Investment Q&A

Q: I read a couple of recent posts on how bad TD brokerage was and how good National Bank was. Greg ended his post with “TD sucks”. That gave me a great chuckle. I am a TD client and am quite satisfied with their service but this is not to defend TD.

I have started a thread in the Forum under Brokerages and Research Tools on National Bank on the pros and cons of using that brokerage. I am intrigued by their zero commissions but am a bit skeptical on their overall offerings and service levels. I hope Greg and some others will post on their experiences with National.

Anyway, I do have a question for 5i. If I moved one of my accounts to National, with zero commissions, how do they make money from me? I don’t trade on margin, so no margin interest there. I don’t sell stocks short. I don’t buy or sell options. So, why would they want my business, or maybe they won’t?

Thanks
Dave

Q: Hi,
Having a position in AQN that is now underwater, I am wondering about selling it as well as two bank holdings that have a total profit equal to AQN's loss with the idea that I can use the proceeds to purchase another bank stock or two, top up ENB holdings, or something else you might recommend. All three holdings are in taxable accounts. Open to suggestions, as I have the sense that waiting to see how AQN does from here appears to be more risky than moving on. Your thoughts on this idea would be most appreciated!

Dawn

Q: Hi 51,
Thanks for your thoughtful answer to my question earlier this morning asking which sectors you expect to recover more quickly, and for some names you like in each.
The names you listed in the two sectors you identified (tech and consumer discretionary) were all US companies. Do you see the same sector recovery pattern being followed in Canada, and can you provide some Canadian names in the sectors you like that you would expect to 'lead the charge'? Thanks!
Peter

Q: I intend to add to above positions for the purpose of increasing my dividend income. Please give me your opinion on each of them. Do you have a favorite
Thank you!

Q: B of M is trading at a PE of below 8 with a decent yield. Why is trading at a relatively low PE ? Is it more financially exposed to the a recession? Were you you rank it amongst the Cdn banks ?

Thank you

Q: Do you think national bank is the best bank stock to buy? If not, which bank stock do you recommend? With thanks. Rose

Q: Hello, CDN Banks are trading at or near their 52 week lows. BNS and CM have a dividend yield of over 5% now. Do you believe, their valuations have reached close to or near their bottom and it makes sense to add, for income and growth, with a time horizon of 5-10 years. If so, what will be your preferred order for these names ? Thanks

Q: I have held BNS for some time and wonder if it is still worth holding onto. I was considering a switch to National Bank. What would be your rationale supporting this switch? And, on the other hand , why would you not make this move?

Q: I noticed that ZEB..holds the six major banks. However, its dividend distribution is 3.33%. The lowest of the dividend from TD and RY are 3.8/ 3.9. and the others are 4%+ . Any reason for that? May be a good reason to switch over?

Q: Results in recent 1/4 looked good, what is your outlook for next 12 months. screaming buy at these levels? Please rank above list. Thankyou

Q: Seems like there is some indiscriminate selling of rate reset prefs
last few days. Not sure this makes sense.
What are your three top rate reset ideas at the moment, that are NOT in the energy/pipeline sector
Thanks

Q: Among banks, 5i seems to favour TD and BNS, though since 2019 patient investors have done well with just about any of the Big-Five-plus-NA.

But supposing interest rates are now set to rise, won't banks tend to find a trading range? In which case, wouldn't ZWB, with its covered call component, provide greater total return? Or do its MER and trading expenses claw back too much of its income?

Interestingly, since inception, ZWB's share price seems to have done as well as (for example) BNS, in spite of the potential for its positions to be called-away.

Q: In your view, what impact will the Liberal/NDP cash grab on the Canadian Banks have on their stock prices. Each of them are expanding outside Canada....does this help mitigate any new tax? Is there one Bank that is better able to handle things and more favored now as a result? Would you just begin exiting the Banks? Thank you for your insight.

Q: Recently Veritas’ D.Souza cut most of the big canadian banks to sell. Could I have forward P/E for each of them? I doubt it, but do you agree with M. D’Souza that the banks are a bit overpriced looking at 2023?
Thanks

Q: I am considering add more bank stocks and here's what I got based on their P/E:

TD:12.36x
RY:11.99x
BMO:11.69x
BNS:11.50x
CM:10.57x
NA: 10.79x

I have 150K cash available. Would you agree to add National Bank, CIBC and Bank of Novia Scotia equally since these 3 have the cheapest valuation?

Thanks,

Q: What percentage of their earnings comes from the brokerage side of the business? In your opinion what effect will National Banks decision to reduce commissions to zero at their discount brokerage have on their earnings?

Q: Hi Team,

I only own bank of Nova Scotia and look to add more weight on financial sector. Can you please make top two of your picks in the list of names?

Thank you,

Q: Hi, is it a good time to add to CDN banks, with expectation of higher rates and trend for returning capital to shareholders. If so, which ones will you consider as winners, over next several years ? Could you rate them, in order of priority ? in the same token, do you have a particular view on CIBC as the dividend yield and P/E ratio seem to be most attractive in the group ? Thank You

Q: Hello, my discount broker has the following product in its inventory of fixed income products:

National Bank of Canada Announces NVCC AT1 Limited Recourse Capital Notes Offering
Montreal, 14 April 2021 -

National Bank of Canada (“National Bank”) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with a group of agents led by National Bank Financial Inc. for the issuance of $500 million of Limited Recourse Capital Notes, Series 2 (Non-Viability Contingent Capital (NVCC)) (Subordinated Indebtedness) (the “Notes”).

The Notes will bear interest at a rate of 4.05% annually, payable semi-annually, for the initial period ending on but excluding August 15, 2026. Thereafter, the interest rate on the Notes will reset every five years at a rate equal to the prevailing 5-year Government of Canada Yield plus 3.045%. The Notes will mature on August 15, 2081.

Obviously, the day I need the capital (it would be in my RRIF), I need to sell the note with the associated broker commission. The interest rate today is 4.21%. Are there disadvantages in putting some money for income in this type of product (I have seen offerings from other financial institutions as well) and if so, what are these? Thanks!

Q: Hello team, from the list above could you please rank in order to:
1> Keep and or add for full position or
2> Sell now & move on, and
3> what would you replace the sale positions with?
Thanks
Carlo