Investment Q&A

Q: Dear 5i,
I would like to add a European ETF to my portfolio to take advantage of growth coming out of the region's recession. I am considering either FEZ or VGK. Which one would you recommend, or is there another?
Thanks in advance,
Helen

Q: Hi 5i Team,
Could you please suggest 2 high growth Canadian stocks for each sector?
dividend is not a concern.
Thank you for your wonderful service.
Henry

Q: Hi Peter and good crew. An analyst on BNN mentioned UR. I wonder if you have any more info since your last comment in November.Thank Phyl in BC

Q: Thoughts on the recent slide of El Paso Pipeline (EPB)?

Q: Altagas - is this a good entry point? Tx

Q: Good afternoon,
I am considering liquidating a position in either Cisco or Intel and investing the proceeds in Apple. Would you endorse this strategy, and, if so, which company would you sell?
Thank you for your assistance.

Q: Hello Team 5i,
May I have a update on TransForce Inc. (TFI:TSX)please?

It has done well for us this past year. (Held in a TFSA)

Now with TransForce's further enhanced national footprint with increased geographical coverage into Southern USA I am thinking of adding on this pull back.
Your opinion please ?
As always your Fine Service is Much appreciated.
Thank you

Q: Sherritt Int. (S) I have a small “speculative” position (ACB $3.73) that I had been acquiring on the premise that they would do something with the Coal assets and become predominantly a Nickel Miner/Refiner and when the Nickel market improves have a good mid/longterm upside potential.

They have sold the Coal assets but I hadn’t contemplated the Obed spill and George Armoyan’s “activism” and the pending “Proxy fight”. Shareholder activism is generally a good thing. If nothing else it tends to remind the Management and BOD of their responsibility to the Shareholders. In this case I am not sure what George Armoyan has to offer if he is successful in his effort to basically take over the BOD. I am not aware that he or his two other BOD nominees have any International Mining experience.

Your thoughts will be appreciated. Would you hold a “small speculative position” and see how things play out or get out of the way and watch from a distance? I am basically a mid/longterm investor and have learned that having patience with a company that is going through a rough patch can be very rewarding.

Q: Good morning
With the TSX market being so high after such a good run, what would be your choice for a large cap growth stock with a good yield for a TFSA account for retirees.
Thanks Jean

Q: Is it time to buy CGi ? Thanks

Q: Could you please update Questor Technology inc QST.

What a great site and thanks

Dave.

Q: Hi - your views on XMW and minimum volatility equity strategies in general. Also, your views on CRQ and fundamental indexing strategies as well. cheers.

Q: Hi Peter and Team,
Your thoughts on Coach, COH? Good value at current prices?

Q: I just ran across a rather interesting stock Mercadolibre (MELI -Q). I realize that Canadian stocks are your main focus but I was wondering if you knew anything about this security and if you could comment on it.

Q: What is your opinion on buying COV at today's prices.

Q: Some think that 2014 will be the year for the Cdn stk mkt to shine. If you agree, what sectors would be best and what mutual fund(s) would best cover these? (I have mainly stocks in my accounts that are similar to you model, but am trying to get back to a few good mfs as well.) Thanks for you help. Alan

Q: will you please give me your opion on rrx and bnk thanks

Q: The recent question on BEP.UN caused me to check the Holy Grail of info for this stock, the Investor Relations pages of the company website, which is a far more accurate and often underutilized source than brokers or other services. Distributions, not dividends, of $.3625 US for the last 4 quarters totaled $1.45 US and with their stated goal (from the 2012 Annual Report) of 3 to 5% increase annually, it seems that the next distribution is in line for an increase (proposed record date March 31). All Brookfield companies, to my knowledge, report earnings in US $ and pay out in US $, and differences in currency translation could account for different reports in C$.

Also, as you summarized, in the "Highlights" discussion in the A.R. management states, "The primary reason for this {the reported IFRS net loss} is that we recognize a significantly higher level of depreciation for our assets than we are required to reinvest in the business as sustaining capital expenditures. As a result, we also measure our financial results based on Adjusted EBITDA, funds from operations and net asset value to provide readers with an assessment of the cash flow generated by our assets and the residual cash flow retained to fund distributions and growth initiatives."

When considering these other factors in the financial results, and that the company stated NAV per LPU of $32.35 US is far above the current market price, I understand why 5i recently added to its position in the model portfolio. If memory serves me, I believe it has traded much closer to NAV in years past, so it should be only a matter of time before patient investors are rewarded, while collecting 5.7% to wait. My question is about the discount to NAV: is 21% about normal at this time when comparing similar sized companies in its industry, such as Fortis or Emera? Thanks, J.

Q: Hi Peter, Happy new year to you and your team.I sold some Patheon when the deal was announced at around $9.72, then I sold some at $9.85,then $10.00, and a few days ago at $10.17. The US dollar has moved quickly and to my benefit.The deal is expected to close early March. My concern is that the US dollar has moved to fast in one direction. Should I sell the rest of my PTI position or keep the rest until the deal closes. Does the US dollar still have momentum or is the move running out of steam? Thanks, George

Q: In a very recent article on momentum stocks (not yet posted on this site) Peter Hodson wrote: "Bloomberg has a great function key on analysts’ revisions, showing the degree of earnings estimate changes. It can be an important factor in trying to determine which stocks might catch momentum." Where can we find this? Terrific site, BTW!