# Q: What have been your best > 5yr investments?



## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

In the all-time-highs celebration mood, I want to ask the forum:

*What have been your best investments, among things you've held a minimum of 5 years? In your reply also post the year you first bought, and the (total) performance to date.*

Please only post things you've held for 5 years or longer


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

My top performers have been

CEF.A (Canada) - bought in Nov 2007, up 49%
BRK.B (USA) - bought in Dec 2007, up 28%


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## Calgary_Girl (Apr 20, 2011)

That's easy: IPL. Bought majority in 2008. Up 155%. :biggrin:


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## Calgary_Girl (Apr 20, 2011)

^ Forgot good old PPL (Pembina Pipeline). Bought in 2008 as well. Up 111%.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Wow nice ones Calgary_Girl. Get it right and sit tight, eh? A mantra I like to follow.


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## GoldStone (Mar 6, 2011)

Vanguard VTI

5 year price return according to Google Finance: +105% (Oct 17, 2008 - Oct 18, 2013)
Dividends add another ~2%/year. That's another 10% give or take.
115% total return.

I first bought VTI long before 2008. I've been adding new money to it on a regular basis. I added a lot more money after 2008 than before. I have no idea what my personal rate of return is on VTI. I only track the total portfolio return.

But you asked about 5 year return, right? :wink:


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I just said things held a minimum of 5yrs... yeah agreed its hard to quote performance figures with all the additions

When did you first buy VTI ?


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## GoldStone (Mar 6, 2011)

I'm too lazy to search for the date in the old statements. The first buy doesn't mean much anyway. It wasn't new money. I switched to VTI from TD e-series index fund. I've been indexing US market for ~15 years, through all ups and downs.

The returns since the bottom of 2009 have been spectacular. One of the best bull markets ever (and hated all the way).


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

Best - SBUX. Bought in early to mid 2008 in the $17 range - largest holding in my portfolio now.
Worst - Oil.TO. Bought in 2007/08. return -100%.

This is only recent history. Mutual funds bought in the 90's probably were up 800% or more before I began transferring those monies into other holdings, but these were insignificant sums of money.


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## Walksing (Oct 16, 2012)

bought sunshine oilsands 7 years ago , 400% return


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Owned >5 years:

ENB > 84%, 
JNJ > 41%,
EMR > 35%,
REI.UN > 35%,
BMO > 33%.

On the downside, I still own some shares of TA (down 35%)


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## Potato (Apr 3, 2009)

Wow, I was surprised to see how little I've held for 5 years or longer. The only one worth mentioning is CUS, bought my core position in 2008 at an average cost of $3.25, currently over $7, and had a dividend all through.


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## Toronto.gal (Jan 8, 2010)

james4beach said:


> post things you've held for 5 years or longer


Will post next October then.


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## Canuck (Mar 13, 2012)

Keyera - up 150% not including dividends (which my Yield on cost is now 10.3%)

IPL - up 75% - yield on cost 8.8%

Telus - up 85% - yield on cost 7.16%


worst Wajax and Direct Cash

all bought within the last 4 years.


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

Thats funny Canuck, Wajax and Direct Cash have made me good profits over the last six months (Wajax) and more recently (Direct Cash).


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

This is easy for me when I was in high school (1983) my father put $1500 in Fortis stock for me , I sold it in december 2012 for $33,000.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

marina628 said:


> This is easy for me when I was in high school (1983) my father put $1500 in Fortis stock for me , I sold it in december 2012 for $33,000.


11.3% annualized return over 29 years. Marina wins!

Bonus points for having the incredible luck of starting the investment right at the beginning of the longest, greatest secular bull run in world history


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## nakedput (Jan 2, 2013)

teck resources. bought at 4.00 in 2008


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

I invest less than 3 years..... from the oldest holdings I think the best is PM withabout 55% gain in 2.5 years + dividends


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

WOW Marina628.


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## Toronto.gal (Jan 8, 2010)

nakedput said:


> teck resources. bought at 4.00 in 2008


And still holding? Surely you took profits on this one.

I think *Marina's* father also deserves some credit! :encouragement:


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

@T.gal, heck ya :encouragement:


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

My father bought same amount of FTS for all of us and $7500 for himself and same for my mom.I also had some of my own but because these were in my Dad's name and he is getting up there as he says he sold off all the shares and gave us the cash after the taxes were settled.Back then you could buy shares through Newfoundland light and power Bills.


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## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

A pension up 78% in 6 years... and they are managed mutual funds in a group plan, with no choice to switch.. :S

Mutual funds get a bad rap but I guess this works for now.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Jungle said:


> A pension up 78% in 6 years... and they are managed mutual funds in a group plan, with no choice to switch.. :S


Willing to share which funds? Even though they're inside a pension plan they must still have description and report pages from the fund company right?


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

My husband has been investing in TD dividend Mutual funds for about 20 years and most years they got close to double digit returns.Even with the huge pain of 2008 they recovered nicely in 2009 as did everything else.90% of our investments are buy and hold and we DCA.I also have the TD health Science and Entertainment and Communication mutual funds in our retirement accounts and these have also done very well for us on average 11%-14% return for last decade.We still pay the horrible 2% MER on these funds ,shame on me lol.


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## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

I've already tried. They are not publically available. I've searched the net and the company website but they are not listed. I called their head office and ask how I could track them with another portfolio manager like google finance and they said it's not possible because the funds are not known to them.

I do get to choose my own custom allocation. Things that have boosted returns was being heavy us stocks in 2011 when tsx was down 9% , us was up 3 or something. Then I rebalanced into a more cad equity cheap. The cad fund has outperformed the tsx in the last 2 years so that helped as well. In addition to this their international fund is 50% us stocks???so with us markets on a tear that is helping


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## Jungle (Feb 17, 2010)

A buddy at work showed me that fund td health sciences and the returns are impressive. The mer is 2-3% but it's out performing by a lot.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

marina628 said:


> TD health Science and Entertainment and Communication mutual funds in our retirement accounts and these have also done very well for us .


I hold TD Entertainment and Communication, TD Income, TD US and some others in my kids RESP, and yes, it was doing not too bad


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## Retired Peasant (Apr 22, 2013)

Ignoring dividends, 12.8% annualized return on Cdn Tire bought in 2000.


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## Jaberwock (Aug 22, 2012)

Riocan - bought in 1999 for $8, now trades at $25 and has paid > $1/yr in dividends

Home Capital Group - bought for about $3 in 1999, now at $72

Inter Pipeline - accumulated over several years between 2003 and 2008, at prices ranging from $8 to $11, now trades at $25.


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