Investment Q&A

Q: Should I sell. It is down in my portfolio. Not sure whether there will be much of a recovery.

Thank You

Q: Would you still favour G as a single gold portfolio holding or is there a better gold alternative. Is the dividend sustainable at current gold prices? Thanks.

Q: My current tech positions are: OTC, AVO and GIB.A. I recently traded ESL for GIB.A because GIB is much cheaper. I am now considering trading OTC { down 15% } for MDA. I sense MDA will have more growth over the next 2 years. Is trading OTC for MDA a good move? Thank you for your opinion.

Q: I understand you may not be familiar with this european company trading as an ADR in the U.S, but I was wondering if you have an opinion on its future potential.

Thanks for the great service.

Q: Good morning Peter and Team,

Your latest report on AirBoss is very intriguing.

I hope this isn't an unfair question, but if AirBoss were to be added to a model portfolio today (I assume the Growth Portfolio), what existing holding would be removed?

Thanks for all your superb work.

Q: How do you view the situation for PKI now that the acquisition of Pioneer has closed? Seems they have to semi divest much of the Pioneer retail outlets in eastern Canada. The price just dropped 2% today so some of the market is not happy with the outcome of the Competition Tribunal order. Do you feel that the 4% dividend is still relatively secure with the limitations applied by order?

Q: If you had to choose between TC and SYZ which would you choose and why? I have a 5.5% position in SYZ which has been down since the time I bought it 6 months ago. Is it advisable to trim it to 3% and invest the rest in TC. Also do you think TC is expensive at the current level. Thanks

Q: What is your analysis on this company?
Looks interesting.

Q: What are your thoughts on Prem Watsa's India Fund? He does seem to have a bit of home field advantage, not to mention his track record. Also would you consider a 6% overall India allocation to be excessive? (I currently hold ZEQ at almost 3% of my portfolio).

Q: Do you have any thoughts on DOOR as a play on the US housing sector? Thanks as always!

Q: Hello
Your comments on TA have been unfavourable in the past. How about ta.pr.h? Is this a relatively risk free security to hold for income investors? Right now I am under water on this one. Should I sell, hold or average down?

Q: this company looks to good to be true
what do you think
sam

Q: If PRE is at such a high risk because of high debt, why would ALFA (& consortium)not wait for default to buy the company? If PRE is at such high default risk, why would O'Hara try to scuttle the $6.50/share buy out for a "worthless" company? Why did PRE not make a good faith effort to seek further buy out bidders? Presumably ALFA values PRE as an entity that will provide future profits, so why does the consortium not offer existing shareholders a stake in the ALFA consortium as part of the take over? I understand there is a "market", but the convolution around this affair is perplexing for someone without experience in such high stakes deals. I know these are tough questions, that someone who remembers Shakespeare, might venture to vaguely answer themselves [incorrectly(?)], but would you kindly share your financial expertise? Thank you...

Q: 5i's tone seems sanguine on the North American economy, and generally constructive on stocks, but could you provide 5 short recommendations, perhaps with the caveat that these are likely to come into play if markets are weaker than 5i's expectations?

Q: I have been struggling with a fifteen percent loss on Direct Cash and just heard Jason Donville say the payout ratio has increased to 85%, which is contrary to the 60% I thought it was. Their operating margins could be improved and, in my hometown, I pay $1.75 at their ATM's and $3.00 from bank machines outside my home bank so I hope they raise their rates soon.
Finally, why is tap hurting cash withdrawals? If someone uses tap then they would have probably used their debit before tap and just completed the steps. If they need cash, then they would withdraw from their bank or an ATM somewhere.
Should I "tap out"?

Q: What is your opinion of using a UVXY covered call strategy as an income-producing hedge against market downturns? One recent two week at-the-money call was worth 3%. (i.e. recent = last week, before yesterday's volatilty)

Q: This stock has good upside potential with downside protection. A recent article in Globe Investor Magazine about Hanif Mamdani talks about "asymmetric payoff" where potential upside is greater than potential downside. In the high risk growth category without regard to sector what would be your top 5 stocks that meet this criteria?

Q: FYI BNS was punished because of their exposure to Puerto Rico's financial crisis, huge debt load. Is that bankruptcy - for Puerto Rico, not BNS?

Q: Hi
Would appreciate your thoughts on Elements buy of GE's fleet business.

Q: An article in today's Globe highlighted that a few of the top analysts and execs seem to have done quite well for themselves in 2014, with their top investment banker making more money than just a couple of bank CEO's. Unfortunately for me, and I am sure many others, the stock price has not been as rewarding to me.

I understand that that industry can pay well and aside from my initial knee-jerk negative reaction, are these types of bonuses in-line with industry norms? Or is this a reflection on management paying themselves first and not giving a lot or thought about shareholders (which maybe is the industry norm)?

Thanks for the insight.

Paul F.