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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: I am holding all of these ETFs in fairly equivalent amounts in both TFSA and Cash accounts. I will need to sell some to pay my 2017 tax bill, as the sale of an investment property has me realizing some significant capital gains.

Do you have a recommendation for which ones to sell over others, or would you maintain an equal weighting? These will be long-term investments.
Read Answer Asked by C Shane on November 15, 2017
Q: Your thoughts on CLR and HLF as they settle down after not so good results. Also, when is the period of greatest tax loss selling and how much would you let it influence buying and selling opportunities particularly in TFSA and RRSP accounts?
Read Answer Asked by bill on November 15, 2017
Q: PBH is down bigtime today but I am far more concerned about ENB. PBH is still very much in an uptrend as it has been since 2009. ENB on the other hand, is in a downtrend and has been for a year now. And, very, very rare for a Balanced Equity stock, has been showing up in the 52 week low column a number of times in the past while. What do you see for ENB. Are you considering any changes?
Read Answer Asked by Fred on November 15, 2017
Q: When I try to trade securities listed in Exchanges in Japan, UK, other Europe, bank-owned brokers (RBC-DI and iTRADE) have a hard time giving me a quote. Even if when I get a quote, the have trouble handling my trade. And if they do, the trades incur very high commissions. I understand there are brokers in Canada who do handle international trades, but I do not know who they are.

I am therefore looking for a Japan small-cap ETF of companies that:
- are small or mid-cap (i.e. prefer to avoid the large Japan cartel type orgs); and
- whose sales have a significant export component; and
- which holding a modest number of securities, say 50 or 75 although I suspect I would have to be flexible as to number of holdings given that I am seeking small-caps
- trades in the US or Canada
I skipped currency hedge as requirements (although that would be great)

I have checked online resources but didn’t see ETFs of Japan-based exporters.
I would be thankful if you are able to tell of any ETFs you are able to find.

Read Answer Asked by Adam on November 15, 2017
Q: My allocation to US financials is higher than I had planned at approximately 26 to 28%. I do not HAVE to sell, not having strong ideas where to redeploy. However, subject to your input, I thought it might be prudent to sell or trim. (Selling or trimming would also provide cash reserve in case markets faint-- although 'gathering' dry powder is often counter productive). I ask your input, with reasons, on which of the following financials you would trim or let go entirely:
- WFC ; KIE (US insurance ETF) ; Lloyds Bank London (the ADR listed as LYG)
- KKR; BX (Blackstone)

I read various reports and did research. I didn’t find THAT much that I didn't like in the above. I am hoping you can tell me which ones are likely to show least total return, and why. I’d be grateful for your suggestions supported by your reasoning and any other thoughts you have. Many thanks
Read Answer Asked by Adam on November 15, 2017
Q: I hold several oil and gas exploration & production (E&P) companies. On every one of them I have significant losses, as many people do. I also have two oil refiners: VLO and MPC. I am shocked to see capital gains on both. Do oil refiners not move down when oil prices go down? I didn't see CONSISTENT correlation so I suspect I may be doing something wrong. Thus I seek your insight and deep, deep thoughts. Are both these companies just refineries? Or do they have some exploration and production in their operations ?
Would you continue to hold MPC and VLO ? If you wanted to realize cash for deployment elsewhere, which one (IF ANY) would you sell-- and WHY please.
Thank you
Read Answer Asked by Adam on November 15, 2017