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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: Hi Peter and Team,
What is your opinion of Transalta (Ta) at this time. Thanks
Lawrence
Read Answer Asked by Lawrence on September 16, 2014
Q: Morning 5i Research Team,
Melcor (MRD) stock price is down. Is this providing a good entry point or is there something fundamentally wrong? Thanks
Lawrence
Read Answer Asked by Lawrence on September 16, 2014
Q: Looking at dc.a , is it a good buy at this price
Read Answer Asked by Tony on September 16, 2014
Q: which gold companies do you preferr.with gold trading at 1233 is it getting to look atractive?thanks always jim
Read Answer Asked by james on September 16, 2014
Q: Hi Team...I bought CBO in around May..it only goes down and when I look at the charts, it just basically drops (even over the last 5 years). Can you suggest an alternative? XHY??? I would like a steady Eddie for this part of my Portfolios but one that has a good dividend and some (even slow) growth!!?? Thanks ahead..
Read Answer Asked by El-ann on September 15, 2014
Q: hello 5i team, could you please give some info on i shares xpf, i hold some cbo and some xhy as part of my fixed income allocation will xpf compliment it
Read Answer Asked by James on September 15, 2014
Q: I have a question about investment returns and expectations. If I understand correctly, as a momentum investor you expect "above-average' returns, which I will define as 10 -12% annually (is that correct?), based on the current upward movement and interest in a stock. Eventually, the momentum slows down and the stock either drops or goes into a holding pattern as in the case of AVO, BAD, BDI,
AMA etc. Sometimes, when answering questions about these stocks, you say that the market has lost interest or momentum has slowed but that you still expect growth.

Now to my question. When you comment that the stock in question is now more of a "long term hold", like BAD, what should an investor's expectations be for the return on that stock? Should we still anticipate 10% - 12% or should we now expect that stock to return maybe 6% - 8% averaged over that period? If so, this would make it more like the return of a blue chip, only with more risk.

I realize that you will not want to be seen as predicting actual returns but I am trying to understand what I should expect from stocks so that I have a realistic approach to investing.

Thanks so much and stay warm on the ride!

Paul F.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on September 15, 2014
Q: Hello Peter,

What a difference a month makes! In August you wrote an article on reasons to be bullish and a short month later you identified reasons to be bearish. It is now up to us to navigate in those cross currents. At the end of August, I had decided to raise some cash in my RRIF portfolio (I’m 71); it now stands at 15%. If a correction occurs and some of my holdings pull back, I will take advantage of opportunities.

But what worries me are the doom and gloom scenarios that some pundits elaborate and that forecast cataclysmic crashes. So I decided to research for the principal reasons that caused the tech bubble in 2000/01 and the more recent 2008/09 crash. I found out that the answer lies in the bond market, specifically in the yield curve. In the period prior to the tech bubble, the yield curve had flattened and reversed and in the period prior to the recent crash, the yield curve had flattened.

Why is that fact significant? Financial institutions borrow money on the basis of short term bond (lower) rates and, in turn, lend out on the basis of long term bond (higher) rates; they make their money on the differential. But if the yield curve flattens or reverses, these institutions will cease to borrow and lend; as a result, the liquidity in the economy will dry up leading to stagnation and crash.

Knowing very well that there must be other reasons for the downturns, I take comfort in falling back on the KISS principle.

So, I routinely (daily) make it a point to take a look at the yield curve and then move on.

I appreciate your comments,

Tony

Read Answer Asked by Antoine on September 15, 2014
Q: According to your article in the September 12th issue of the Financial Post, you appear to have taken a bearish stance. What is your outlook for the markets over 1- year, 3-year, 5- year and 10- year time periods? What cash/equity proportion in your portfolio would you have currently?
Read Answer Asked by Allen on September 15, 2014
Q: Hi 5i team.
I was just wondering if you were going to offer a portfolio analysis service that looks at members portfolios and suggests changes regarding rebalancing, and or diversification. I believe this would be a very good pay-per-portfolio add-on service for the members. I view 5i as an important and impartial analysis tool and would pay to have my portfolio dissected and suggestions given to help in any given stage of life. What do you think? I would be the first in line!
Read Answer Asked by Kevin on September 15, 2014
Q: Hi 5i,

What is your opinion about NWH.UN as a long term RRSP investment for dividents and growth? I dont have any investments in the Health care sector, can you please suggest one or more names for growth (Canada or US stocks). Thanks very much. Shyam
Read Answer Asked by Shyam on September 15, 2014
Q: As an owner of JDSU and down 20 per cent on the stock what do you think of
Potential upside with the announcement they are splitting themselves up into two companies? Will I get an equal amount of shares in two companies?
Read Answer Asked by Helen on September 15, 2014
Q: Looking for info on NXP semiconductor(NXPI Nasdaq). A double in the past year but can it continue.Thank you for all your help in the past.
Garry
Read Answer Asked by garry on September 15, 2014
Q: Would appreciate a comment on Molycorp MCP (NYSE).Rare earth and molebdinum co. Seems to mine a good product but stock has collapsed even with lots of cash and a new financing recently. Thanks
Read Answer Asked by george on September 15, 2014
Q: Hi folks:
For a long term bet on electric cars, what do you think of buying and holding Mason Graphite and Western Lithium?
Read Answer Asked by Charles on September 15, 2014