Investment Q&A

Q: What is the biggest reason hurting the stock price? I have been adding to my holding slowly assuming that the interest rates are going down and 6% yield from the company will be better than investing in fixed income options. Your analysis please.
Piyush

Q: Good info from 5i on recent lackluster BEP.UN stock performance.

I've noticed that historic trends for this company's Revenues and Operating Cash Flow seem to be fairly positive / consistent. However, Operating Margin took a hit last year, and Free Cash Flow has been negative the last three years. Is this a concern to you? Is the projected annual 5%-ish dividend increase in jeopardy (next increase is coming up shortly ! ).

Acknowledging the negatives you mentioned in your recent Q&A responses, would the current yield not soon theoretically help stabilize the stock price - especially considering this is a Brookfield....despite as "complicated" as the company is?

Q: There was to be a merger at the end of 2024. When will that show up in my accounts.
The stock price has been dropping in tandem lately. I do not know why?

Q: The noted stocks are all very weak right now. I suppose on fears of recession and/or tariffs and/or specific company performance. Could you please rank these for potential to rebound in 2025? Any particularly attractive or unattractive right now to purchase with a brief rationale? Thanks!

Q: I read your last update (June), and recent questions about this stock, and reviewed the financials. I cannot see any specific reasons for the steady decline. I don't see the reorganization having any material effect, and because of the international diversity I cannot see any Trump stupidity as having major influence. In fact, I would have thought the reduced interest rates would be a positive effect. Obviously, I am missing something that indicates a sell for some, and I am hoping you could shed some light on what that might be. As well, I would appreciate your comments as to future expectations.
Thanks!
Paul

Q: BEP.UN is on a super slide right now. Even today (Jan 10, 2025) showing a 2.5% down. What is your analysis on this company? Why does it continue to trend so badly? Thanks.

Q: I note that dividends from this firm may be subject to withholding tax.
Can you name any Canadian companies who pay dividends/distributions in US dollars, and who might NOT be subject to holding tax?
I would prefer it if you knew firms who pay in excess of 5% dividends.
Thanks!
Paul

Q: I have been building my position in BN and now sit at 2.63% position size. I am holding a 1.72% position size in BAM in a taxable account. I am thinking of selling BAM and adding the proceeds to BN. Is this wise? In taxable accounts I am more focused on future gains than on dividend return. Currently my BAM position has a gain of 107%. I have ample capital loss reserves to cover any capital gains incurred from selling BAM.

I also hold BEP.UN (1.24% position) and BIP.UN (3.47% position) in registered accounts for diversity and income. No plans to change those.

What do you think about consolidating BAM holdings into BN?

Q: Hi 5i

Please as many questions as needed.

I am heavily invested in stocks and want to raise cash, putting more money into bonds. I have about 10% in Canadian oil and gas, 5% gold stocks, and about 13% in uranium stocks. I am going to hold my gold and uranium.

What allocation would you suggest for a retiree in terms of portfolio holdings of gas and oil?

I am concerned about the possible coming tarriffs and the effect on the Canadian ecomomy. Most of my holdings are Canadian. A lot of these are in dividend stocks. I have held them through the past few years but I do need to increase the allocation to conservative investments. I plan to reduce most by about 20% or consider outright sells. I currently prefer to reduce downside risk than worry about the upside.

Can you help me decide from the viewpoint of possible tarriffs and effect on the Canadian economy which are at risk the most. Could you class these as hold, reduce or sell. I will hold all my U.S. stocks which are about 15% of my portfolio and haven't listed those here.

Thank you for your very helpful advice.

Q: I hold BAM, BIP.UN, BIPC, BEP.UN, BEPC and BN in a non registered account. For September and December dividend payments, I noticed that a withholding tax was applied to BIP.UN. For tax purposes, would any of the 6 stocks listed be better off in a registered account?

Q: Hi there
Could you please rank the noted stocks in order of "buy now" preference? (CN, AVGO, CRM, KSI, APP, BEP.UN, DOL, TTD).
Thanks so much! Appreciated.

Q: Happy New Year to all 5i staff.

What are your top 3 picks in Canada and the US for 2025?

Thank you for all you do!

Q: I have gains and outsized weighting in CSU, DSG, WXM. Planning to rebalance in the new year. I have been building positions in LMN and KXS and have a gain in those. I'm down and have smaller weightings in PBH, BYD, BEP.UN, AW. Which of these 6 would you suggest to add to in 2025?

Q: If I sell Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (BEP.UN:CA) that I hold in my RRSP, will I have to pay the 10% U.S. withholding tax on the total proceeds? As you know this tax was implemented on Canadian Limited Partnership companies last year, but I do not know if BEP.UN has taken steps to avoid it. Thank you

Q: Hello team,
Can you help me understand please whether i should put new monies in TFSA towards bep.un or bepc ? On yahoo, i see bep.un has dividend of 5.87 percent but 1 year return of minus 2 percent where as bepc has dividend of 4.7 percent but one year return of 14 percent. From income and growth perspective, bepc seems to be better bet.. If this is the case, are investors losing out by investing in bep.un? i have huge loss in my rrsp from bep.un so would like to know where to put new monies as it seems brookfield would benefit from the energy transition. Alternatively, am i better off simply putting all my monies in BN and forget the spinoffs.. please explain and thank you ..

Q: I have held these two stocks for a long time but I am frustrated with their performance. They have been flat in the past 5 years. I am thinking of selling both and repacing them with ALA. Am I wrong and can you give me your thoughts on Alta gas or do you have a better replacement idea. Thank You.

Q: I currently own Bep.un and want to buy BEPC.

1) If I sell BEP.UN for a loss can I replace it with BEPC right away or are they consider same stocks.

2) If they are same stocks and I buy BEPC do I need to average stock price for BEP.UN and BEPC.

3) Which one is more dividend Tax credit benefits.

4) If they are same stocks why BEPC has outperformed BEP.UN.

Thanks for your great service

I wish your team a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Q: I am considering increasing my half position to a full one for BEP.UN. Could you comment on this company given it's decline. I would like to know its payout ratio (based on cash flow, of course) and if you consider it a buy/sell/hold at the moment. Also, do you see any potential headwinds for it in the future?
Any insights are appreciated!
Thanks!
Paul

Q: Just curious as to whether you have any insight on the slide of over 6% in the last 7 days? Last news I can see was the 19th, and seemed positive.
Thanks!
Paul

Q: Yesterday I asked you about a group of stocks with respect to trimming our positions to reduce our overall stock exposure.

Now I would appreciate it if you could categorize these stocks with respect to your opinion on the impact of Trump's election. Perhaps the categories could be: positive, negative, neutral, or not sure.

The stocks are:
BAM
BEP.UN
BIP.UN
BCE
EMA
FTS
NA
RY
SLF
TD