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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: Hi Peter/Ryan, if you have a lot of shares and gains in a stock and if you are expecting the stock to split. Is it better to sell before the split or after or does it make a difference. Whats the best way to handle this scenario. Thanks, Nick
Read Answer Asked by Nick on November 30, 2018
Q: My biggest position is in Knight and my two biggest concerns are the possibility that Mr. Goodman's health is deteriorating following his accident which could affect his zeal for a large deal and, second, if his reputation as a bargain-hunter is precluding him from having access to good deals as sellers may only view him as a desperate last resort.
Finally, the trading in this stock seems consumed by day traders generating a flurry of orders following the limited buy/sell from real investors. Is someone propping this stock up to generate action while the shareholder base yawns through the daily action waiting with exasperation for the company to put their $800M to WORK!!
Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Steven on November 30, 2018
Q: I have recently paid off a sizable chunk of consumer debt, and now have a few thousand bucks at my disposal each month. I want to invest most of this in my TFSA so that I can catch up to my lifetime limit, and thereafter invest at a monthly amount equivalent to the annual limit. I've been thinking of investing most of this money in ETFs, but am a bit confused about the advice I see online. In your view, what is my best strategy here? Invest in one or two solid ETFs? If so, which do you recommend? Often, the ETFs I see experts recommending don't seem all that appealing. They hover at the same price for years and years and typically don't have much in the way of other types of yield. Anyway, I'm a bit confused and just wanting to have a basic plan for moving forward over the next year or two in my TFSA.
Read Answer Asked by Dennis on November 30, 2018
Q: The US Fed has a very big balance sheet problem that needs to unwind - someday. I do not understand what that means to the stock market.
Please help me.
Clayton
Read Answer Asked by Clayton on November 30, 2018
Q: From your answer on November 23rd:
No, an individual would still need to hold global exposure to the US, europe and emerging markets as well as fixed income. In terms of Canadian exposure, we would be pretty comfortable with the portfolio as a more growth-tilted proxy to Canada but an investor may want to overlay one Canadian broad ETF just to smooth out the volatility a little, depending on portfolio size. This, or adding a selection of larger company stocks, would help overall diversification.

Can you suggest % or guidelines on each type of exposure to have a well-diversified portfolio? (US, Europe, emerging markets, fixed income, Beport, one Canadian broad ETF or larger company stocks).
Thank you
Read Answer Asked by Serge on November 30, 2018
Q: I own some APU shares in a RIF and although it's probably not the best type of investment (Limited Partnership) for a RIF because of the witholding tax in the US, I always thought that the higher dividend compensated for that.

The shares bounced around my purchase price for a long time, showing small gains or losses, but it's now down 21% and I'm not sure whether it's worth keeping.

Would you recommend holding or selling and if you recommend selling, would you give me a few recommendations in the US that pay a dividend that look more promising. I have ENB in the US and plenty of REITS.
Read Answer Asked by John on November 30, 2018
Q: Peter & Ryan-- Mary and I have about 2 million dollars invested in the Mawer family of funds. These funds are fully managed by an investment counsellor and comes with a MER of 1 %. Our intention was for the funds to be used for estate planning because we have enough other income to live on over and above these funds..
Our question is to get your opinion on what to do with these funds now that they are put up for stratigic review and possible sale.
Other than putting the company for sale,we have been very happy with everything they have done for us. Thanks in advance
Pete and Mary

Read Answer Asked by Peter on November 30, 2018
Q: This is following on my previous question, Here is the information regarding this new fund from Spartan.
I do value your opinion on this one and how it rates regarding risk factor. Thanks

LSQ – which has been quite successful in pursuing other market-neutral arbitrage opportunities – anticipates that its SPAC arbitrage strategy will achieve double-digit returns on a portfolio basis using modest leverage (3x) with a very low-to-negative correlation to other markets, and with low drawdowns. We intend to pause fundraising once the strategy reaches $100M.

SPACs and the SPAC Market

- For those unfamiliar with SPACs, they are publicly-traded shell corporations that raise capital with a view to acquiring an operating business. Once a SPAC is IPO’d in the public markets (at say $10/share), it typically has 18-24 months to find an acquisition (capital raised is held in short-term money market instruments until deployed).

- When the sponsors of a SPAC find an acquisition, the underlying investors can either (#1) vote against the transaction and redeem their shares at the SPAC’s original IPO price (in this case $10), or (#2) vote for the transaction and participate. In an increasing number of instances, SPACs are permitting investors to vote for the transaction and redeem their shares (again, at their original $10 IPO price, per our example).
- In addition, SPACs are usually issued with warrants entitling the holder to participate in the SPAC’s potentially-successful acquisition. These warrants can also have a tradable market value.
- While SPACs can vary greatly in terms of size, quality, experience of the underlying sponsor, etc., for a SPAC investor, the worst-case scenario is a guaranteed return of capital at the SPAC’s IPO price (again $10 per our example), plus the residual value of any warrants, while the best case is participating in a very successful transaction.
Since SPACs are plentiful (33 have been issued in 2018 so far), trade on the open market (usually Nasdaq), frequently at a premium or discount to their original IPO price, and have a known ‘worst-case scenario’ and ‘timing’ attributes, they present considerable investment opportunities for a hedge fund manager with a detailed knowledge of the sector.

Please see the attached materials for additional details.


Seed investors – i.e., the first $10M – are entitled to the 1.5% & 10% fee structure with the right of seed investors to double their investments at that same pricing level during the term of the fund. We are looking to launch early in Q1 – likely end of January 2019.
We are in the process of compiling our order book so please let me know if you are interested in having an intro call and potentially allocating.
Read Answer Asked by Saad on November 30, 2018
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