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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: Both these giants have publicly commented on hoping to turn their respective battleships in the renewable direction. Both currently pay healthy dividends (5.5% and 8.2%), and have taken a whalloping in the market. Wondering if you feel these companies have the cash and asset reserves to protect these dividends (small cuts would still be acceptable at the current rate), and hold steady on valuation, or dare I say it, grow in the long run? Looking to add to a corporate account I try to fill with sustainable/steady players paying 3.5-6.0%. Have a 20+ year time frame.

Thanks,
Mackenzie
Read Answer Asked by Mackenzie on October 30, 2020
Q: Jack Ma's Ant group recently IPO'd on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai's Star Market. Do you know if it's possible to purchase this stock on a North American exchange, preferably in the form of an ETF?
Read Answer Asked by Judith on October 29, 2020
Q: Can you explain the difference between Unilever NV (UN) and Unilever PLC (UL). Which stock would be better to purchase? Although they are based in the Netherlands and the UK respectively, if I purchase the stock in my TFSA will the dividend be subject to a withholding tax because I purchased it on a US exchange? What is your opinion of the company and if I was interested in it would you be OK jumping into a full position today or would you start with a smaller purchase?
Read Answer Asked by Steven on October 27, 2020
Q: Adyen is described in a recent Forbes article about Baillie Gifford, the Scottish asset managers, as a "Global payments platform. Think Paypal and Square in one." Can you comment on its fundamentals and potential? Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by David on October 27, 2020
Q: Hello
I own three consumer staples in US market.
In the last year Mondelez has much out-performed Coke and Diageo by a long shot. But If I go to a five year chart they all performed equally well.

Do estimates point to Mondelez out-performing the other two in the next year or two? The reason I ask is I am wondering if I should just hold Mondelez since the Coke and Diageo are not performing well of late.

Long term investment hold, 20 years plus.

Thank you
Stephane

Read Answer Asked by Stephane on October 21, 2020
Q: Hi 5i team,
What is your favourite top pick for India ETF and your top pick for China ETF (preferably in C$)? Or would an emerging market ETF be a better investment approach? Which emerging market ETF you prefer that has a larger percentage invested in China and India? Thanks for you advice.
Read Answer Asked by Willie on October 21, 2020
Q: Hello 5i,
As always, a huge thank you for all you do!!!
Income-focused investor.
My question is in response to a previous question, in which answer to, you seemed to favour PID over ZDI. I hold ZDI and have previously discounted PID as an option for two specific reasons: 1) ZDI is almost 3x larger in market cap (328 million versus 124 million (from Globeinvest)) and also the average volume is many times greater (today's volume notwithstanding - PID seems relatively illiquid). I have seen previous answers re: ETF's in general where you are less keen on what are almost micro-cap ETF's for other than the most niche of offerings. I have occasionally had concerns about ZDI's relatively small market cap as it is. The yields between these two are only about 1% with ZDI being marginally higher. So, given the foregoing, do you see the growth profile of PID so much of an advantage that you would still endorse it over ZDI? I would have no problem switching, but my previous concerns would need to be allayed somewhat before considering the move.
In general, what would be the "line" for an ETF market cap below which you would not endorse?
Your thoughts??
Many thanks - be well and stay safe!!
Cheers,
Mike
Read Answer Asked by Mike on October 20, 2020
Q: I see that ARK invest is selling some of their holdings of SE. I currently own a small portion of SE. Do you see any immediate risk? Is it still a good stock to hold today?
Also I have a little bit of SHOP. How is SE compared to SHOP? Should I keep both or get rid of one of them? or should I even sell my SE/SHOP and get AMZN? Thanks a lot
Read Answer Asked by Yongwei on October 20, 2020
Q: Looking for some feedback on my International holdings in my RRSP. Currently have zwp; zem; and Zdi.
I am interested in PID to compliment my existing holdings. I would split my current zdi holding to make 4 equal positions.
Pid has had better performance over the last 5 yrs, covers the same geography as zdi however with different country and industry weighting’s. Pid’s MER is higher than Zdi with a lower dividend.
Is it worthwhile to split my zdi position, convert entirely to Pid or leave well enough alone.
I do not have to Rif for another 9 years
Read Answer Asked by Bruce on October 19, 2020
Q: Hi,
I wanted to increase international equity exposure by adding ETFs. I currently own VWO (about 3%). What is your view on VIGI and VEU? Could you suggest 2-3 other names? Thanks,

Martin
Read Answer Asked by Martin on October 19, 2020
Q: Hi, as many canadians I suppose, I am really overweight $CDA in my investments. I try to buy canadian cmies with lots of international exposure to mitigate this risk. Can you please provide your comments on the validity of this argument. For the average canadian investor who plans to stay in Canada, what % of your portfolio would you allocate to US / international stocks? (General rule of thumb). Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Pierre on October 14, 2020
Q: Hello 5i Team
I want to invest in an Emerging Markets Bond Fund or ETF. My preference is to invest in Canadian Funds. Choices I have found are:
iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) – Symbol XEB.CA
BMO Emerging Markets Bond Hedged to CAD Index ETF – Symbol ZEF.CA
RBC Emerging Markets Bond Fund Series D – Fund Code RBF1097:CA

Questions I have are:
1 – It is not clear from BlackRock’s website, but is XEB 100 % invested in BlackRock’s US ETF EMB:US ?
1 – XEB and ZEF net assets are $97M and $380M, is the lower net assets a concern?
2 - XEB and ZEF average trading volume is 1,707 and 2,664, is the lower daily average volume a concern?
3 – Although the MER for RBF1097 is 1.07% is this a better choice than XEB/ZEF whose MER is 0.54% and 0.55 % as the net assets for RBF1097 is approximately $1.7B?
4 – Any other ETF/MF that I should review?
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Stephen on October 09, 2020
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