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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: Good Morning
Technicals on XBM would indicate that we are entering a growth period for base metals, however, "Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) on Monday said concerns over Donald Trump's trade war with China is likely to dominate the outlook for commodities in the fourth quarter, predicting the issue could be a drag on markets until the 2020 U.S. election. The bank said that while a new North American trade agreement may decrease uncertainty, the U.S. trade war with China is likely to cut commodity prices for most metals."
What is your stance on base metals for the upcoming period?

Carl
Read Answer Asked by Carl on October 17, 2018
Q: I have held ALA for a long time - so long that I actually have a modest unrealized gain. The current yield of over 10% is obviously signalling something - either an expected dividend cut or a strong discount implying the market is not buying the picture presented by managment that shows strong growth and no problem sustaining and growing the divi. In my view then - the current stock price reflects all of the bad news that might happen - so there is very little downside at the current price. If a divi cut happens - there might be a short term decline from the current price but the stock should recover to a level with associated yield that is peer competitive. If on the other hand - the market buys the growth story - we should see substantial price appreciation from current levels - no divi cut and a repricing which also results in a peer competitive divi. So at the current price - very limited downside and signficant upside. Do you agree?

Read Answer Asked by Gary on October 17, 2018
Q: I noticed 5i has dropped Reliq a growth stock from your portfolio. Would STC, QST, ITC & CWL be good growth stock replacements given their current value?
Read Answer Asked by Charles on October 17, 2018
Q: How would rank the stocks on straight growth prospects over the next 6 months ( High risk to Low risk ) thank You Claude
Read Answer Asked by Claude on October 17, 2018
Q: Before proceed with a purchase would you confirm for me that a US stock or ETF may be purchased in a Canadian RRSP without having to file annual tax information or remittances to the USA. I know that a US stock or ETF purchased in a cash or TFSA is subject to annual filings. As a long time subscriber, thank you for your service.
Read Answer Asked by Doug on October 17, 2018
Q: As a new DIY investor following the Q&A on RHT about to adopt a position, today's news is intriguing. An experienced investor friend tells me that penny stocks on the Vancouver exchange should be avoided due to increased likelihood of fraud and "pump & dump" schemes. It seems the CEO and one of her execs have a history of starting tech companies with government subsidies, taking them public, then bailing. How can we avoid these "games"? I'm assuming your own research process aims to identify frauds in the making. Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Michael on October 17, 2018
Q: I held CXR when it was over $100.00 and added to it on the way down. Eventually at $25.00, myself and 5i members were waiting for the quarter and after the report, it dropped to $12.00 and 5i said they were getting out of it. So did I. The same thing happened with RHT. I am concerned that COV a $9.00 plus stock now in the $6 plus range, seems to be repeating the pattern of the two above-mentioned stocks. My question is do you see the same thing happening again with this stock? Thanks Dennis
Read Answer Asked by Dennis on October 17, 2018
Q: I wanted to chime in on Johns question about bond etf’s. I completely agree with Johns concerns and feel that generally speaking the possibility of capital losses on a bond etf is under appreciated, under reported and glossed over by too many people. I have held VSB and VSC for well over 3 years and my yield to date isn’t even remotely close to covering the capital losses. I see absolutely no reversal in site. That they are more liquid and diversified to me is pointless. I would have been significantly better off in cash, GICs or an individual ST bond that matured and gave me my capital back.
Read Answer Asked by Morgan on October 17, 2018
Q: here is my personal mea-culpa

over 35 years i have lost an embarrassing amount of money in the market

i am an aggressive investor and have lost money in every single way imaginable - you name it, i have done it

mercifully i am getting 'better' and lose less, less often; yet being in the market means you will have losses

my biggest mistakes show up in these 2 areas:

1) impatience
2) buying hope

so regarding today's massacre of RHT I offer this:

peter's team provides an excellent framework on how to allocate assets; how to keep portfolio positions small (5% max) and 'second to none' fundamental analysis (P/E's, cashflow, balance sheet info etc)

most importantly - this information simply tells you WHAT to buy

to know WHEN to buy you must have a brief look at the chart (technical analysis)

for example; he can tell you all day that 'fundementally' BNS is a good solid company and should be owned; yet looking at the chart, a three year old with a crayon can tell you that it has not finished going down yet

why is it going down? who knows, and really who cares?

so i learned long ago to be patient.....and buy only when the stock has stopped going down --- therefore i no longer try to catch the knife; call the bottom etc etc - and therefore I lose less

and this brings on #2

as you have all heard before - hope is not a strategy

as humans, we are hardwired to believe we 'know' better and nowhere is this more dangerous than investing

when our stock (of a 'good' company) starts going down we buy more because "it's a daily mis-pricing"; then it goes down more and we 'double up' because "it's a great business and i can't believe how stupid some people are".......and then the poor news comes out and we sell (because we never did actually understand the company and we bought on hope (or greed) based on someone's recommendation...........or buy we more to "trade ourselves back on side"

a look at the RHT chart shows it has been going down in a perfect line since february - why was that? who knew? more importantly who cares? the chart has been telling you 'something ain't right"

to summarize

always look at the chart and most importantly....

IF YOU ARE IN A HOLE, STOP DIGGING!!!

i have made every stupid investing mistake; most of them many, many times....

i am probably not finished making stupid mistakes

but i hope I am.......

bob
Read Answer Asked by Robert on October 17, 2018
Q: Hi,

I just took my loss for RHT. In my TFSA, so that stings a little... but its all good, I'm plus 225% in SHOP and plus 30% in KXS.

Question - which of these 2 companies should I be topping up today, SHOP or KXS? the small sale proceed from RHT is not big enough to start a new position, and my TFSA is capped out.

Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Ray on October 16, 2018
Q: I am mostly (90%) invested in US markets . (Had desperately wanted to allocate 30% to Canadian , but have done horribly on every Canadian stock I bought ( ENB, GUD, ALA) .Therefore , for next couple of months I have gone back to buying US , when markets dip. To take advantage of the dips , I keep cash reserve. That reserve was reduced somewhat as stocks fainted last week. This is a what-if question about raising cash for next big dip.
Question: I hold both PRu.us and MET.us. Which one (IF ANY) would you sell to add to cash reserve (there being no urgent need). Between PRU and MET if you like one a lot less than the other, your reasoning would be most helpful.
Read Answer Asked by Adam on October 16, 2018