Q: I recently read that the hugely over-priced Tesla has been added to the S&P 500. Since I have a significant portion of my retirement funds in an S&P 500 ETF, I am concerned that the value of the ETF will be dragged down once (I think) the Tesla valuation comes down out of orbit. Should I rebalance my holdings to decrease exposure to the S&P 500? Thanks!

A: Certainly, if one stock becomes an outsized part of a market capitalization-weighted ETF, then you need to consider adjusting your overall holdings. That’s especially so if that ETF also makes up a significant part of your portfolio.
Meanwhile, you always need to keep the “Nortel factor”… Read More

Media is BCE’s weak link

BCE is one of our long-time favourites. When we first recommended it in our April 1995 issue, we felt it was poised to profit as many of its phone customers signed up for Internet access. The company later cut its risk by unloading its remaining… Read More

Good evening, Pat. Thanks for all your advice. I have some questions. Do you recommend Ericcson as an investment? Why is it so involved in buying patents? How does it compare with Intel?

L. M. Ericsson Telephone Co. (ADR), $9.71, symbol ERIC on Nasdaq (ADRs outstanding: 3.2 billion; Market cap: $31.1 billion; www.ericsson.com), is a leading maker of systems and products for telecommunications networks. The company’s divisions include Networks (55% of revenue); Global Services (40%); and Multimedia (5%)… Read More

RIM and Nortel: No comparison

RESEARCH IN MOTION INC. $27 (Toronto symbol RIM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 524.1 million; Market cap: $14.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rim.com) has dropped by 50% since March 2011, and now trades at… Read More

Hi Pat: What’s your opinion on Ciena? Thanks.

Ciena Corp., $18.65, symbol CIEN on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 93.1 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; www.ciena.com), makes networking equipment that lets phone carriers transmit files that contain large amounts of data, like video. AT&T and Verizon are the company’s major customers.

Ciena’s shares recently took a.. Read More

Pat: What are your thoughts on Mosaid Technologies? The company has a good dividend return and I understand it has a solid cash flow from patent licensing. Your thoughts as a long term hold?

Mosaid Technologies, $15.66, symbol MSD on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 10.3 million; Market cap: $161.2 million), mainly licenses patented semiconductor (computer chip) and telecommunications technology. This includes patents for technology used in smartphones and laptops. The company complements this business by developing its own memory and… Read More