has you stock pics picks on the financial stocks changes as of todays sell off ?...appreciate your help

Q: Hi group I am short exposure in Financials in both Canada and us Please recommend 2 CAD+ 2 US stocks and 1 etf for each market. Also do you recommend a position in Bitcoin going fwd its getting hard to watch it hitting new highs as of late. Would you recommend a position for a moderate investor and if so what 2 stocks would you consider...thanks for your help

Q: I just sold half my position in Nvidia in my TSFA.
Can you please suggest some replacements in US$? Something more conservative .

Q: Hi 5i Research Team,

Building a value stock portfolio for both long term and shorter term results (Santa Clause Rally) and looking for potential stocks that could be described as "under valued" and can be classified as recession defensive as well in both Canada and the US. Was wondering if you could list 5 picks from both Canada and the US?

Thanks in advance for your helpful advice!

Q: Can you recommend a few US non tech stocks that you see have good upside?
Thanks

Q: At 60 I suddenly find myself semi-retired. Although it's a few years earlier than anticipated, I'm actually pretty excited - I've used the CRA retirement calculator (an excellent tool) and have a solid plan. I do need to make a $150,000 RRSP account last until I am 70 when I plan on applying for CPP and OAS. I want to pull $18,000 per year from the RRSP account a so it does require some growth. Can you suggest a mix of US and Canadian holdings and or etf's (about 50% allocation each country) for such a scenario? Thanks so much.

Q: Hi guys, which bank would you recommend. ? Or any other suggestions? For TFSA account for 5 years hold.
Thanks. Alnoor

Q: Hi Group is it a no brainer to buy CWB and sit on it until deal goes thru? Looks like around 25% upside simply waiting on the deal to go tru with the only risk being government intervention. What do you think?

also light on Canadian /us banks/financials I own GSY. US has been outperforming Canadian financials by a long shot. What's you thought on financials in general (US or Cad) give me some of your top financial sector picks regardless of US /Canadian

Q: Hi Peter,
Is US dividend stocks suitable for RRIF with no withholding tax? My thinking is that US dividend does not receive any tax benefits in non registered account and is taxed like interest income. With on-shoring and tariffs, US inflation will not eased too much, and may go up again in the next few years. Hence, interest rate will not be much lower and consumers spending will be weaker for longer. Giving this scenario, and for my RRIF account, what will be your top picks for US dividend paying stocks with solid balance sheets, that will able to maintain their share price and dividend payments through a mild recession? Thanks.

Q: I have $40K US to redeploy I would open 3-4 positions in an unregistered account. My thoughts go to blue chip dividend payers and nothing commodity based that I can let grow for 3-5 years. I do hold the following in this account: GOOG,AMZN,AAPL,CELH,ISRG MSFT,SYK . Your input is much appreciated. David

Q: Long term holding and price appreciation of AAPL and NVDA has led to a U.S. portion of a registered portfolio weighting of 28% and 17% respectively. I'd like to take some profits on these positions and trim these weightings to diversify. Please provide your top suggestions for replacements to consider in Health, Consumer, IT, Communication, and Financial sectors with a timeframe of 10years+

Q: This excellent question was answered by your team on oct 30 th.
"I'm wondering if you could suggest 20 Canadian stocks, with a minimum yield of 3.5%, that you would purchase NOW. This list could include ETFs."
I shall ask a similar question but for only 12 US stocks or ETFs in my TFSA ,the goal being safety+ dividends + some growth ,many thanks

Q: AEG seems unusual in terms of its extremely low dividend payment to cash flow ratio, price/book, and other ratios. Its 12% 3 year dividend growth average is very attractive. However, the negative earnings, etc. are concerning. Is this a stock you would buy? Which North American insurers would be more desirable for growth/safety of dividend?

Q: I need to raise some $US cash soon. Could you please rank these stocks for how they would perform during a recession? Thank you.