Investment Q&A

Q: As younger person starting off their professional career, I am now contributing to the federal public service pension plan and look forward to benefitting (defined benefits) from that in 25+ years. I am hoping you can provide some guidance and insight on how I best manage my own self directed portfolio in combination with contributing to the pension. How should I be looking at equity to fixed income ratios as well as sector allocations between my own directed holdings and that of the pension. Or is it better to treat them independently? As a subscriber to your portfolio analytics, I am just trying to figure out how to balance everything as I continue to develop my first portfolio during these turbulent times.

The pension website breaks its net assets per asset class (not broken down in an easy format to compare with portfolio analytics) as: 47.8% capital markets, 14.2% private equity, 14% real estate, 10.8% infrastructure, 7.8% credit investments, 4.5% natural resources, 0.6% complementary portfolio, and 0.4% other.

I also just wanted to say that subscribing to 5i has been the best investment decision I have ever made. You provide an amazing service. I just wanted to highlight the significant financial and investment education you provide through your answers, blogs, monthly updates, etc. These have been extremely valuable to me as a new investor.

Q: Hi, you mentioned in a previous question that companies with warrants and Convertable Debentures tend to have higher short interest, please explain, thanks?

Q: A number of Canadian REITs are spinoffs of the properties of big Canadian companies. How do I, as a potential REIT investor, have confidence that the bigger parent (i.e. Magna, Loblaws, Canadian Tire etc.) will not strong-arm the REIT when it comes to rent negotiations etc. ?

Q: okay - if i sold enb preferred, can i buy back the stock within 30 days and be within the superficial loss rules.

cheers

Q: Hello 5i Team
I own several Brookfield entities (BAM.A, BEP/BEPC, BIP/BIPC, BPY/BPYU and BPO preferred) in various accounts based on tax effectiveness/reporting (based on my own interpretation).
1 - What would be a reasonable percentage of an entire portfolio (non-registered, RRSP and TFSA) that should be allocated to the "Brookfield Empire"? My thoughts are an investor should have no more 10 % of an entire portfolio invested in the various Brookfield entities as an optimum amount.
2 - What would be the absolute maximum of an entire portfolio (non-registered, RRSP and TFSA) that should be allocated to the "Brookfield Empire"? My thoughts are an investor should have no more than 15 % of an entire portfolio invested in the various Brookfield entities as an absolute amount.
3 - What would be the allocation of the amount invested to each of the Brookfield entities in the portfolio amount allocated to the Brookfield entities (i.e. BAM.A 25%; BEP/BEPC 25 %; BIP/BIPC 25 %; BPY/BPYU 20 %; BPO Preferred 5 %).
I have not included BBU as part of the question as I don't see the need to invest in it.
Thanks

Q: I am trying to identify one and only one Telecom co. to invest across the US or Canada. According to Morningstar data, Verizon has the best ROE, ROIC and interest coverage metrics (and the lowest P/E apart from AT&T). Would you consider VZ the best overall for a long term investment? Thank you for your excellent service as usual.

Q: The rise in stock prices of a few mega-caps (Apple, Facebook, Amazon, etc.) has distorted the concept of broad diversification through index investing (S&P 500). While the index rises, many index constituents have performed poorly.

Some ETF providers have created funds that hold a subset of the components of existing indices. Inclusion is based on their concept of company "quality". Presumably this eliminates poor performers and results in a "better" fund.
Examples are: ZUQ, SPHQ, QUAL, ZGQ, ZEQ.

Please comment on this idea of "quality" subsets of existing indexes. Do you consider this to be a useful investing strategy? Would you consider the examples listed to be preferable investments compared to the broader indices?

Thank you.
IslandJohn

Q: I have a TFSA with about $33K that I plan to give to my daughter for graduate school in about 2 years. ZWU looks like a good investment, with YTD return of -14.25% and yield of about 7.95%. Would appreciate your comments on ZWU and any other suggestions you could provide.
Thanks!

Q: I am under weight your csu position should Isell gc. I know different industry etc

Q: Excuse the question as it's not directly tied to Canadian stocks, but the Canadian Real Estate Market. Do you see a drop in prices coming, in light of Covid, the upcoming end of Mortgage Deferrals and CERB payments?

Q: Hi 5i,
Somehow I let myself get seduced by Corus and bought in some time ago, and I'm now sitting on a fairly large (but so far unrealized) loss in a registered account. I've kept thinking there's potential and I'll at least get to the point where I'm only down 50% and will unload then, but things only seem to get worse. So my questions:
Now that it's so cheap is there any reasonable prospect that Corus might be seen as worthwhile takeover target by anyone out there such that the stock could possibly get a bump, or should I just put that thought down to wishful thinking, take my lumps and put what (little) money I'll get from selling into something with better prospects?
And who might such a white knight be, if you think there could be one?
Thanks,
Peter

Q: After market close Sep 4,GC announces that it will reopen 11 properties in Ont & 1 in NB on Sep28,& working with NS.Please comment on its effect. Txs for u usual great services & views

Q: Morning team,

I've recently taken some profits and have some cash to deploy for long term holds. And I would be interested to know what your top investment "themes" would be for the next 5+ years are? For instance, ideas that come to mind for me are Cloud computing, "green" investment, and cyber security. Are there others that you find more intriguing? And which companies/ETFs would you recommend as investments?

Thank you again for you insights!

Q: One is an ETF while the other used covered calls to enhance dividends. Can you tell me what real difference there is between them aside from the 5% vs 10%+ div. I was thinking of buying XDIV but several of its holdings are the same as DFN which I own. Any point in also owning XDIV?
Thanks very much.

Q: good Saturday on our Canuck Labour Day week-end....from time to time, I breeze through the investment stock summarizer of BNN Market Call tv shows, aka Stock Chase....and a new name appears - Billy Kawasaki....with his "Insights, Picks from 5iR"......what can you tell me about Billy???........curious Tom signing off

Q: From what I am reading the federal government is going to go significantly increase spending in the next budget [latest number I am seeing is $100 billion]. This will take Canada's debt well over $1T, probably a further downgrade in Canada's debt rating from the current AA. As a retired person would I be correct in thinking a larger part of one's portfolio should be shifted to basic materials including precious metals, to foreign and US bonds and to a healthy cash balance in foreign currencies such as the USD, GBP and EUR?
As you are aware inflation is a killer for people living mainly on pension income so I'm trying to look forward and take action in small steps over time.
Thanks.

Q: I am wondering where you see the Canadian dollar headed in the near term and early 2021. If I am interested in purchasing US equities do you think I should convert now or wait for our dollar to go higher. Since I am also anticipating volatility in the next few months I don't want to miss my chance at converting and acquiring US equities. Thank you!

Q: Hey Peter & Team,

Thanks for all your help this year and last. My subscription paid for itself in a matter of weeks. (please don't increase the price)
Having said that and before I proceed NO, I am not one of those "OH MY GOD, THE SKY IS FALLING" people at the first hint of a drop. I did however take on a new position in PHO on Wednesday and as of Friday's close it is off 13.9%.
Among my many rules, one in particular states "drop an equity when it gets to 15% below my average cost." A rule which allows me to avoid getting to that position where I wait, it goes down further then I get to the "have nothing to loose mentality" and end up with a name in my portfolio with a -88% in red next to it.
So... what do I do with PHO? I know you have been recommending it as one of a few equities to be added to a growth portfolio.
Do you see any reasons/trouble that might have caused the significant drop? Should I stick with my 15% rule. (hard to answer I know as it is a personal preference) Has your long term outlook for PHO changed? Is there any news you may have seen which could explain this precipitous drop? Feel free to add anything else.
Thanks for all you do

gm

Q: hi 5i,
Would you please comment on this article;
David Rosenberg: No matter how you slice it, markets are in a bubble of historic proportions; And the higher they are, the harder they fall.
https://financialpost.com/investing/investing-pro/david-rosenberg-no-matter-how-you-slice-it-markets-are-in-a-bubble-of-historic-proportions/wcm/ccfab059-78b1-480e-8b01-b3ae4cefe8d0/

thanks

Q: I was reading your column last night in the Financial Post and you mentioned the VIX. I trade with TD and when I enter the call letters VIX, I get a whole list of different ones with different valuations. Which one do I use for what you were talking about.
Thanks for your great advice. Have a nice long weekend.
Shirley