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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: Please rank these CDN tech stocks for 1) growth and 2) value. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Tony on January 20, 2021
Q: ARKK Would you suggest starting an investment in the se ETF’s at this time?
Read Answer Asked by Rick on January 20, 2021
Q: I am wondering if you can provide your opinion on Teledyne, only 2 questions and the company has been around forever and looks to have done very well... I read I thread on twitter recently (I know that sounds bad) and what perked my interest even more was I noticed Ryan follows them (@sleepwellcap) and I know that doesn't mean he endorses their views etc but here is how they summarize TDY.

High tech industrial with 4 segments: Digital Imaging, Instrumentation, A&D Electronics and Engineered Systems. It’s also a acquisitive, a Berkshire Hathaway of high tech industrials of sorts. Their businesses share a couple of traits: highly engineered, mission critical components that are typically expensive and integrated into a larger system and must be reliable. Customers care more about quality than price. Most products sense, analyze or transmit information. Segment detail: Digital Imaging (60%) — high performance sensors/cameras like X-ray, machine vision, thermal detectors, and everything accross the e/m spectrum; Instrumentation (20%) — test&measurement, monitoring and control instruments for marine, environmental and industrial; A&D electronics (12%) — sophisticated electronic components, subsystems, communication products and interconnect for harsh environments. Used in aviation, satellite, submarines, UAVs etc;Engineered Systems (8%) — similar to A&D, but mostly cost-plus businesses contracts with DoD

Management has a splendid track record of acquisitions and conservative guides and accounting (missed EPS 3 quarters in 20 years) Execs are paid on LT outperformance of the Russell 2000. CEO Al Picelli succeeded Robert Mehrabian in 2019 who is now Chairman but still very involved. Oh, and they just bet the house on their most recent acquisition (pending close) On Jan 4 they announced they were buying FLIR Systems for $8B, that’s 40% of TDY’s marketCap (!!!) Leverage will kick up to 3.5x and go back <2x in 18mo. Paid 17x EBITDA, adds ~$5 FCF/sh and growing. ROIC is around 30% (from low-mid 20s 5 years ago), probably stepping up to mid-30s in next couple of years as they integrate FLIR, work on margin expansion initiatives and pay down debt...
Thanks for your thoughts!
Read Answer Asked by Michael on January 20, 2021
Q: Warren Buffett says when it comes to investing there are two questions to answer: what company and what price? When I watch the financial media the 'experts' always have a ton of stocks to buy, and give their crystal ball reasons why, but never give the intrinsic value of the stock, or talk about the margin of safety. Do the 'experts' just believe all their stock picks will go up? :)
Read Answer Asked by Edward on January 20, 2021
Q: Hello team,

Of the 3 companies above, BEAM has 3 times more shares sold short (18% of the float) but all three have been on a run.
If you could buy only one which one would you choose today as a great company for a long-term hold and which one you would rather avoid? And of course why?

Thanks for making investment accessible for ordinary people.
Read Answer Asked by Saeed on January 20, 2021
Q: Hi there, I just read the following post on Motley Fool Canada (18 Top TSX Stocks to Buy for 2021 and Beyond), one of eighteen top picks by their writers for 2021 is BUS. Is there way too much hype here, or maybe some truth to it but with lower expectation? Would like your thoughts on what the writer says below?
Thanks!

Grande West Transportation (TSXV:BUS) is a Canadian mid-sized bus manufacturer that is set to enjoy phenomenal revenue growth after entering the battery-electric bus market this year. The tiny company started receiving large bus orders from the United States late last year and its has a sizable delivery backlog to be cleared during the first half of 2021 that will boost liquidity and profitability in 2021.

Production capacity is increasing significantly and EV bus demand in North America is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 28.5% between 2020 and 2030. Management anticipates rapid EV bus sales growth in the near future. Grande West could experience exponential business growth post-COVID-19.

The EV bus launch attracted market attention for the nano-cap stock and its shares have doubled during the first two weeks of trading in 2021. Momentum remains strong for another triple-digit return this year.

Fool contributor Brian P..... has no position in the stock mentioned.
Read Answer Asked by Hussein on January 20, 2021
Q: My SHOP and LSPD positions have grown to 7% and 6% of my portfolio, looking to trim the positions slightly and add to some smaller weights in my portfolio with long term high growth. How would you rank as the best to add to currently out of NVEI, FB, AMZN, VEEV, CSU, DOCU or AT? This would be for TFSA.

Also for smaller caps like WELL and XBC, would would you consider as full positions? In the 3-5% range depending on one's risk tolerance? Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Keith on January 19, 2021
Q: I am setting up a long term portfolio for my 35 year old daughter. She will have 480,000 to invest. On a previous question, re the top picks from your portfolios in 2017, and your top picks presently, you now suggested ATZ, BAM ,BYD, GSY, KXS, LNF, LSPD, MG, REAL, SHOP, WEll. XBC. I am thinking to buy equal weightings of 40,000. Any advice?
Read Answer Asked by Allan on January 19, 2021
Q: My Materials sector needs to be increased to about 10% of portfolio - currently I have only 1.3% - all held in KL (underwater 15%).
I note you have ccl.b in the Balanced Portfolio but it does not seem to be in your recent recommendations for Materials ? ?
At the moment my shopping list looks like this:
LUN, IVN, ERO, NEO, NTR, RS, FCX, XGD ( Sell KL ??) , CCL.b ??
Would appreciate your assessment and comments and suggestions for alternatives. Dividend not necessary.
Use whatever number of question credits req'd. Thanks as always.
Read Answer Asked by Alexandra on January 19, 2021
Q: Hi 5i,
Can you make a few suggestions on EFT’s that could be used in constructing a portfolio for an RDSP investment account covering Canada, US and International with a 20+ year time horizon?
In addition to your individual suggestions what are your thoughts on holding a world ETF like XAW from a tax efficiently perspective within an RDSP account for world exposure?
Thanks,
Read Answer Asked by Bob on January 19, 2021
Q: Re: Dustin's question today on a good place to park some cash - Tangerine Bank (a subsidiary of BNS) is still offering 2.1% for 5 months if you open up a savings and checking account (Max is $1 mln). I am building a house and have and set up accounts in October - very easy to do and transferring cash back and forth (to RBC in may case) is very easy. Only small issue I have encountered is the $50,000 daily max for transferring funds back to RBC.
Read Answer Asked by Gary on January 19, 2021
Q: I am moving my TFSA (~$75,000) from a mutual fund company to Questrade and would like to invest following your 5i Growth portfolio. My horizon is 7 to 10 years. Being a new DIY investor, I am not sure of the number of stocks to purchase based on the size of my TFSA. Could you please suggest the number of stocks to buy, and a cross-section of specific growth stocks at this time? Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Andrea on January 19, 2021
Q: Can you please provide your top three Canadian or US small cap names for growth, along with a quick blurb on each re: their risks and opportunities? I have no sector preference and very high risk tolerance for this investment. Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Ben on January 19, 2021
Q: I think its in my interest to increase amount my RIF annual withdrawal and transfer the unneeded portion into my available space in my TFSA for investment. Do you agree? Art
Read Answer Asked by Arthur on January 19, 2021