Investment Q&A

Q: Hi Peter and Team
I am retired and have only "passive" income in my company investment portfolio but hold an overweight in financials (>35%) such as GWO
With the new budget proposals, I am considering reducing my high dividend financials and purchasing non dividend companies that have a better growth profile, especially after last month's downturn.
Can you suggest 3 positions that I might consider after trimming the positions in my banks and financials??
Your advice as always appreciated
Peter

Q: I own BNS, and TD, and would like to add one more Canadian Bank. Which other bank has the highest US exposure. Which other bank has the best dividend growth, and lastly which one would you recommend for a 3rd position.
Thanks

Q: Hello: I currently own BMO, CM and BNS. I’m thinking of switching BMO for TD as BMO did not increase its dividend as TD did. Also I believe TD has more US exposure which should show better growth. Your opinion please.

Q: Hi Peter and 5i:
In my grandkids (ages 3 and 2) RESP I currently have as core ETF's:
XIU - $14,000
XAW - $11,000
I have this years contribution of $6,000 to invest.
My plan is:
1. Start doing some individual stocks.
2. Reduce XIU by $7,500 and buy TD.
3. PHO - Invest $3,500 (or might you suggest ZQQ)
4. XAW - Invest $2,500
Does the above portfolio approach look reasonable to you? Look forward to your suggestions and always valuable feedback.
Thanks so much.

Q: I have been reading and general feeling i believe is the feds are going to raise rates in 2018, do you feel that is right?, if so, to what affect will that have on bank stocks and IF, you were going to pick 2 in each of canada usa which would you pick, in the order you like them
thanks

Q: In your opinion what is the safest div stock for my income fund

Q: Financials have a way of tanking hard during bear markets. I learned that first hand in 2009 when amongst the carnage I fortunately picked up several banks on the cheap. Now once again i'm looking at td bank for a solid Canadian stock purchase I regard this company as one of Canada's highest quality stocks. Ive read commentary from several sources to the effect that this stock is reasonably priced. And I certainly appreciate that it hasn't moved much this year and there are some tailwinds for financials currently. But bear markets seem to be the time to pick up bank stocks, not when everything seems rosy a decade into a bull market . With that said, would you add td here--or keep it on your watch list for the next severe correction. How would you personally play td.

Q: I realize that BNS is in your portfolio but if you were going to buy shares in a Canadian bank would you still suggest BNS as the top choice. I tend to lean toward Royal or TD as perhaps better choices at this time but would appreciate your opinion and thoughts on how each of the banks is positioned for best growth and how you would rank the three banks for purchase now.

Q: Hello Peter, Ryan & Co.
The Canadian banks are core holdings in my portfolio, which I intend to hold for a very long time. I am a bit perplexed, however, at the recent selloff. I recognize that the current pullback/correction in the market is very broad, but it seems to have been triggered by a fear of rising interest rates - don't banks & insurance companies actually benefit from rising rates? The banks' shares seem to have fallen as much as the interest-sensitive stocks this week (like REITs & utilities), which makes no sense to me. Can you explain?

Q: Thinking of changing 4 Can. banks into 1 for tax loss but not missing the upside in the next 30 days. Which one would you pick, or just leave as is ?
Thanks

Q: If I buy TD Bank shares in the US (NYSE) and place them in the TD Waterhouse US account. Do I pay the .15% non-resident tax on dividends? Also, when I sell the shares are their currency exchanges between US and Canadian for Tax purposes?

Q: I am looking for a preferred that can be expected to hold its' value over time. I understand that it should be a decent credit rating, have a fixed reset rate and be non-convertible. Does this preferred meet that criteria, or could you recommend one ?

Thank you,

Tim

Q: I understand that due to the new US Tax bill, US banks as well as Cdn Banks with US operations such as TD will take a charge in the 1st quarter. Do you think these bank stocks will take a hit this quarter as a result of this charge and thus I should delay investing in TD and US banks.

Q: Andrew McCreath had a banker on his Friday show that made a good case for buy outs coming this year in US banking industry just not the very large banks. The large banks would not be allowed to merge/takeover more banks because of regulatory concerns.
Could you meanttion some of the stronger mid size US banks that would be good candidates for take over and their related dividend as he mentioned that big dividend increases are on the way.
Mike

Q: In financials I own about 2.5% of my overall portfolio in both TD and RY with about 1% in ECN (total of 6%). What would be your recommendation if adding more to the financial sector. Stay with Canadian banks (add to TD or RY or possibly BNS) or add something like SLF OR MFC? Any other suggestions?
Thanks.
Brian

Q: Hello 5i, Have you any information as to the financial problems at TD Waterhouse direct investing as I have sent emails with no response and tried to phone also with no answer after a long time on hold. There are financial errors in my accounts which is quite concerning. Thanks

Q: Hello 5i, I have nice gains on both of AAR.un and TD, is there a chance for a better offer for AAR.un ?
Would you sell TD and if I want switch to another bank, which one would you commend?
Many thanks, J.A. P. Burlington

Q: If Nafta gets ripped up, the auto industry in North America stands to be severely disrupted. In the short term I expect many will get hurt. I'm thinking I should be proactive and sell-off Magna now while it is still near its top. But what to replace it with? Does TB (Toronto Dominion BanK) stand to show a major growth spurt once its new AI acquisition is in place and providing heretofor unavilable information on its clients? I hope your 2018 is as good as 2017 was.
Elmer

Q: US banks have had quite a run lately because of tax cuts and regulatory changes coming, with TD's large US presence they haven't had the same increase. Any thoughts on if TD's stock price will benefit from these changes?

Q: I own TD shares and I'm also a customer. All the analysts and experts seem to love this bank, but based on the way they have treated me and their other customer issues I am starting to doubt this view. I think when your service is this bad - and yes dealing with any of the Big 5 banks is no picnic - its only a matter of time until it works its way to the bottom line. Thoughts?