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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: Hello 5i,
Love the new website. you must have put a lot of work into it. Thank you very much for your efforts.
I have been concerned about what is often called the 'housing bubble" in Canada. I am certainly no expert but house prices to rent, to income, per capita gdp and just the general high degree of debt in our country.

Knowing that I am not an expert in this area I don't want to bet too heavily on this fear. So, I think I have found a solution and thought i would run it by you for your commentary.
I don't have a lot of real estate other than my own home. So I am not worried about that, I am going to live here anyway. But, it seems like the Canadian banks would be hit if there was a big drop. I don't know if you know of other industries which would be affected?
Now, I have about ten percent in fixed income and I think all of that is in US funds in a rrif. I thought I might shave off some of the banks and buy my fixed income in Canadian funds. Then I would invest all of my US funds in stocks.

The big problems with this plan, as I see it, are capital gains and especially hold ing my fixed income outside a registered account ( because this is where my banks are, from which I would be raising the money). Of course at todays rates the taxes on the fixed income outside the sheltered accounts wouldn't amount to that much anyway. I know that you speacilise in straight forward questions on stocks but I notice that you sometimes venture further afield and reply to questions of strategy. So, i hope I qualify for this latitude. There may be a few questions in here so take off the points necessary
thanks
Read Answer Asked by joseph on November 07, 2017
Q: In May 2017, you recommended the following stocks for a long term RESP:
BNS, KXS, MX, SIS, PBH and ZCL. With the recent earnings report from ZCL, would you remove it and substitute with another investment? Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Linda on November 07, 2017
Q: I am hoping that you might have some comments on this US stock. As I see it, It seems to have many of the things you look for - manageable debt (I think), high
5-year dividend growth (including today's announcement), decent sales growth, high return on equity. Do you see it as a buy for the long term?

Appreciate your insight?

Paul F.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on November 07, 2017
Q: Hi David,
I'm looking to add three positions to my business passive account -- i'm up 15% year to date.
I have equal weight in each stock and am looking to add more diversity. A combination of income and growth US or Canadian -- minimum $1 billion market cap.

What would you recommend here.
Thanks,
Raymond
Read Answer Asked by raymond on November 07, 2017
Q: I have owned BRK baby B since 1997. I would appreciate your comments in general, about the latest quarter, and about its long term future. Many thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Clayton on November 07, 2017
Q: I bought this stock about 2 weeks ago and it is now down ~15%. I am trying to be disciplined in selling “losers” around the 10% down level (before -10% becomes -30-40% or worse).
But given what I perceive as your positive conviction of FIH, I am considering averaging down in this situation.

So, the question then is buy/sell or hold ....and “why”.

Thanks for your guidance here.
Read Answer Asked by Donald on November 07, 2017
Q: Hi Peter,
I own the etf as well as some of the individual companies such as Canopy Growth, Medreleaf, etc My total weight is 5% (i.e. 1 percent in Canopy etc). I have done well in the short term . These stocks do not have much earnings but are going up on potential. What would you suggest? Take the profits or just sell half for now and put a stop loss on the remaining balance. Also, with oil and gas stocks, is it best to hold on for higher oil prices or simply sell and move on as it has been a while since the oil price has gone up. Thanks very much.
Read Answer Asked by umedali on November 07, 2017
Q: just a comment that i would like you to publish.
today you took pivot out of your portfolio, i was surprised but i immediately asked you a question and you responded in 5 minutes, saying in your last discussion with management you were uncomfortable or less comfortable, i immediately sold my shares,did not make any money on this one.
my point is for me this is where 5i research shines, as a retail investor i had no clue about pivot, but that one word uncomfortable , and immediately taking it out of your portfolio even with 7 per cent yield, was all i had to know.
thanks again, really fantastic stuff. where else could i get that info, answer— no where. dave
Read Answer Asked by david on November 07, 2017
Q: Hello,

I purchased this stock at $68 about a year ago. Is there any future potential for this company to get back to these levels? I understand the Alberta oil prices have had an impact but I believe that the falling stock price runs deeper than this. One needs a lot of patience but does that equate to 1 year or 5 years? Should I get out now and look for better opportunities elsewhere. Which stock would be a good replacement for ACQ? Thanks for your assistance.
Read Answer Asked by Mauro on November 07, 2017
Q: Hi Peter and Staff
I am aware that you are lukewarm on the stocks so far and I share that concern. I have a family member wanting to invest a small allocation in their portfolio to this industry.
Could you please outline your current valuation and other concerns with the stock prices so far and then indicate and if you were to do an investment in one company in the industry which one and why
Thanks for all you do
Dennis
Read Answer Asked by Dennis on November 07, 2017
Q: Hello Folks:
Thank you again for your terrific service!
I am a 71 yr. old investor who has never kept any amount of cash in our accounts.
I feel there may be a serious negative re-evaluation approaching for world
markets; therefore considering moving to a half cash position, as we rely on returns for a good portion of our income. It is a difficult choice as dividend and rising equity prices have been very good since the recession, however nothing remains stagnant.
Our portfolio is primarily large cap US stocks and some quality dividend paying Canadian equities.
As always, I appreciate your point of view and suggestions
Brian
Read Answer Asked by Brian on November 07, 2017