Investment Q&A

Q: hi,
a 5 year chart shows diminishing share price of ZWU, and slight increase in ZUT. can you explain this? is this because the covered call strategy is somehow eroding value/share over longer periods of time? it seems to be too much of a discrepancy to be explained by getting having to sell the underlying equities occasionally due to the call options in a rising utility equity market?? your thoughts would be most appreciated.

Q: I recently purchased the PIN Purpose Monthly Income Fund. The Purpose website shows it currently has a large weighting in high-yield corporate bonds, a fair chunk in real assets along with dividend paying equities. How would you compare this to ZMI as a small weighting for med risk retirees seeking income and inflation protection?

Portfolio Analytics is counting it as 100% equity. I also see a discrepancy for the AUM of the fund (8mm vs 40mm) on the 5i profile page. Can this be corrected?

Q: I am thinking of buying the following ETF's: VCNS, XEF, XIU, WXM, ZSP, VEE, ZAG,VVL, XQQ and XUT. Which of the following accounts: TFSA, FHSA, Non-Registered, and RSP, would be best for Canadian tax reasons to put each one in?

Q: Is there any Gold ETF or mutual fund that a person can trade their shares in for actual physical gold bars and if so how would one do that?

Q: Hello,
Which US ETF do you recommend to keep cash in USD. Safety being the first priority (US equivalent to PSA or CSAV in Canada). Thank you.

Q: if there any difference between ZQQ and QQCE other than QQCE being an ESG fund and not purchasing arms, tobacco etc? Both seem to have low trading volumes with QQCE having a lower trading volume. do you think that the lower trading volume for QQCE to be problematic in trading?

Q: I bought this ETF in January 2025 thinking that the Trump administration would be good for the financial sector. I am down 7+% and the ETF is down almost 13% YTD. My logic dosn't appear to be all that logical! What do you think of this ETF? Buy, sell, hold? Any better suggestion?

Q: I own these in my RRIF for income purposes countered with some leverage for growth. What are some other Canadian issued high yield ( greater than 10% ) having 1.25 x leverage ETF ‘s ? Any sector will do , Canadian or American companies. Any you recommend or stay away from ? Thanks..Derek.

Q: a member asked your about hmax which you seemed ok with,but warned about putting all your money in one yield ETF. So my question is what other yield Canadian ETFs would you recommend along with hmax. dave

Q: What do you make of VCX rocket-like rise? Too late to jump in?

I'm down on Broadcom, not by a lot but it has been stuck there for months. I'm thinking of selling and use proceeds for better plays. Your thoughts?

Thanks!

Q: Hello 5i Team,
I'm looking for 2 or 3 US high yield ETF's; which do you recommend?
Thanks,
Brent

Q: I am a retiree in my 70s and my wife and I are considering downsizing to one floor living in a condo. And we might rent a higher end unit vs. buying. To fund the rent I am considering putting a considerable sum - seven figures - into HMAX from the proceeds of the house sale. This is entirely separate from my investment portfolio which is diversified. While you obviously can't comment on such a personal decision what can you tell me about the history of the Hamilton funds and their owners and can you comment on the covered call strategy and Hamilton's abilities to apply it. Any other upsides or downsides are welcome. Thank you.

Q: I get that HXS is a tax-efficient option for high earners in a non-registered account but are the higher fees (e.g., swap fee) worth it just to avoid the 15% withholding tax in a TFSA?

Q: If we enter a severe recession, what is the possibility of redemptions from companies such as CASH, being refused. Are there any other situations whereby funds held in an ETF like CASH, are not accessible.

Q: I own both COW:CA and NTR:CA.Do you feel that it is unncessary to own both and if so which one would you prefer?

Q: hi,
I have parked cash in these funds ( money market fund?), which I am told will not suspend redemptions anytime, so one is able to freely withdraw if wanted. do you have a list of others with same properties ( as many as you know )? take as many points as you want. looking for mostly CDN$ but 1-2 USD$ as well.
cheers, Chris

Q: Your thoughts on this new ETF ...Harvest Premium Yield Canadian Bank ETF. It's info sheet indicates it "is designed to deliver twice monthly cash distributions with an opportunity for long term growth. This ETF provides investors access to a portfolio of leading Canadian bank equities with strong fundamentals and growth potential."

I know it is new but the dividend of 7 cents twice a month (pls confirm my number is correct) is very compelling ... However, less so if the payout is simply going to be 50% or more as ROC.

Q: Today you answered “probably not” to my question about whether ETFs that track the S&P 500 are more risky than mid-cap ETFs which are trading at their historical values. However, your reasoning — that the S&P 500’s valuation is not excessively high given expected earnings growth and potential lower interest rates, and that investors tend to favour large-cap stocks over mid-caps in uncertain markets — seems to suggest the opposite conclusion.

Could you clarify whether you meant “probably yes” instead?
Could you also indicate if your answer differs if one's time frame is 10 years+?

Q: Could you please give me your insight for KITS, along with your 1,3and 5 year outlook. As for ZWB and HCAL which one do you prefer today and the reason why.

Thank you

Q: For a young person (20 years old) who has little knowledge of or interest in investing, no interest in selecting individual investments, monitoring a portfolio or having to rebalance assets, what do you think of using a global 100% equity asset allocation ETF for long-term, ongoing contributions to TFSA’s, FHSA’s, RRSP’s, etc in order to make investing as easy and simple as possible and to encourage/reinforce a regular, long-term investing habit over several decades? If this sounds reasonable is there a global 100% equity asset allocation ETF that you would recommend or are they all pretty much interchangeable? Given the size, reputation and historical track record (safety) of firms like Blackrock, Fidelity, Vanguard, BMO, etc I assume there is little to choose from between the different ETF’s. Is there any other (better & simple) strategy you would suggest as an alternative, given the investor profile? Thanks.