Investment Q&A

Q: Whenever there are these swings in the market from growth/tech to value/consumer it makes me think about diversification. I have also noticed that companies that bring tech to another field are thriving. Examples being SHOP bringing technology to consumers, REAL bringing it to consumers and real estate, VEEV bringing it to health care, etc.... Also the US markets just recategorized to decrease the amount of technology companies. I am presently 27% technology but only if I place REAL and AMZN in consumer, GOOG in communications , etc.

I own all the above listed companies except ROP. I am currently considering selling LSPD (technology or should just categorize it as consumer) to buy ROP (industrial or is it technology). This would bring technology to under 25% and increase Industrials and US exposure which I am underweight in. The problem is that I can’t help but think that I am making a trade just to make the diversification boxes all line up. One could easily consider ROP as technology.

In the medical profession we have a term for this. “Euboxic”. Which means making all the lab values line up to hope for the best but often with no real value added.

Q: I have cash to deploy in my corporate non-registered account for 2 names now and 2 more in about 4-5 months. Looking at the above 4 names. I already am well diversified in this account so any 2 is fine. I do hold some KXS & CSU in my RSP account (thank your team for that, well up). I am not worried about the over lap as it would not push me too heavy as far as diversification with any of these two within all my accounts. What would you order of preference for a 5 max look ahead when I would be ready to reduce risk?

Q: Hi Team
I have a corporate non-registered account I have started 4 months ago with a time frame of 5 years. Not worried about risk / sector (fairly diversified already) even though it is a corporate account (I keep enough cash in the account if needed so would not have to withdrawal). Looking to add 2 of the above stocks now. I will be adding every 4 - 6 months or so moving forward so I could add the others later. Do you have an order of preference.

Q: Could you compare these two companies wrt management, growth, acquisition rationale and strategy, and moat. Would you consider VEEV a US version of CSU?
Thanks
Jeff

Q: I have these 7 stocks, they comprise about 30% of the equities I own, in part because the their stellar performance in recent months. Two parts to my question: first, though they are all categorized as "tech" ( well, maybe not Goog), I am trying to get a sense of how different they might be from each other so that 30% is better diversified than the label they fall under might suggest? Can you briefly describe the underlying businesses of the 3 Cdn ones and indicate if you see all 7 as diversified. Second, if the stock market should hit another significant pull back (like March or otherwise), would these 7 be resilient enough to avoid major losses, and are some better than others in this regard? Thank you for your excellent service.

Q: Hi Peter and team,

Looking for some recommendations. $30,000 to invest in a TFSA. Low-risk. 3-5 companies with dividends. The timeframe is three years. What would you recommend? Would you be okay with CSU, NPI, and PBH?

Thank you very much,

Q: Hello 5i,
If one wants a high concentration of very strong growth stocks and understands the risks involved with applying this type of investing strategy, can you please name 10 stocks that 5i would be very comfortable in owning for this purpose (a mix of USD and CAD)?

Q: I have these 13 stocks at equal weighting of approximately 5 percent each in my RSP, along with 35 percent in fixed income. Stock value of approx 1,300,000. Fixed income is approx 650,000. Cash 50,000. In your valued opinion, is the above stock selection diversified enough?, or are there other sectors I should be in. I am 69 and going to retire in the next year.

Q: I have room for one more Tech stock in my TFSA. Of the two - CSU and GOOG - which would you buy and why ?
Thanks

Q: Good Morning...I just checked our numbers and we are higher than we were on December 31, 2019 so thank you. We have a small NVTA position (0.6% overall weighting) bought less than 30 days ago but already up 13%. We are long time holders of CSU and our current weighting is 9.3% which is getting close to (or maybe already inside) the red zone. I am thinking about selling some CSU to reduce it's weighting to 8% and using the proceeds to buy NVTA. Would you call this move "risk neutral" or "risk increase"? CSU is a top tier company so it I call it "risk low" and NVTA a lesser tier company so it is "risk high". But does the weighting change balance out the risk increase? I would consider NVTA to be Healthcare so that would help a little to decrease overall IT weighting and increase Healthcare. We own your IT recommendations (CSU, NVDA, ENGH, VEEV are the biggest positions) and Healthcare (ISRG and PFE). It seems both ISRG and PFE are low growth so maybe adding a potentially high growth company might be useful. There are no tax implications. Any thoughts you have would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jim

Q: hello 5i Research team,
I am currently cash only in my usd account. I have enough cash for one position. I have already well diversified portfolios exclusively in Canadian stocks and I am a long term investor. What 5 stocks would you recommend I buy in order of preference please? Thank you for your collaboration, Eric

Q: Hi 5i, Can you please recommend/pick 3 stocks, so that 20 years from now I can say: I'm very happy I invested on them. Comes to mind techology, pharma, defense, etc
thanks

Q: In the Tech Sector I have MSFT (8%), AAPL (7%), SWKS (4%), KXS (3%). I am considering adding a 2% position in either CSU or DSG. Which would you recommend and why?

Q: hello 5i Research team, Csu : do you know if the future spinoff of CSU on the Netherlands exchange going to trade as an ADR on another exchange? Do you know if it is expensive for retail investors to trade on the Netherland exchange? Do you think CSU is victim of conglomerate discount and that such spinoff is a reflection it? CSU recently nominated 4 new board members. It’s not often a company nominates 4 new board members. Do you think something is brewing for such a stable company? Thank you for your collaboration, Eric

Q: What would be your top 10 growth picks over the next 5-10 years in Health Care and Tech? Canada or US and any size is fine....

Q: I am interested in putting together a basket of high growth Canadian tech names . Thinking of Shopify ..lightspeed ...Docebo...Enghouse...Kinaxsis..Descartes....Should I include more or other names .Should I equal weight a basket?

Q: I have over 60% of my portfolio in cash waiting for a significant pull back . Regardless of sectors what is the top 5 stocks both In Canada + US you would buy when and if we have a downturn, Do you think we will see a significant downturn or do you recommend nibbling away on swings. I am a moderate risk investor Thanks in advance for your guidance

Q: I know this is tough to answer but are there any companies out there you see today that could potentially duplicate the great returns of the SHOP,CSU,NFLX, LULU etc.. either in US or Canada? thank you

Q: Good morning,
I own a small house in Ottawa that is free and clear with a current market value of approximately $350,000.
A recent discussion with my trusted mortgage broker confirmed that a 5 year term (Closed & Fixed) term mortgage can be obtained at a rate of 2.29%. This mortgage is said to be:
a. insured through CMHC,
b. portable, and
c. transferable.
At that rate of 2.29% and given that the interest paid would be tax deductible if I use the funds for investment purposes, I'm seriously considering borrowing around $200,000 and investing this amount for an initial 5 year period with an expected net rate of return on investment of 4.5% .
Q1. With $200,000, what are your thoughts of splitting this amount in 5 different chunks of $40K in the following instruments:
a. Mawer Tax Effective Balanced Fund,
b. Mawer Global Balanced ETF Fund,
c. Vanguard Balanced ETF Portfolio,
d. IShares Core Balanced ETF Portfolio, and
e. BMO Balanced ETF

Q2. As an alternative to the above and given the 5 year time frame, would your preference be to invest the $200,000 in a selection of best in class individual stocks split between different sectors and if so, would you be so kind as to provide me with ya listing of your best ideas at this time.

I thank you and look forward to hearing your thoughts on both of these investment strategies.
Francesco

Q: By mistake , I bought CSU & ATD.B using money from my US investment account. Now the stocks are shown in my US investment account priced in US dollars. Would that have a tax implication on dividend credit or when I sell ? Thanks for your expert opinion.