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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: I would just like to echo Rod L's response to "complaint re KWH.UN etc". I have been a very happy member since May of 2013. Not everything has gone well, but by roughly following a 5i model (I think diversification, self risk assessment, and time) I have much more than exceeded my investment expectations. I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a better investment service anywhere - and the price is a bargain!!
Read Answer Asked by Jim on April 21, 2017
Q: I feel I have to respond to "dave's " complaint re KWH.UN etc. I have been a member since 2012 plus spent my life in the investment business . I'm now 75 . I challenge Dave to provide me with a comparable service to 5i's for the depth of their research plus the vault of data available - for a very low cost. There is not a service anywhere like it where you can ask - and receive such expert response quickly. My portfolios have benefitted substantially since joining and any little response problems are minuscule. Print if you wish.

Rod

Rod
Read Answer Asked by Rodney on April 20, 2017
Q: Having recently become eligible for the company RRSP matching program, I have a small investment in the Mackenzie Ivy Global Balanced fund.

I am limited in this program to the Mackenzie Funds, so it seems I am stuck with the high MER as a trade off for the company matching.

I have limited experience picking mutual funds and the advisor's picks would have seen me with 55% fixed income at age 35 which I feel is far too conservative given the high MER for this companies funds. As the current value in these funds is insignificant compared with my own funds, I just directed most of the funds to the balanced fund, and skipped the advisors other suggestion with the high bond allocation for the time being.

Is there anything specific I should watch out for when reviewing/selecting funds when my annual meeting with the 'advisor' comes around. If I stay where I am for the long term this will represent the bulk of my RRSP contributions for the foreseeable future.
Read Answer Asked by Jeffrey on April 20, 2017
Q: Can you provide me with a list of ~6 high dividend yield companies 5i would recommend? An assortment of small, medium, and large caps with varying levels of risk and potential for growth for me to consider would be great. I would like to take advantage of the dividend tax credit so these companies would need to have their pay out qualify for that. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Marco on April 19, 2017
Q: Hi guys,

After many years of successful investing, I've finally opted for a 'margin' account. While I don't plan on using the margin excess for further long exposure, I would like to try shorting a name or two (I'll keep the positions small, maybe 2% each for now). Are there any good short candidates that come to mind? I want to avoid the battleground stocks (VRX, HCG), but would love to find something that is just a real dog.

Thanks,
Mike
Read Answer Asked by Michael on April 19, 2017
Q: Regarding Hector's question on T1135 filing on 120K of USD holding.

Just a reminder to be careful when considering "value", the 100K filing requirement is not based on current market value but the cost amount or ACB, it includes cash and only applies to non-registered account, the amount is based on an individual basis, i.e. value in joint account has to be calculated separately.
Read Answer Asked by Steve on April 19, 2017
Q: I am always leery of a company where the insiders do not have any or perhaps very few common shares--Instead they have--options--multiple voting shs--performance share units--subordinate voting shs etc.Common shs mean to me you got some skin in the game--I dont understand all these other classes of shs---TOY is a good example of this.I dont like options thats no commitment at all and hurts the share price.Should I be concerned about these other classes of shares? What do they all mean?
Thanks--I have just had your portfolio review and find it very helpful--would reccommend it to any body.

Peter
Read Answer Asked by peter on April 19, 2017
Q: I have USA stocks with a value of 120K with Canadian Broker.
Do I need to fill out Form T1135 and if yes which box do you think it applies to me.

As per simplified reporting method
I need to check boxes that apply to me
Funds Held outside Canada
Shares of non-resident corporation (other than foreign affiliates)
Indebtedness owed by non-resident
Interest in non-resident trusts.

Thanks for your help.
Read Answer Asked by Hector on April 19, 2017
Q: We have 2 RRSP portfolios 2 TFSA portfolios 1 locked in pension plan portfolio which I manage. I have recognized that there are different tax implications for the investments in each type of account and have invested accordingly to suit.I'm now drawing income from our investments and work with my accountant to withdraw as tax efficiently as possible.The question I have is would you manage these accounts as a separate portfolio in each account or as one overall portfolio when looking at percentage allocation of a Stock,ETF,or Fixed Income.
Read Answer Asked by Thomas on April 18, 2017
Q: Selling home due to an overseas posting which will last 3-4 years. What do I do with our "HouseMoney" - (approximately 450k)during our time overseas. Banks GICs are so low at 1.65%, can get 2% with EQ bank online. Interests would be at least 29% taxed! Can't afford to risk our house money on equities as we will have to buy back into housing market upon our return to Canada and will likely retire then as well.
Read Answer Asked by Mike on April 17, 2017
Q: I'm considering a portfolio review but have concerns regarding your admitted bias towards small/mid size stocks. We are retired and our investing objective is primarily wealth preservation with some growth. I am primarily a large cap dividend investor in my main portfolio although I have initiated a small position in your balanced model portfolio in my TFSA. If I were to request a review, would you be recommending primarily mid to small cap stocks for the portfolio, or would you feel comfortable recommending more larger cap stocks given my preference?
Read Answer Asked by Jim on April 17, 2017