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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: obviously i get the year end tax loss selling, but i do not quite get the year end profit taking i am seeing in yangarra, the stars group,savaria and some others especially in a strong tape.
oil has held up pretty well, are oils selling off because of pipeline bottlenecks or something else, yangarra has been down 5 days in a row.
please explain the year end profit taking, why would anyone sell to pay the tax. dave
Read Answer Asked by david on December 14, 2017
Q: I sold Dhx.b for tax loss selling and maybe repurchasing after 30 days. However, the high debt load does concern me. Do you have any alternatives in the consumer discretionary sector at this time. Not looking for a trade but rather a long term hold.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you at 5i.
Mike G.
Read Answer Asked by Mike on December 14, 2017
Q: Good morning . Thinking of doing some tax loss selling these are the stocks I am under water on . Are these all good for that or should I just sell some of them. I have a well diversified portfolio and none are a very large position
Read Answer Asked by Stuart on December 14, 2017
Q: I would appreciate your advice on how to manage the more commodity based holdings in my portfolio - in this case, sepcifically Methanex although I hope one day to be faced with the same problem with my oil stocks. I tend to be a buy and hold type and only sell to keep the holding below 7% of the portfolio or if the business rational changes. Is this the best strategy to manage MX? You noted in a question the other day that you were unable to ascertain why it was rising in price. Is it best, therefore, to sell some now (I am up 20% - 30%) and keep it as a smaller holding in the portfolio or with commodities is it best to take a more "go all the way" approach and ride the commodity pricing wave so as not to sell this type of winner too early? Implicit in this strategy is the theory that the company will only do well while methanol prices are high and then the stock will drop significantly at some point. Or is my thinking all wrong and I should treat it as I would any other company?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on December 14, 2017
Q: A great starting point to learn what Bitcoin is really all about would be to read the 'Bitcoin White Paper'. Quite technical, but it outlines the foundations upon which Bitcoin was originally constructed. Note that currently Bitcoin Cash (BCH) follows most closely what the original paper outlines, not Bitcoin (BTC). Also, should any investors here be accumulating a sizeable position, they may want to look into secure hard-wallet options like Ledger/Trezor. Do not trust the exchanges to hold any cryptocurrencies for you, transfer them to your own (hard or soft) wallet after exchange. Most lost/stolen Bitcoins are attributable to exchange mismanagement and/or security flaws taken advantage of by hackers.
Read Answer Asked by Marco on December 14, 2017
Q: Hi,
Unfortunately I bought some of these energy stocks back in 2014 and I am down +30% on all of these. I have just over a 5% weight currently in energy (not including ALA, ENB and TRP which I've included as part of utilities). Which do you think I should continue to hold and which ones should I just throw in the towel and sell?? I am a long term growth investor.
Read Answer Asked by Keith on December 14, 2017
Q: Do you find tmxmoney.com a good website for quotes and business news in general ? Which website do you usually recommend ? Thank you .
Read Answer Asked by Pierre on December 14, 2017
Q: In terms of portfolio sector allocation, is it legitimate to consider Canadian Apartment REIT to be a consumer staple; Pure Industrial REIT to be an industrial; and Chartwell to be healthcare? I have 5% in each of these equities -- is it a mistake to be over-concentrated in REITs ? I have a good gain and a good dividend in each of these holdings, but am interested in your perception of interest rate risk and diversification ? Thank you, Tim
Read Answer Asked by Tim on December 14, 2017
Q: I currently hold VTWV, and notice that you recommend IWO generally when picking a Russell 2000 ETF. Should I sell VTWV, which hasn't done very well, and replace it with IWO, and if so, why? It seems that IWO is doing better but I don't understand why, as I would think the two are comparable.

Thank you for this wonderful service. The new design is super.
Elizabeth
Read Answer Asked by Elizabeth on December 14, 2017
Q: Most of my international (non-USA) holdings are ETFs that trade in US dollars on US exchanges. This adds a layer of FX (US dollar) into the equation when considering the performance of these holdings. With the quick and drastic FX moves that are becoming more common, I’m starting to loathe the FX volatility and believe that my other US equity holdings already provide sufficient (US) currency diversification. What advantage/disadvantage is there in holding international equities in US dollars, and if I wanted to replace each of the above ETFs with a Canadian dollar equivalent what ETFs would you recommend?
Read Answer Asked by Steven on December 14, 2017