Investment Q&A

Q: Good morning,
I own BCE preferred shares BCI-INC-CUM RED 1ST PR-AA. The value has dropped in half since my purchase. I understand these can be redeemed in 2017 for $25.
If BCE decides not to redeem the shares and extends the security can they change(reduce!) the rate of return which is currently 3.5%?

Q: Greetings Peter and team:

I hold the BCE, Brookfield and Fairfax preferred shares referenced. Obviously they have not fared well over the last few years. I am wondering if there is any reason to hold them at this point? I did notice on Monday when the market was broadly down that they were among the few holdings that were up. Do you think holding them as insurance against a market decline has any merit, or should I just book the loss and move on? As always, your insight is appreciated. Thank-you,

Q: BCE.PR.K
Assuming AK is the same as A, this does not seem to be a reset according to the BCE website. Please confirm details and your opinion for income (fixed).
Thanks

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

Q: Hi Peter,
Enghouse has not been doing well. Do you still like it for long term hold? Any idea why Brookfield Bussiness Partners is going up today? Also, does recent announcement of Brookfield raising $14 B for the Global infrastructure Fund refer to BGI.UN? If so, is it better to invest in BGI.UN or BIP. UN? Lastly, Telecom stocks are stable but the PEs are quite high. Can you shed some light please? Thanks

Q: My question regarding BCE.PR.S. After a number of years of owing this preferred, is it worth holding any longer. It has lost a lot of value since my purchase, I believe it has a floating rate dividend.
Thanks for your opinion. I was thinking of switching to BCE common share.

Shirley

Q: I have owned this preferred for 3+ years and am getting impatient with it. I purchased it for income, but have lost more in value. I am thinking about selling it and taking my loss and just buy BCE and collect their dividend, and hope for a little growth.
Is this a good idea, what are your thoughts. Any other suggestion would be appreciated.
5i has been very informative, I really enjoy it.
Shirley

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.

Q: Good Afternoon,
I hold a BCE preferred share specifically Series AG ticker symbol BCE.pf.G, currently trading around $13.40 with par value of $25. Any idea why this has dropped so much? I understand there was recently an option to convert into a floating rate preferred but I chose to keep my fixed rate preferred. Any thoughts? Is there a reset or something coming up and there is concern a lower coupon is coming? Thank-you

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?

Q: Guess you'll be busy w/Brexit - but wondering where I might invest some CAD & USD held on behalf of my kids in light of vote result?

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?

Q: Would like to add one safe stock with good divi to my portfolio. Have sector room for finance and telecom. Trying to choose between BCE & BNS. BCE has a negative with the CRTC regulators forthcoming ruling on the MTB takeover and also encouraging competition. BNS will no doubt be affected by the Alberta problem. Maybe I should be looking elsewhere? Would really appreciate your insight on this as always.

Q: I have a full position (5%)in BCE, would it make sense at this time to sell all or reduce this position and take a position in KXS?

Peter

Q: With today's low interest rates, what would you recommend to retirees to achieve a relatively low risk 5% return? I really appreciate your service.
Thanks,

Q: If purchased in US $ on a US exchange, do these companies pay their dividends in US$ Take as many credits as necessary.

Q: Thanks for your reply to my previous question, but I never had any thoughts of selling BCE. It is 5% of our holdings and has grown nicely, but I would like to add another telcom. RCI.B and T have disappointed so is there anything in Quebec or eastern Canada worth putting a toe in?

Q: Hi, There was an article published in Globe & Mail, yesterday with title "BCE payout hikes not so bulletproof". The article mentioned a report from Accountability Research Corp about how "Free cash Flow" term is used by the company. More specifically question was about exclusion of expenses related to voluntary contributions by co. to its employees defined benefit pension plan and acquisition costs from Free Cash Flow. G&M writer argued that including these expenses in free cash flow will result in BCE's dividend well outside the target range of 65-75% of FCF. BCE executive, in an email, explained company's reasoning to do so based on inconsistent nature of these items. Could you please share your thoughts on this. I think, this article could be a reason for BCE share price decline on March 10. Thanks

Q: I am making over 10% with BCE, should I sell half and with the rest buy another stock?

Q: Hello.
I would like to ask you to put your Income Investor Hat on for this question. But in saying that, I have to add that I am not willing to be an Income Investor who gives up Capital value just to collect an income stream.

The situation is one you may have seen before....... Significant number of BCE shares held in Senior's investment account. To identify the sensitivity of the situation, the amount affords dividend payments that exceed combined company pension and CPP together. The BCE income stream affords the lifestyle as it is today.
This is great except for the lack of diversification and the associated risk of a single stock position being so large.

The question to start, I have to ask whether for a senior who has been comfortable for over 50 years investing in a single stock, does a third party even talk about diversification?
If yes, from what you see here how would one go about identifying investment choices and creating a diversified portfolio with similar attributes as BCE has offered throughout these years. (Bonds not currently desired due to low income yield - And the Pension Plan is already an excellent Bond proxy)

Given the Market activity over the past 14 months and BCE price holding up while other dividend paying investments are declining in price/ increasing yield, I sense this is a good time to begin this diversifying activity.

Thanks for the effort you put into offering us all Market and Stock insights.
Dave