Investment Q&A

Q: Good morning,

I would like to take advantage of the high level of pessimism in the equity market to initiate some positions in Cdn companies in the consumer sector that stand to benefit the most from the weak economy. My thinking as the fallout from low oil prices,greater use of disruptive technology (re higher unemployment)and high level of consumer debt (approx. 1.65 x income) many more consumers will be more price sensitve and looking for the best value. I know one company you like is Dollarama. Can you provide 5-6 more names that stand to benefit from this potential shift in consumer behaviour and you believe now would be a good time to initiate positions in.

Thanks

Q: A follow up question. Is there a fund or ETF that uses timing as a strategy?
Thank you

Q: Hey team, I'm wondering if you can rewind to your previous career in portfolio management and tell us what names, both small and large, you would be looking at currently. Also, I just sold baytex for a loss and I'm looking to invest in something that has some torque and is not dependent on one variable (oil prices ). Thanks a million.

Q: I note that trading in this stock is halted pending news, and that there is a headline in the restricted area of the Globe suggesting that there is an offer from the current owners to take it private. Do you have any further information on this proposal?

Geoff

Q: Re Ralph's question: since there is no change in beneficial ownership, there should not be a tax consequence. Henry

Q: At some point resources will recover and I am ready to slowly dip a toe into some of the more beaten up companies. I am wondering about BHP as it is a huge diversified miner, though it is not without its problems (e.g tailings pond collapse still to be dealt with). Does this seem like a good choice for a place to await a metals recovery? If the dividend gets cut, do you think it will be by more than 50%?

Thanks for your ongoing advice.

Q: Hi, I bought some baba a while ago for a long term hold..It is now down 28%..Do you think it is good to hold for a long term. My initial thoughts were that it could be the next Amazon..I am not in any rush..But is the long-term thesis still true. Thanks. Shyam

Q: Do these have a place in this market for a retiree seeking for moderate income and security and would the tlt have better potential . Thanks have a good day. Tom

Q: Given the world financial situation what do you reccommend re gold holdings? I currently have your allocation of AEM as per your port weightings.

1)Should gold % holdings be increased due to what is happening re Europe/China etc?

2)If yes, would you reccommend more junior producers with leverage or stick with what we got? If yes to the junior increment what would they be?

Thanks

Sheldon

Q: I am looking for a few growth dividend paying stocks. I will be going with BNS that you suggest. What about Telus, TransCanada pipe and RioCan for diversification, growth and dividends?
Thank you

Q: There is an investment(!) strategy whereby the dividend payout dates are used as the basis of buying and selling equities for multiple payouts during a year. Intellectually this sounds interesting. Is a plan such as this practical, feasible, legal, moral etc. On the surface this might generate reasonable returns if mid tier dividend payers are followed closely , with all the usual selection criteria employed. Are there serious tax implications? Your usual pragmatic overview please.

Q: Hi Peter & Co.,
Rogers Sugar reported quarterly earnings this week that beat the street's estimates. I currently hold a position in my income-oriented account. Can you comment on this quarter's earnings, and whether you think it's a good long-term hold for income? Thanks!
Brian

Q: Re answer to Ron's question on bond investment yesterday, it was mentioned "use CBO for better diversification in the corporate sector. There are 'target date' ETFs that provide a diversified pool of bonds maturing in a specific year. They are not perfect but do help to solve this problem a bit."
Can you please expand on the reasons why the target date ETFs are not perfect and the pros and cons between owning CBO and build a ladder using multiple target date ETF? Do they have similar YTM?
With target date ETFs, isn't the initial investment guaranteed plus YTM at maturity; whereas with CBO, after say 5 years, there is no guarantee one will get back the initial investment pending on the bond market and interest rate trend? Thanks for explaining in more details.

Q: Your comments on Syz'results announced this morning. PHM-Have not seen the posted results promised @ its announcement on Feb 11 to be followed by conference call @ 4pm et Feb 11.If available,p;ease comment.Appreciate your usual great comments & services

Q: Could I please have your thoughts on Brookfield's recently announced results. Thank You.

Q: What is your opinion on investing in National Bank? Would a different bank be a better choice?

Q: Hi Peter, I apologize for a general question.
TD Direct Investing (aka TD Waterhouse) has told me that they can "journal entry" my gold stock positions from my CAD margin accounts to a CAD Cash account. The question I'm fussing with is whether the CRA will consider this JE transaction a deemed disposition (for Capital Gains reasons). I'm trying to avoid dealing with the CRA bureaucracy and did a google search to get some insight with no luck. Do you have an opinion on this? Do you know of any chat rooms, websites, other sources where I can get an answer?
Thanks for your patience, Ralph.

Q: would you buy cf at 3.77 or what would you recommend something else

Q: Comments on eps.Thank You.

Q: Hello, thank you for the p / e article. Reading it made me reflect to p / e ratio vs p / cf and p / free cf. I thought professional money managers don t look too much at p / e but use p / free cf to really assess the merit of a company. Can you please comment on that and clarify how it is calculated. My understanding is that cf is net income plus all accounting expenses which are not really paid such as amortization and free cash flow involves reducing the cf by deducting all capex necessary to maintain your asset base. Please add some subtlety to your explanation if you have time. Thanks.