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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: There has been a lot of gossip around my job side about a new investment in a cryptocurrency company called electroneum. To be honest, I have no intension of investing in it. I have just a layman's knowledge of bitcoin and blockchain and with all the hype starting to fly around this place I would appreciate a well grounded opinion of it. Maybe I could show them the answer you reply with.
Read Answer Asked by Anthony on October 17, 2017
Q: This may or may not be a question you can answer but any insight is appreciated.

My Mom is 88 years old, plays bridge twice a week and square dances twice a week and we spend 2 days a week having lunch She is in great health but, no one lives forever.

She has Property and investments worth U$600,000+ and she and I have reviewed her will which is in good standing. How can I best prepare on my end when the time does eventually come? And what hurdles can I expect as a Canadian inheriting US assets?

Thanks for all you do

gm
Read Answer Asked by Gord on October 17, 2017
Q: I don't know if you can answer this, but I file an 8840 for the IRS as a snowbird to prove a closer connection to Canada (my home and citizenship).
Because I own more than $100,000 worth of U.S. securities, I am beginning to be worried about having a too large percentage of holding in U.S. domiciled companies.
If I own an ADR of a European company, on a U.S. exchange, do I have to list it as part of my U.S. exposure?
My guess is no, but I would sure appreciate some clarity.
Read Answer Asked by Kyle on October 16, 2017
Q: Hi 5i team.
I have to sell several stocks and claim a capital gain. These of course are winners and I will probably buy all or most back. I was told to wait till trade settles to buy back which of course is several days. With the market climbing almost daily I worry about losing those gains or one or another stock jumping due to news or sometimes no news and not holding it.

I'm a believer in long term fundamentals but think short term technical analysis can be helpful here though I don't really have a good knowledge of this.

My question really is what technical indicators are best in this situation over a several day or week or two span. I have been using an MACD oscillator - exponential with periods 12, 26, 9 because it is available to me and seems simple enough to try to time drop in values (sell) for several days to hopefully buy back at same price or a little lower. Not looking to make big gains but to avoid loss of gains. Thank you in advance for this and all the helpful advice from this service.
Tulio
Read Answer Asked by Tulio on October 16, 2017
Q: Thanks for all you do to help us in the market. Presently I have the following exposure to both Canadian + US financials
- US:PYPL, BAC,C,
- Canadian: BND ,RY,TD.
My exposure to this sector in total is 22% of my US + Canadian Portfolio. I would like to purchase another $100,000 (Cad) in Canadian banks to take advantage of the Dividends. PS the funds are presently in a bank account that collects very low reruns. Should I wait for a pullback? or go ahead without trying to time the market also what is the risk of my exposure being so heavily weighted to US + Canadian Financials? PS Interesting that PYPL has returned 40% in the last 14 mths + BNS just over 30%. Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Terence on October 16, 2017
Q: Interested in placing direct investments in China, Japan & possibly India. Trading market must be US. Primary interest is Technology & Space.
This will be completely separate from our current traditional investments as reviewed occasionally with you over the years. Aside from established players in the above markets, I would consider vertically specialized ETFs that have a strong Bloomberg rating. Please deduct accordingly. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Robert on October 16, 2017
Q: Hello team,

A couple of years ago you advised that your 'ideal sector classification' would be as followed:

Consumer Cyclical
Consumer Staples
Retail
Financials
Real Estate
Health Care (CDN)
Health Care (US)
Capital Goods / Industrials
Transportation
Information Technology
Internet / Software
Telecommunication Services
Energy
Gold / Silver
Materials
Utilities

I ask this question every 6-9 months when I am doing sector re-balancing. Given today's market conditions, what would be your ideal weighting for each of these for an investor who has a long time horizon and is a 7/8 out of 10 on the risk scale?

My current weighting breakdown is:

Consumer Cyclical - 12%
Consumer Staples - 9%
Retail - 2%
Financials - 9%
Real Estate - 1%
Health Care (CDN) - 3%
Health Care (US) - 2%
Capital Goods / Industrials - 14%
Transportation - 3%
Information Technology - 8%
Internet / Software - 15%
Telecommunication Services - 4%
Energy - 3%
Gold / Silver - 2%
Materials - 8%
Utilities - 4%

I find myself usually becoming overweight in Consumer Discretionary and Info Tech / Software as most of your top picks are in those categories. Any thoughts on where I should be scaling back / adding to?

Please deduct multiple question credits. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Ray on October 16, 2017
Q: Hi there, I currently have no exposure outside of the TSX and the Canadian market. I know ETFs are often recommended as good ways to get exposure outside of Canada but I was doing research into mutual funds and the new Fidelity Insights fund managed by Will Danoff seems like it is performing well. In addition, it sounds like his Fidelity Contra Fund in the US seems to perform quite well over time. What are your thoughts on him as a fund manager and the Fidelity Insights fund for outside of Canada exposure? Also, there is the standard version and a currency neutral version - which I presume implies hedged and unhedged. If this will be a longterm position, which would be preferred between the two? Thanks for your guidance!
Read Answer Asked by Michael on October 16, 2017
Q: In your model portfolios you hold 20-25 stocks. I am selling a home and expect to have about $750K to add to my existing $500K. I have always had a preference for keeping my holdings in a particular company smaller and thus having more diversity than that. In my new plan I would hold about 40 to 45 stocks. I am retired and a fairly conservative investor and focus on income but would add some growth in the new plan. Am I trying to diversify too much?
Read Answer Asked by Albert on October 16, 2017