Investment Q&A

Q: Dear 5i; There's something I'm still not clear about regarding superficial losses. When selling an unregistered stock for the capital loss, must the whole position be sold, or could you dispose of half a position if that's all you need for tax purposes, and keep the rest?

I've read the definition of superficial loss in the Income Tax Act and the explanation in CRA's Capital Gains Guide. From these, it is my understanding that there is a superficial loss if I (a) aquire a substituted/identical property during the 30-day-before-and-after-disposition period, and (b) I own the substituted property at the end of that period.

Since the half-position that's been kept was not aquired during that 30-day period, I would assume that it would not be considered substituted property. And therefore the half-position that's been sold would constitute an actual capital loss.

Am I correct in my line of thinking, or am I way off the mark?

Thanks!

Q: I wanted to take a gain in Dhx to offset capital losses in this taxation year.I purchased an equal amount of Dhx in a non taxable account 1 week prior to my selling of DHX in my taxable account.Will there be an issue with CRA using this strategy.

Q: Thank you for answering my question on Lakeshore gold and the 47 Million shares that went across at the last second of trading of Friday. Just so I am clear about what you are saying is that Portfolio managers decide to adjust and re-balance so they either sell or buy and in this case they sold. In this case (if I understand correctly) it was decided to sell off 47 Million shares and that happened at the last minute. In effect it didn't drive the stock down more than 5%. Obviously. Also there were enough buyers to absorb 47 Million shares. Is this correct and if so does it not speak to the strength of this stock. One would think that this off loading of 47 Million share would cause the price to plunge by a lot more than 5%. This was 30 times more than the daily average. Thanks You.

Q: I have held SPY in my US$ account for a few years and am thinking of trimming it now and use some capital losses to offset the gains. It is not overweight in my portfolio so I don't really have to do anything. A couple of questions.

First, I would be looking at buying SDY with the proceeds. Does this give me further diversification, SDY a better ETF or is it a sideways move?

Second, I have been reluctant to sell ETF's because I am concerned how to calculate the ACB because of dividends. I am right to be concerned about this?

Thanks and a happy holiday to all at 5i.

regards,

Paul F.

Q: Hi Peter and Team, would you be able to explain the five year low in share price of AHF? Is there something of real concern here? Are insiders or major share holders selling here? Thanks!

Thanks for all your help this past year.
Merry Christmas and All the Best in 2015 to All at 5i including Members!

Q: On Friday at the bell 48M shares were traded. I read it was rebalancing. Not sure what this means or what transpired. Can you explain the process and explain.

Thanks

Q: Unlike Andrew, I found the show with DB excellent.

He gave a macro view of the market as he sees it, and as always, he stated his style of investing. He uses stop
losses, does not bottom fish, and focuses on strength.
e.g. Consumer, Technology, Health Care, Financials

Yes, oil will bounce, but it is not showing strength now.

I call this common sense, not chasing.
Different strokes for different folks.

Q: I wonder why Interfor (IFP) jumped 14% yesterday on almost 3 times regular volume. Thank you for your consideration.

Q: Hello Peter, can you tell me the reason of the drastic drop last Friday, RBF 1030 has performed greatly this year, can you suggest another health care ETF or I-share.
Many thanks, Joe P.

Q: IPL sure had some strange volume trading today -25 million shares - what would do this?

All the best of the Season to you!

Q: Hi Peter & 5i Team,

In your response to Andrew re BNN, you said "... 'chasing' anything, be it a sector or a stock is not a wise investment move."

I am confused because, at other times I have read that you prefer to buy on strength rather than weakness as well as to average up rather than down. Isn't this strategy similar to chasing a hot stock or sector? Could you please clarify your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

Francis

Q: Hello Peter & Co:
I saw David Burrows on BNN the other day and he was saying to get out of the oil sector entirely. Essentially he was encouraging people to chase the hot sectors. Although, I like DB, I was surprised at what he was saying and thought that it was kind of irresponsible of him to tell people to do that. He's a pro who looks at it all day everyday, but the average BNN viewer isn't and telling folks to chase hot sectors to me is just bad advice period and works against the concept of diversification. I mean who knows which sector is going to be hot in the future? So you sell all your oil related stocks and 6 months from now oil goes on a tear and you miss out or wind up buying into it late and miss most of it. What are your thoughts on this?

As always, thanks so much for all you do and I hope you and your staff have a fantastic Christmas. cheers

Q: Dear Agent. Is BBEP a stock that you would recommend to an investor to hold on to in Re: Portfolio. Eddie.

Q: Any insights into the recent stock decline?
Would you be inclined to hold, sell or buy as of today?
Thanks, Dave

Q: Peter, can I get your view on Callidus? Why the stock has been down so much since early Dec? Do you like this company? Is this a good entry point at around 16.89 per Thursday's closing price?

Q: What do you think of today's news? How comfortable are you with management?

Merry Christmas!

Q: Hi 5i,
This is not a question but merely an observation. As I go on the "budget" (read: free) Globeinvestor website to check my stock holdings I have noticed what I believe is an anomaly. Out of 19 stocks I hold, when I access the stock page, the data page shows 3 windows, one of which is entitled "Profit". As I just checked today, out of my 19 stocks 5 had N/A while the other 14 were all deemed to be "Less Effective" "than other companies in its industry in turning revenue into profit". Just a note, my holdings include such names as AD, AYA, BAD, BCE, BEP.UN, BNS, CGX, DH, ESL, RUS, KEY, etc., etc.
I guess my point would be that either my stock selection really sucks or this site might not be as accurate as one might think since I believe statistically these results to be an anomaly. I would be curious if others have noted anything similar or if this is indeed accurate and reflects where my holdings stand in the scheme of things. Sorry for the lengthy missive!!
Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Q: I noticed trading halted today then got an alert from my service provider saying trading had resumed @0.49 and over 900,000 shs trading hands. Would you happen to have any news as to why, I can't find anything yet on the net.

Many thanks, Helen

Q: Good day. I am feeling confused about what's happening with XPH today and hope you might be able to explain things. This is a low beta ETF which rarely shows spikes. During the past ten days of volatility it's highest spikes were in the 2% range. Yet today, despite the markets being largely unmoved, it is down 4.5%, perhaps it's biggest fall since I've owned it. Or is it. Yahoo Finance shows it up based on yesterday's closing price of $109.31 but others like Bloomberg and the Globe, show it down. The Globe shows yesterday's closing at $109 but still has it down more than 4%. Nasdaq shows yesterday's closing at $114.80. If it is down that much, what might have caused it on a quiet Friday?

Q: Hello - I see the last question/answer for TZZ was Nov 10th. There was no reason for the new lows. Since the it has dropped even further, but I still have not been able to locate a reason. Your thoughts would be appreciated. Also has there been noticeable insider activity?

Merry Christmas to you and yours. Mike