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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Hi 5i I notice members are asking about renewable energy companies. I would like to add 2 renewable energy companies to my portfolio, at present I have none. I'm a very long term investor, something like till the day I die. Thx for your wise advise, I was starting to believe in the " sell in May and go away " but this year staying with the market has been very good for me thanks to the 5i group. Thx again Gerry
Read Answer Asked by Gerry on July 20, 2016
Q: Thank you 5i for your excellent service!!!

I have divided up my portfolio into thirds.
One third is a diverse group of ETFs.
One third is cash and a group fluid group of stocks made up primarily from stocks you recommend. SJ, CCL, SIS, KXS... etc.
One third is made up of the seven stocks listed above. Do you have any concerns about any of these being a long term hold. I know Magna is cyclical but is that a concern?
Cheers,
Bryan
Read Answer Asked by Bryan on July 19, 2016
Q: NPI is at all time highs given the announcement today of a 'strategic' review'. I am not really sure what that means as I would have thought management would always be looking for future growth opportunities and to enhance shareholder value. Given the pop in NPI I am thinking of selling my position and replacing it with BEP.UN for no other reason than 1) the higher yield 2) NPI may be fully valued and I don't see what could possibly come from a review other than perhaps the sale of the company which certainly does not sound like a possibility in the news release.

Thanks in advance
Read Answer Asked by Mark on July 13, 2016
Q: 9:53 AM 6/29/2016

Hello Peter:

Today you made this distinction between "Safe" and "Secure" dividends in your answer to Grant asking about Superior Plus : "We would consider the dividend 'secure'. 'Safe' is a different category completely".

1. I am looking to concentrate on companies whose dividends you consider to be in the "safe" category, and which yield over 3.5% as these should/must be at least the main core of any pensioner's holdings for reliable income. This can be confusing to sort out since I presume that you will not consider all banks, utilities, telcos, REITS, Pipelines, etc. qualify as "safe".

2. So if you could sort out a short list of the few that qualify for the "Safe Dividend" category it would be most appreciated. I do understand that disasters do occasionally happen, and any company no matter how safe can get into trouble.

2. This brings up the problem of portfolio concentration caused by owning only a few names or sectors. Is it better or "ok" to just own a portfolio of only "Safe" dividend stocks, or are we advised to dilute the quality of our portfolios and own some less safe dividend stocks to supposedly "diversify" risk? This harks back to the people whose portfolio consists of only the big five Canadian Banks and who have done brilliantly for the past 50 years!

Your considered opinion on this issue will be most appreciated........ Paul K.

Read Answer Asked by Paul on June 30, 2016
Q: You rate this as an "A"; but, when I check my info provided by CIBC Investors Edge: debt/Equity is 2.8X, ROE is basically 0, P.R. is crazy high and P.E. equally so. They have issued a lot of common and preferred shares as well and must have a heck of a lot of non-cash write-offs which distort a lot of the metrics, I guess? What is the story on a pure cash basis then?
Read Answer Asked by James on June 29, 2016
Q: With a time horizon of 10+ years, i'm looking to start a smith-maneuver portfolio to write off some mortgage interest. Could you please recommend 5-10 top picks that would be suitable for this strategy? Or would you recommend possibly an etf like CPD for something like this.

Thanks!

ps, i tried searching for previous questions in the q&a regarding this topic but couldn't find any, do you know which section they would be filed under?
Read Answer Asked by dan on June 27, 2016
Q: Hi 5i,
Are you able to provide any more detail on the rumour that Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners (BEP.UN) might be interested in Transalta Renewables (RNW)? At the current share price, is there sufficient value for them to pay enough of a premium to have a chance at a successful bid and still stay within an earnings-accretive price range? Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Lance on June 20, 2016
Q: I manage the investment accounts for a family member who currently has a very small pension, CPP and OAS with the OAS Supplement. Her Supplement is reduced by 50 cents for every dollar of investment income she makes so she is effectively in a 50% tax bracket. Her capital comes from the recent sale of her house and the money must be available for an assisted living facility in a few years. My problem has been finding stocks to preserve capital and minimize the 50% tax bite which impacts what she has to live on currently. I have used AV.UN which has no impact on her income now and TMC which does but provides a high income. I think capital gains would be better than dividends which are grossed up. Any suggestions for appropriate investments for a 6 figure account?
Read Answer Asked by Earl on June 08, 2016
Q: This question is about portfolio construction and geographical equity allocation. I am attempting to diversify my equity holdings across Canadian, U.S., International, and Emerging Markets.

How do I treat a company that has global operations, such as BEP.un?

BEP.un receives 25% of its revenue from Canada, 50% from the U.S., 5% from developed International markets, and 25% from Emerging Markets.

Should BEP.un "count" as a 100% Canadian holding because it trades on the TSX, or should I proportion my holding in BEP.un across the 4 geographical regions according to their respective revenue percentages? (Or is there an even better way to approach this?)

Thanks again for this great website and service!
Read Answer Asked by Jonathan on May 25, 2016
Q: hello 5i:
could you please comment (generally) on the new preferred shares being offered by BEP.UN. Can I purchase these through my online broker ie BMO Investorline or Scotia iTrade? How would these preferreds compare to others being offered at the moment? The reset, pegged to Canadian Treasuries seems like good protection for the investor: is it? Would these be acceptable as the fixed income portion of a diversified portfolio for someone who is (becoming) more risk averse? Held in a TFSA, is the interest taxable or not?
thanks
Paul L
Read Answer Asked by Paul on May 17, 2016
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