Investment Q&A

Q: Is there any nasdaq 100 or s and p 500 index or etf that can be bought in a tfsa account to avoid withholding tax ?Ty

Q: For a short time horizon - are there any strategies besides GICs, Government t-bills, HISAs, MMFs or Interest ETFs that you would consider?

Q: The Analytics tells me that I need to reduce the Financial sector by 8%. Currently own BNS (3.5%), BN (1%), X (2.%), TD (4%), and VBAL (17%). Thinking about selling BNS and X or trimming the VBAL. I would appreciate your comments on which approach is better. Thank you

Q: I understand that the VOO is likely to be extremely tax efficient.
If I only had a USD NonReg account would you expect VFV and VSP to be just as tax efficient as VOO?

Q: What is your view of holding IAUI etf as a portion of gold exposure. Thanks, Janet

Q: You have mentioned AIQ many times as AI play. What about DTCR ? Seems to have better performance numbers but seems to have 25% in REITs which own land for data centres. For 25% REIT, the yield of 1% seems a little low.

Q: This has a 4% weighting, and I have held it mostly for income purposes since retirement in 2018. I have never been really compelled to be overly worried about its dividend payouts at different levels, quarterly. However, the last payout was very low at 0.0957. Can you see why it was such a drop, and if it indicates a change in their payout plans? As always, thanks for your fine service.

Q: Hello 5i

Like others have mentioned, I have also learned and profited from following 5i and I thank you. I usually listen especially closely when you speak about your own strategies. In that regard I was intrigued by an answer you gave concerning your own portfolio size i.e. 15 stocks and 3 covered call etf’s. It raised several questions. I appreciate your willingness to talk about your own holdings, and this encourages me to ask the following questions. If you feel, however, that they are too personal for a public forum I certainly understand. If you feel comfortable answering, though, I would like to get more detailed information:

1.First is that there seems to be no mention of fixed income. I assume that you don’t hold any and further assume that the reason for this is that if one has enough funds one can withstand a sizable meltdown of the stock market without too much concern. I ask this because I am always wavering about whether to hold fixed income.
2. I notice that you don’t mention any vanilla flavoured etf’s, such as SPY or QQQ. Does this mean that you see the covered call etf’s as a suit iable substitute for them? The question I am getting at here is whether they would be good for all seasons or simply in times like this?
3. Do you now use these covered call etf’s as an easier way to make money on covered calls than selling calls on individual stocks?
4. If you hold 15 stocks as well as three etf’s, what kind of percentage might each one represent and the etf’s?
5. I am planning to use this strategy, But, for the moment I need to buy on margin, Canadian margin has a lower interest rate than US. So I was looking at Hamilton’s QMAX.It looks similar but I wondered what you thought.
thanks

Q: Thoughts on this to invest in CSU at a much more reasonable stock price?

Thx

Q: My daughter has some holdings that need to be reviewed. What are your thoughts on dividing her capital between 8-10 ETFs that cover the US, CDN and the rest? Could you provide a list of your favs? Thanks again for your sage advice.

Q: It was mentioned that these ETFs use a "synthetic call option strategy". I don't know what that is. Can you explain in more detail

I don't like to own something I don't understand as I wouldn't know when to sell it. What would be a trigger to sell these ETFs?


Can you also explain the risks associated with owning something like this. Is the high yield (11%) a red flag?

And which account (Non-registered, TFSA, RRSP) are these best held in.

Q: I have CSU in my TFSA, down 40% I am looking at buying ZWU instead or should I hang on. Thanks

Q: I own only 1 ETF (XQQ @ 10% of my portfolio). I'm looking to move to owning 3-5 ETFs to cover the broad market and then pick away at a few individual stocks for some extra growth.

Which few ETFs would you recommend to hold for 'adequate' and 'broad' market coverage. Note that I'm looking to hold 40-60% of my portfolio in these ETFs.

Q: If you were to create a portfolio of USA stocks or International ETFS for lets say a 68 year old person with $$1 million, what would buy for growth and safety protection in todays market. % would be helpful.
Thanks Again

Q: What is your opinion of POWR as a buy here

Q: Thanks Garth
My T.D. Waterhouse account only shows my profit/loss position without taking into account the dividends paid into my account . Could 5i tell me my total profit/loss including dividends for the following purchases of GDXY . A total number is fine as of whatever date you select..... I just want to know if I'm winning or losing and how much with this investment ..... Thanks for your terrific service .....

Purchase dates and prices { in U.S. dollars } are the following

200 shares on Mar. 28/25 for $15.90 per share

200 shares on May 2/25 for $15.95 per share

200 shares on June 9/25 for $15.52 per share

200 shares on Aug. 1/25 for 14.55 per share

Q: Please advise which fees should I look on ETF ie Management or MER fees. Ex: BMO ETF website FCCM shows .10 as management fees and .38 on MER fees or total fees ( Management + MER)

When I look at the charts does it includes dividends or price only. Is there a website where we have option to exclude / include dividends.

Thanks for the great service.

Q: What would your top 3 ETFs be, that cover
1.domestic,
2.international,
3.trending stocks,
that could be held in long term accounts to buffer individual stock volatility and provide peace of mind ?

Q: When do we get back in to digital currency? Seems to have bottomed out and gaining some traction again.

Q: I asked a question about these holding in February. I noted on CNBC this morning that they had an article entitled "Jamie Dimon warns of ‘some kind of bond crisis’ ahead as global debt risks build".

If we do get some form of Bond crisis/alert what will be the impact on these 3 ETF's? I have held them for several years and I'm up maybe 5% overall over that time. Probably 2% on an annualized basis. In total, they represent about 14% of my holdings. Given I've held them so long I am fearful I would be selling just as they could possibly turn around. Any thoughts on the outlook for the balance of 2026 for these 3? Factoring in all the geopolitical/debt issues in the world, If you owned them would you be a seller? Would you sell all of them or simply reduce by XX% across the board. If selling, in what order would you sell and why?