skip to content
  1. Home
  2. >
  3. Investment Q&A
You can view 3 more answers this month. Sign up for a free trial for unlimited access.

Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: In regard to HCG I am on the wrong end of the stick with this one.
In your defence, I did notice a change in 5i's opinion of HCG around the end of March, here is an excerpt from one of your replies "Unfortunately, there is such a cloud hanging over the company right now, the fear and uncertainty surrounding it make it hard to be excited about in the shorter-term. It could still do quite well if they can get past all of the concerns but actions such as letting go of the CEO are not overly helpful in terms of boosting confidence. We would note that it has been profitable every year since 1999"
Fear and greed rule the markets, investor sentiment affects market value in the short term way more than fundamentals.
At this point, I want to learn what I can from this situation. What would you say are the take-away's from this debacle?
Thanks in advance for your continued excellent work.
Randy D.
Read Answer Asked by Randy on April 27, 2017
Q: With the demise of HCG there is plenty of blame to share. I am disappointed with 5I continuing to maintain its rating of B+ right to the end. You extensive experience in the field did nothing for your subscribers. As with most other advisory services your tune only changed when it was far too late to make a difference. I can add DH to the comments. It was only my own common sense and intuition that protected me in both cases. I hope 5I does some soul searching and simply does not write this one off as another miss.
Read Answer Asked by Terry on April 27, 2017
Q: Hi,
I would like to buy some preferred shares as I don't have any Preferred's in any of my accounts but with so many different descriptions out there I'm not sure what I should be looking for. For instance I would like to have a high yield ( > 4.5% ) and a guaranteed return of capital on a set date if held until that date (if there is such a thing out there). I see many new offerings come out through TD & Scotia iTrade but these are usually closed very quickly.

For instance this one came out this morning:
"TD Direct Investing would like to inform you that the following New Issue has just been announced.

Element Fleet Management Corp. - 5.75% 5 Year Rate Reset Preferred Shares, Series I

Short Description: Offering of Cumulative, 5-Year Rate Reset Preferred Shares, Series I via Bought Deal
Price: $25.00 CDN per share.
Settlement: On or about May 5, 2017."

This sounded good but by the time I tried finding out more about the offering it was closed already.

So, is there some guidance you can give on what "buzz words" to look for when a new issue comes out so I can put my "expression of interest" in before the offering is closed?
I guess what I would really like to know are the following:
1) Are 5-Year Rate Reset Preferred shares the best option for capital preservation?
2) Is it best to try and buy Preferred shares on a new offering or to look in the open market?
3) Is there a Preferred share Class that guarantees your original capital outlay?
4) Any other guidance you can offer in looking for the best: time / place / kind when looking for Preferred's?
5) And finally, once I find a suitable Preferred offering - which account type would you recommend best to hold in for tax purposes (i.e.- reg. vs non-reg.)
Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Alan on April 27, 2017
Looking for more? Sign up for a FREE 14 day trial! No credit card required

We invite you to sign up for a 14 day free trial of 5i Research!
Experience all the benefits and tools we have to offer; stock research, model portfolios, Q&A with our experts, and so much more. Join a community of like-minded investors today!