Investment Q&A

Q: I have decided to orientate my portfolio more towards the US, while keeping approximately 30% Canadian. I am also looking at India for my first international investment. Most of these stocks are asset light and large cap.
In the US the sectors are non bank financials, tech, and industrials. In Canada I have chosen large caps with significant non Canada revenue.
My dividend income would decrease but I can handle that. This would be an equal weight portfolio.

What do you think of this approach and of the individual stocks?
Should I just buy an SPY 500 etf for the US ?
Is FFH appropriate for India or is there an ETF you would recommend ?
Thanks .Derek

Q: Hello, how do you feel about taking a position in both these stocks for safer compounding places to hide in these volatile markets ? If so, would these prices be fair or would waiting for a larger pullback make more sense ? Thanks.

Q: WE have ISRG, VRT, GOOG, NBIS, NVDA, and AXON in our US trading account. My wife and I are interested in adding CDRs in our TFSAs to gain US exposure. Our first CDR purchase was ISRG. Being TFSAs, longterm growth is our primary concern and risk tolerance is high. In addition to GOOG, mentioned today as your top conviction CDR, could you please list 4 others you’d buy today for a longterm hold, with a brief reason as to why you’d choose each. Also, we plan to purchase soon but given recent turmoil would you wait until after Trump’s tariff deadline for Canada and Mexico.

Q: My mortgage is coming due at a much higher rate than it has been for the past 5 years, so given the current economic uncertainty, I’ve decided to sell half of my unregistered portfolio to pay it off. I understand this will incur tax, and I’m prepared for that. Here are my holdings—please advise on the optimal order of selling to ensure the remaining portfolio is defensive, particularly against tariffs and economic uncertainty. I'm open to the cheese slicer method across some or all stocks. Please deduct credits as you see fit. Thank you!

Q: Please rank these stock for risk relative to the US Tariffs from High to Low....thanks....Tom

Q: Hi 5i Team,

I'm curious about your thoughts on sentiment turning against US equities in the coming months. I'm already exhausted seeing all the foolish tweets and news clips coming out of the Trump administration and I have to believe many others are too. Trump 2.0 seems much worse than 1.0! Also, I've been hearing that European markets are already outpacing the US market so far this year and I'm wondering if the US market deserves its current valuation given the increased volatility and increased risks?

I own many US stocks (e.g., 5 of the Mag 7, COST, ISGR, HD, TT, SYK, RS, ZS, HON, V) and I'm thinking for the first time of selling/trimming some of these. I would look to increase my dividend-paying Canadian stocks to generate more income. I'm also thinking about European dividend payers?

I'd appreciate your general views along with any comments you might have related to selling/trimming some of the stocks I've mentioned above. I'd look to sell into the end of this month and buy favourite TSX dividend payers (e.g., ENB, SLF, CNQ, BEP.UN, BIP.UN, T) or others you might suggest after the next tariff decision in early March.

Like many members, I have to thank you again for the wonderful service you provide. Your Q&A section and market reviews are fabulous, especially during difficult times! I also realize this is a long question and the answers are worth more than one credit.

Lisa

P.s. I had registered to attend this week's webinar which may have answered some of my questions. Unfortunately, something came up over lunch and I missed the webinar. Please let me know if there's a chance of catching a replay.

Q: Hello,
Can you please give me your input on Paypall earnings. Is it a sell ?
Thanks !

Q: FOUR has bounced back. I sold it when Trump tapped Isaacman as head of NASA because of uncertainty. Is there more certainty that the stock can survive his exit intact, or is it rising on speculation of selling the co?

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: 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: Looking at these long term compounders in various sectors. Based on current valuation and future growth, how would you rank these and which ones would you buy now or DCA into over time?

I'm already holding full positions in BKNG, BN, CSU, LMN, half positions in V,MA,WSP, and smaller position in TRI. I would either add to my smaller positions or add new positions in the others.

Are there any other 2-3 long term compounders that you would consider good buys currently?

Thank you!

Q: I'm over allocated in Financials at 23%. Recognizing BN represents a diversified holding and Visa could be considered Consumer. What changes would you make if this was your account. Most of the 1% holdings are in my unregistered accounts with BN, Visa, JPM, BAM are split RRSP/TSFA. Long term investments +10 years with a tilt to risk/growth. Retirement in 2035.

BN 11%
BAM 2%
Visa 3.6%
JPM 2%
GSY 1.6%
PRL 1%
TD .8%
BNS .8%

Happy New Year and thanks for all the help in 2024!

Don

Q: AAPL, MFST, GOOGL & AMZN are 24% of my portfolio. What would you considered a proper allocation for the Magnificent 7?

My financial position is 30% of my portfolio and include V (6%). Where would you classify V? financial or consumer?

Best regard for the New Year
Ray

Q: Looking to invest in Visa on NYSE at $383 but on Canadian site found Visa.ca at $30. What is Visa.ca, is it some play on Visa

Q: I currently hold the above investments in my non-registered account and will invest some additional funds before the end of the year. My plan is to top up my investments in approximately 8 stocks and 1 ETF. The investments will be a 5 to 10 year hold. Please provide a ranking for the top 10 stocks in my non-registered account. Which ETF fund do you suggest topping up for a 5 to 10 year hold? Thank you 5i

Q: Good Morning

We own the above US stocks and would like to add one more

Looking at adding either wallmart or celistica

Which would you choose of these two?

What other US stock or stocks do you find interesting for 2025?

Thks
Marcel

Q: If the stock market closed for the next 10 years, what 10-15 stocks in Canada or US would you own right now for total growth? Looking for top, highly predictable compounding businesses that have strong pricing power.

Q: Hello, I am looking to buy one of these stocks for a 5+ year term. Which order would you buy (most conviction to least) and at what entry point ?
I have funds in both US and CA TFSA accounts, so, it is not a big consideration.