Investment Q&A

Q: Two quick question on the balanced equity portfolio:

1 - I think you use to own Valeant and sold it last year. With no exposure to healthcare and the sector doing very well over the past year, why haven't you added exposure in this area?

2 - I'm surprised that you removed HCG! I also own it and have noticed its poor performance recently. It seems to be diverging from the other Cdn banks, but with a 20% ROE, a growing dividend and low payout ratio, its hard to get rid of it.

Thanks,
Jason

Q: Hi Peter and team, I've read the changes you've made in the Balanced Equity Portfolio (formerly known as Model Portfolio). HCG was removed.....does this mean you are suggesting it is a sell? And, are we to assume you're not going to cover it anymore?

Thank you!

Q: Just a comment,I have been studying your growth portfolio for 3 hours and it is just fantastic-the weightings, the picks diversification etc.best thing about i already own 11 of the stocks in it and have owned them for many months. My portfolio is 85 per cent aggressive growth, I can manage the risk.
I especially like that you added Cxi to the growth and to the equity balanced, this has been a large holding of mine for 18 months.
Despite your comments, I really feel that some of the stocks in the growth could have substantial upside as your membership buys in.it is bit of a momentum trade but also great companies.thanks again dave

Q: What do you think of the latest earnings report? Seems good to me. I don't understand why the stock is falling.

Q: Hi,

When placing orders, do you have a strong opinion regarding limit vs market orders? I almost always use market orders and have never had any surprises...even with odd lots. I use BMO Investorline. I read something recently about flash events that can cause very brief dramatic price sings that could theoretically cause some significant surprises. Am I exposed when I use market orders? Would my broker have any built in protection? Thanks.

Q: I have a small position in WEF and am looking to increase my exposure to the sector. If you were to choose one lumber play today, which one would it be? And what indicators would you be looking at that might signal that the sector is starting to move again. Thanks.

Q: I have inherited a small amount of money which I plan to use to diversify my stock portfolio. I currently have some of the same or similar stock as shown in your Model portfolio. For example I have TRP instead of ENB, MRE instead of MG, etc. My existing portfolio is overweighted in oil and oil services stocks and banks, eg Bank of Nova Scotia so I believe some diversification is probably good. With this as a basis, do you believe that all the companies shown in your model portfolio will still continue to show good growth over the next few years. I usually keep most shares indefinitely and seldom less than 3-5 years. So assuming you believe all of the companies will continue to show good growth, I will probably purchase some Amaya (AYA), CCL Industries (CCL.B), Cineplex (CGX), Constellation Software (CSU), Descartes Systems (DSG), Enghouse Systems (ESL), First Service Corp (FSV), MacDonald Dettwiler (MDA), Stantec (STN), Stella-Jones (SJ), and Sylogist (SYZ). All of these are in your model portfolio. Perhaps there are alternates that may be better than those above shown in your Model portfolio??? Thank you very much for your thoughts.

Q: I have left Amaya to run up to 12.5% of my model equity portfolio and 6.6% of my total portfolio. What are your thoughts of leaving Amaya to run versus bringing it down to an equal weighting in my model equity portfolio and using the proceeds to set up a growth portfolio?

Q: Prometic is scheduled to release its fourth quarter results at the close today. Could you please advise if there are any analyst expectations with respect to this company? Thank you, Peter

Q: I was about to sell this stock after reading that you see little (though > 0) chance of a competing bid and that currency fluctuation was going to be the main cause of movement. But I saw that some 700,000 shares have moved today and it got me wondering who was on the other side of these trades? As you say, there are two sides to every trade so is it "sharp" arbitrageurs buying and if so, should I hang on? I would just as soon move on if it is only going to be for a few cents but am I missing something here?

Appreciate your always sage advice.

Paul F.

Q: Hi Mr. Hodson
How will we know when the new Growth Portfolio is released today?
Do we get one of those emails from 5i?
Or do we just check your website? Thank you so much.
sarah

Q: Hi Peter. I sold 300 shares of Teck yesterday and was planning on buying them back today but Andy Bell said this morning that the trades made during the halt would be undone. My trade was late in the day. 12:30ish in BC. How will I know if my trade is being undone and when will I know? Thanks for any info.

Q: Can you please comment on Amaya's earnings from today? Any thoughts on their performance post acquisition?

Q: Hi Peter What is your thoughts on Future Shop closure on REI
Kind Regards Stan

Q: Hi Peter, our 13 year old has $40k in her RESP. $20k is ~evenly split between BNS, ESL, and Telus. At this time where would you put the remaining $20k ?
Thank you.

Q: I have had a nice pop on this stock(FTG Firan).Can you give me some advise going forward.Thanks

Q: Hi Peter,
Sincere thanks for all the great advice. What's your short list of TSX listed companies that have a large percent of their income from south of the border, and/or from places other than home ? TCN, CSU, ESL have all been terrific. Thank you.

Q: I think I got stopped out by high frequency trading and am quite annoyed. I put on a stop loss and saw that there was a momentary downdraft on the chart, poof my stock was sold and the price immediately jumped up about 5% after it took me out. I read that a new stock exchange is opening in Canada that will not allow HFT. Can you tell me something about it and will it be convenient for a small retail investor like me to use? Thanks for your help!

Q: I was wanting to buy their convertible debentures. Do they have adequate cash flow so I would get the face amount plus interest on their maturity date of December 31, 2015?

Q: I previously wrote about the release of the portfolio in response to a number of other questions and concerns previously posed by other members. There were concerns that members wanted time to analyze the portfolio before trading started. There may well be a flurry of activity at the beginning and it appeared some members wanted to have an even starting point. Not sure this makes a huge difference but that seemed to be their concern.

I just read a question this morning about growth companies and embedded in the response is reference to releasing the growth portfolio later today. I'm a bit disappointed that (a) there was no advance notice of it's release. I don't consider same day notice as advance notice and (b) the portfolio was't released at the beginning of a weekend to give members a chance to digest the information.

Your service is stellar but I think you dropped the ball with a thud on this one.