skip to content
  1. Home
  2. >
  3. Investment Q&A
You can view 3 more answers this month. Sign up for a free trial for unlimited access.

Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: If you were holding a Real Return Bond here, would you convert to a regular Bond fund? Or are bonds also not safe in the current environment? They also have been negative in the last week which is puzzling. This is for a company pension so my options are limited to funds - or daily interest savings.
Read Answer Asked by Kel on March 13, 2020
Q: Hi folks,looking longer term, Whitecap resources wcp/t had fairly decent Q results with Paying down $100M in debt,lowered payout ratio to 72,and there has been lots of recent insider buying at higher levels. Stock currently crushed to 1.30sh level....aside from problems/negativity of world/wti oil....does Whitecap not seem like a reasonable buy here??? thanks as always, jb
Read Answer Asked by John on March 13, 2020
Q: I'm holding the following since I thought they would be considered safe stocks, however they are going down with all the rest.

1) I made the big mistake that gold miners would actually do well in the current situation, however I know see my mistake that I should have purchased gold directly. Would you, given the situation today, sell the miners and buy gold directly - what has the past crises shown about gold versus gold miners?
2) Do you think the utilities above will stabalize near current levels, or do you see that there will be a reset in all P/E and P/C levels down to lower levels?
Read Answer Asked by Kel on March 13, 2020
Q: With all the issues going on when is it time to start investing and what stocks to look at?
Read Answer Asked by Mark on March 13, 2020
Q: Hello,

I am wondering what your thoughts are on the eventual recovery? We won’t know 100% until the virus plays out further but best guess, what do you think a recovery will look like?

My thoughts are that once the virus is under control we may see a quick turnaround in the equities market due to the economies ramping back up, but I am concerned that if this virus continues to provide more questions then answers we may be stuck in a longer downturn.

Keeping the recovery in mind, what are your thoughts on picking away at a Russell 2000 position over the next few weeks/months and what effect will a rising loonie (if Russia and SA work through this spat) have on the dollar hedging. Is it best to buy the Canadian version or the US version with this drop in the loonie and hopefully the eventual recovery in it.

TIA
Read Answer Asked by Gerald on March 13, 2020
Q: I have both CLF and ZAG in my bond portfolio. CLF continues to go up as interest rates come down. ZAG was doing the same until the last two days. Do you think the drop in ZAG is due to the industrial bond component and business credit risk? If there is fear that businesses will default on their bonds, it might be appropriate to take profits in this fund.
Read Answer Asked by Ken on March 13, 2020
Q: I have these 3 ETFs in my RRSP for fixed income exposure. I am strongly considering selling CBO and CLF, down approximately 3% each, to raise funds to buy stocks that are, in my opinion, getting to really attractive valuations today. I'll keep XHY because it is down a bit more (11%) and will likely recover as things improve. Is this an acceptable strategy in times like these. 25+ years until retirement.

Thanks,
Jason
Read Answer Asked by Jason on March 13, 2020
Q: Hello,
Question regarding the 30 day rule on repurchasing a stock that was sold for a capital loss. I sold Enb.to for a small capital loss in a non registered account.
If I decide to re-purchase the stock within the 30 day period I understand that the capital loss is not allowed, as I sold for a very small loss that really does not matter.
My question is; what if any any other penalty or other issue to consider before re-purchasing (my example enb.to) for a much lower price than I sold it for?

Thanks,
Randy D
Read Answer Asked by Randy on March 13, 2020
Q: It seems like Groundhog Day regarding the Rate Reset Preferred Shares,
and my laddered holdings of Minimum Rate Reset Preferreds are getting thrown away with all the rest. I hold them with an annuity-like mentality, meaning I don't really care anymore how the market values them, and plan on holding them until the stones are bouncing off the casket lid. While interest rates are widely viewed as being "lower for longer" (at present), why shouldn't I be happy to collect (at least) the minimum dividends (commonly 4% - 5%) which are much better than most fixed-income alternatives) from issues of blue chip credits? The outside risk of dividend suspensions is recognized, but aren't redemptions (if and when they occur) limited to a return of the issue price? What am I missing?
Read Answer Asked by Howard on March 13, 2020
Q: In my RRSP accounts I have built up a laddered GIC portfolio in addition to a variety of stocks and equity etfs, taking the income generated by the portfolio and adding to the ladder. Given the low rates for 5 yr GIC, under 2%, I’m thinking of taking this years income and purchasing CVD, which has a lower payout but more stability than the above mentioned Preferred share ETFs.
I may split my purchase between CVD and one of the above Preferred Share ETFs and am leaning towards ZPR as performance and MER of the 3 is similar but ZPR has a higher dividend payout.
In addition to better income, interest rates should be close to bottoming and if I stage my purchases over the next 3 months I will benefit from unit price appreciation when rates start going up and will have locked in a 5-6% return.
Your thoughts please.
Read Answer Asked by Bruce on March 13, 2020