Investment Q&A

Q: Hi Peter,
Any idea why Brookfield Infrastructure partners is going down? I was thinking of taking a full position of 5 % rather than diversifying with Stantec etc. Also, what is the reason for stocks such as Hudbay Minerals and Agrium to continue to go up and is this sustainable? I have noticed the canadian banks and insurance especially TD Bank and Manulife have gone up alot lately. Do you think it is time to trim them as they look over bought. Lastly, can you comment on why Ceapro and B2Gold are taking a hit. The big prediction was gold was going to go much higher after Trump, but all of a sudden, gold continues to experience declines. Thanks very much.

Q: Hi. BNS has dropped while the price of other banks, particular TD, have been rising continually after the US presidential election. At this moment, which bank would you pick to invest and which one has the most potential? Thanks your insight.

Q: I own 4 Canadian financial institutions (BNS, CM, RY and TD). No exposure to life insurance companies or U.S. financials. I would like to avoid U.S. financials. I find it very hard to trust management and it seems like there is always a scandal at a major U.S. bank. I use to own Wells Fargo thinking it was best in breed and they couldn't even avoid scandal. With the advantage of the CDN dividend and BMO and TD's exposure to the U.S. I prefer to get exposure to the U.S. that way.

My question is whether I should sell CM since it is more exposed to the CDN economy than the others and purchase BMO instead for their U.S. midwest exposure? I am not opposed to getting U.S. banking exposure through an ETF like XLF perhaps. Which strategy do you favour? Each bank is currently 3-4% of my portfolio.

Thanks,
Jason

Q: I am looking to get into a bank. Which Bank would you buy first

Q: I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the effect of a US Fed Rate increase on Canadian Bank stocks.

Thanks,

Peter

Q: It seems that every time Home Capital starts to move up a little there's another short attack to push it back down. I know you rate it quite highly, but is there really a future upside? I've held it for 2 or 3 years now, and am getting tired of waiting.

Is it better to replace it with another name? I already own FSZ, BNS and TD in financials. Thanks

Q: I own 3 banks - TD, BNS and RY. TD represents about 50% of the group. Over the past month or so, TD hasn't performed as well as the others. Is there something about TD that is dragging it back?

Q: I recently wanted to purchase additional TD bank shares but found that I was holding cash in my US trading account. Do you have any advise regarding the holding of such investments ( Canadian large cap stocks ) in a U S account. Is there a downside in different trading activity or divident treatment ?

Q: With this financial storm coming from UK, what do you think of TD? Take the opportunity to buy more or is just a hold?

Q: I hold RY and TD volume is 3 times higher today. All other banks volume is higher too. Price has not move up so much. Is everyone selling or buying more.

Q: I have some money that I will be putting into an RESP for my children: while it is roughly 0.5%-0.75% of my actual total investment portfolio, I would prefer to avoid more volatile companies in this particular account. I do have a long time horizon (about 6 years before I start to have any demand for the money), but have been burnt before in this particular portfolio by trying to "hit a home run" with an investment play, and am looking for slow, steady growth.

I have listed three companies above, with ATD.B as my first pick as I only have roughly a 2% overall exposure (between all of my collective accounts) to the Consumer Staples group (I assume that ATD.B would be under Staples rather than Discretionary). If you would recommend something else in this space, or another sector, rather than the companies I have mentioned, I would be most grateful for the suggestion. In any event, I look forward to your thoughts. Thanks so much!

Q: Hi,
I am new to investing and am building a diversified long term portfolio. Im looking for strong long term growth to eventually turn into TFSA dividend income. I have some canadian real estate exposure through REITS (using drip programs to help portfolio growth). I have some diversified US exposure through VFV and VGG. I would like to add more Canadian diversified exposure. Would you recommend picking individual stocks (maybe starting with Canadian banks and using their DRIPs as well) and branching out from there? Or would I be better off for total value growth with some low cost Canadian ETF? If you think the ETF, could you recommend a few please? If you think specific stocks could you recommend a few also. Finally, for specifics, which of the Canadian banks do you like the best?

Thanks 5i, Ill understand if this counts as 2 questions instead of 1.

Q: Hi, I am an income investor and would like your opinion on the major Canadian banks right now. Do you feel that they are attractive at current prices as they are nearing 52 weeks highs? Or would you recommend holding off until they come down in price?
Which banks do you like the most for future growth?

Q: Good Morning
I hold 4 Canadian banks CM, TD, RY and BNS in an unregistered account. The bank stocks comprise just under 20% of my portfolio and each has approximately a 50% capital gain. My only other financial stock is a 2.5% position in PWF. Capital gains in my account this year will likely be taxed at 15%. I am considering selling one of the bank stocks (perhaps CM) and investing the proceeds in SLF. I have chosen SLF for it's relatively low valuation and secure dividend.
Is reducing the allocation to Canadian banks appropriate, or does the tax which has to be paid cancel the benefit?
Which bank would you sell?
Is SLF a suitable alternative or is there another company that you would prefer. I already have full positions in CNR and BAM.A.
Thanks
David

Q: Do the banks still look cheap here? I have a healthy weighting in BNS. I would like to add either RY or TD. TD is more expensive, is its valuation justified in your opinion?

Q: I own Royal Bank shares--is there another of the big 5 banks that would compliment this holding and is it a buy now? I would like to just hold two banks and add as they get cheap.

Thanks.

Q: My current holdings are as follows: T-6% of portfolio, Tck.b-0.51%, Rei.un-1.26%, Dgs-2.92%, Bns-11.6%, su-3.38%, dir.un-0.65%, cu-1.82%, Pjc.a-0.99%, cpx-1.89%, pot-2.23%, Igm-3.55%, mic-6.06%, hr.un-0.96%, Cwb-6.93%, Ftt-1.8%, Esi-1.03%, Mkp-1.25%, psi-0.93%, Rus-0.77%, Rc-0.61%, Cnr-3.82%, NA-6%, Bce-5.73%, td-5.43%, Trp-5%, Sjr.b-7.41%, t:nyse-1.83%, Ko:nyse-4.38%, Gsk:nyse-2.09%, Csco:nyse-1.19%

I would like your opinion on what stocks weighting I should add to balance my portfolio. I ha

Q: "TD Bank embroiled in Ponzi fallout" - Globe headline. According to the paper the liquidator of the fraudulent ponzi bank thinks TD should cover the 5.5 billion investor losses plus any money TD made as a conduit for transferring money from the investors' to the fraudulent bank. TD seems to have been the intermediary. Should owners of TD stock be selling their positions or do nothing and wait for further developments?

Q: Hi,

Given the mkt direction, do you think Canadian banks are a good place to hide out for two years and should I wait or buy now?

Q: Hello Peter,
Would you consider TD, Royal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Fairfax, BCE, Fairfax Financial, Manulife, Brookfield Management, Brookfield Infrastructure, Enbridge, metro, Loblaws, Google, Facebook,Visa as very long term holds where one can simply get the dividends (for some of these) and not worry about ups and downs of the market. I know you have covered these in the past, but am re-aligning my portfolio to focus on very long term holds. Thanks again for your advice.