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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: Just an endorsement: Subscribed yesterday to the ETF and Mutual Fund newsletter for two years and within an hour learned a couple things that will far more than pay for the subscription. I know there's lots of etf information available online, including within 5i. However, I find it beneficial to have it focused in one trustworthy place without ads, questionable motivations, or other distractions. So thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Jerry on March 02, 2017
Q: Bos has moved up nicely from its 52 week low and is coming close to a golden cross.

I got burned previously on BOS but am not averse to taking another run at.

Would this be a good move or am I better off deploying spare "higher risk" cash into one of your other favourites? I have just added to SHOP, KXS and SIS. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Donald on March 02, 2017
Q: I currently hold about 13% of my portfolio in financials. FFH, IFC, GSY and FSZ in Canada and the XLF and BLX in the US. I am planning on topping up to 15% financials. FSZ is my smallest holding. Would you add to it at this time? The stock has been performing very poorly in the last two weeks while the others have done much better. It would be added because of its high dividend.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on March 02, 2017
Q: I understand your negative opinion of (most) mutual funds due to
high fees and human factors. I've found a few actively-managed funds that appear to "earn" their high fees by delivering superior returns over time periods up to 10 years.

Two examples: Fidelity Special Situations-FID1298 and Sentry Small/Mid-Cap Income-NCE721. Morningstar gives both 5 stars.

Comments please on these two funds and on the broader idea of willingly paying higher fees for higher returns.

Cheers, IslandJohn
Read Answer Asked by John on March 02, 2017
Q: I am hunting for reliable dividend payers - companies likely to be around for the next 20years( highly safe - if not guaranteed safe) for the financial sector of an income portfolio.
These 4 have comparable yields. All are around 6%. I know there are issues with Alaris - so would not likely buy it unless you consider it buyable now.

But how about the others: would you recommend all - 1 - none?

Any guidance would be appreciated.
Read Answer Asked by Donald on March 02, 2017
Q: Your report on Altus Group stated “One of the noteworthy risks at AIF is that 42% of the Canadian cost practice is from rental and condominiums in the multi-residential segment. Impairment in this sector could hurt the Canadian revenues as could a general decline in the Canadian housing markets.”
I would have thought that their revenues in this segment would depend more on sales volume as opposed to actual housing prices. Can you please comment on this. Essentially, if an investor believes that housing prices (condos in particular) will decline but turnover will remain strong, would this negate any of the declining revenue risk outlined in your report?
Read Answer Asked by Steven on March 02, 2017
Q: Company beat on earnings by .01, but revenue was down. The Market has really punished the stock this am, and I am questioning whether it is as bad as it really looks. As a shareholder should, I wait for a further quarter to assess.
Going forward, just wondering what your take is on the company, it is a buy, hold or sell at this point.
Thanks and look forward to your reply.
Read Answer Asked by Rick on March 02, 2017
Q: Gentlemen, in your latest Company Report regarding CSU you state that the Debt/Equity "Value" is 0.86. I am assuming this is based on CSU's Third Quarter ended September 30, 2016 report. My understanding is that Debt/Equity "Ratio" at that point in time was 3.36.
Are you using Value to mean Ratio or are these two different factors. In either case (yes or no) how did you arrive at your value of .086. My understanding is that a ratio of 3.36 is a very red flag.

I used this for my math: Total Liabilities = 1,425,952 Shareholder's Equity = 457,509

Thank you very much,
David Brandon
Read Answer Asked by David on March 02, 2017
Q: I am negative on MDA but not greatly so. MDA represents 2.3% weighting in my portfolio. I have owned MDA for years - likely from when you first reported on the stock so I guess you might call me a patient investor.

I believe you are against averaging down and you seem to be suggesting a share issue is likely. Right now MDA seems to be yielding 2.25%. Three questions...
1) Looking into your crystal ball do you think the dividend is safe?
2) Do you think the probability of the share dilution is priced into the current share price?
3) I am thinking of buying more shares now to increase my weighting to 3.3%. Should I wait until the new shares are issued?
Thanks
Jim
Read Answer Asked by James on March 02, 2017
Q: Hello, there - I currently own all the names in the Balanced Equity portfolio and a full position in Shopify. I will be adding a little bit of new money into my portfolio this month and am looking to either purchase another full position or 2 half positions. What would be your first and second top ideas with a growth tilt (excluding names from the BE portfolio and Shopify). Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Michael on March 02, 2017
Q: After the close today a legal firm put out a warning that Tricon had not paid a fair price for their latest acquisition. Would these pertain to tricon or more to do with the management of the company that they acquired? How can this be unfair, don't the share holders have to vote on the deal for it to go through?
Read Answer Asked by Geoff on March 02, 2017
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