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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 day...I am looking for a mutual fund that has no load and a small mer that my son and his wife can use in their rrsp for the next year or two ...I only want an mutual fund because of the trading costs incurred by buying individual stocks until they have a larger balance in this account...if you could recommend a good fund here I would greatly appreciate it...gene
Read Answer Asked by gene on July 18, 2017
Q: My financials consist of the above two stocks and a full position in GSY. AIF has been week and I am down 9%. AIF is 1.85% of my portfolio. ECN has done well and is up 12%. It makes up 2.25% of my portfolio. Which would you top up to a full position at this time. I also have a managed account that holds the usual canadian banks so I have narrowed my choice to the above two.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on July 18, 2017
Q: Hi 5i Team:
What are 5 pure Canadian growth companies that you will recommend for TFSA. Risk is not a factor. No need for dividends. 3 to 5 year horizon. Plan to add future contributions to this list in the next few years. Of course I will be reading your reports to see if there are any sudden changes in these companies and adjust accordingly.
Read Answer Asked by Savalai on July 18, 2017
Q: My tech portfolio includes the above plus full positions of SHOP, KXS and CSU. I am looking at topping up one of the above. At current prices which would you choose and why? The aim of this portfolio is growth with moderate stabiliy.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on July 18, 2017
Q: Is it possible that CRH sees competition to their roll up plan so they opt to buy controlling interest in a number of clinics to ensure a good market share and then over time pick up the NCI as the NCI partners sell out or move on. It would be nice to know what their game plan is. When did they make the switch from buying the complete business to just buying controlling interest?

Thank You
Clarence
Read Answer Asked by Clarence on July 18, 2017
Q: Hello again. I’m interested to know how to consider currency when deciding between hedged, unhedged, and US dollar ETFs. In your answer to my last question, you mentioned that you prefer VPL over VAH; how was currency a factor in your judgment? Also wondering if you would approach European ETFs similarly, with respect to fluctuations between the Euro, USD and CAD (e.g. VEH, VE, VGK). Are there separate currency considerations I should take into account for each region, including EM? (e.g. VEE vs VWO)

When I hear professionals recommend CAD-hedged ETFs when the USD is falling, it sounds tactical but what if an investor has a long time horizon in mind? I’ve heard that unhedged ETFs yield better returns over time, say for a period of 15 years, but I’m wondering if US dollar ETFs are even more preferable, considering that I’ve already got some US cash ready to deploy.

Thanks for clearing up my confusion!
Read Answer Asked by Brian on July 18, 2017
Q: Good Morning.

Regarding Firan, they reported earnings of .01 vs est .06 They seem to be making good progress on building the business considering:

Achieved sales of $25.5M, an increase of 29% over Q2 2016
Grew Aerospace segment sales by 60% over Q2 last year
Grew Circuits segment sales by 17% over Q2 last year
Gross margins increased by $0.9M or 18% over Q2 last year
Closed the Teledyne PCT facility at the end of Q2

Q2 profitability impacted by the extension of Teledyne PCT operations and ongoing ramp up of activity of Chatsworth operations, which are expected to continue to ramp up through Q3

May I have your thoughts? Thank you
Read Answer Asked by Martin on July 18, 2017
Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team,

I'm a bit confused with your answer to Florence about TXF. Your answer said "This one overlays 75% of the portfolio with call options......".

However, according to the First Asset website: "Distributions are paid quarterly and no more than 25% of the portfolio's securities will have call options written upon them at any given time".

If no more than 25% of the portfolio have call options, doesn't this strategy mean that an investor wouldn't be giving up as much as your answer indicates? Am I missing something here?

Thanks in advance for any clarification.
Read Answer Asked by Jerry on July 18, 2017
Q: Hello 5i,
I am looking to increase my U.S. and International exposure. I currently hold VIG-N, JNJ-N and a number of Canadian ETF's which also hold U.S. equities. I am open to either USD or hedged products and would like a yield in excess of 2.25% if practical. Since I look to yield for income I was considering ZWA. Would you have any other options you would prefer over ZWA?
On the Int'l. side I hold CYH and ZDI and am happy with both; I held VEE at one time, but the yield is on the lower side for my needs. Should I just increase my holdings in these two or, again, do you see a better option? I could move out of one or both of those if you think there is a more compelling option I'm missing.
As always .... thanks so much for all of your help - very much appreciated!!!
Have a great summer!!
Cheers,
Mike
Read Answer Asked by Mike on July 18, 2017
Q: Greetings Peter and company,

Having been a do it yourself investor for over 50 years and a committed index ETF investor for the last 10, I am very impressed with what you are doing.

Assume that investors put half their money into a US index ETF (say SPY) and the other half into a US money market fund. They re-balance when the ratio changes by 10% in either direction and withdraw 1% quarterly to cover living expenses. Will this no-brainer portfolio grow over the next decade? Will it equal or even outperform the i5 Growth Model Portfolio? (Projected 12% annualized long term return. Since the bottom of 2008, the S&P 500 has had a 14.5% annualized return.)

I would appreciate your views on this. Your responses, as far as I have seen, have been uniformly thoughtful.

Thank you.

Milan
Read Answer Asked by Milan on July 18, 2017