skip to content
  1. Home
  2. >
  3. Investment Q&A
You can view 3 more answers this month. Sign up for a free trial for unlimited access.

Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: What is your opinion of this etf as one vehicle to ride out possible recession?
Read Answer Asked by Lawrence on October 24, 2022
Q: I have half my retirement portfolio in cash right now and plan to start layering in to index funds over the coming months. Consensus seems to be a Recession in 2023 so i'm thinking about taking a more defensive approach like SPHD and receive the 4% dividend while the market figures out where it is going in 2023 and beyond.
Once sentiment improves and another bull market looks to be in the horizon i would likely shift from SPHD to SPY and/or Sector in flavor funds.
Seem like a reasonable approach?
Read Answer Asked by Rob on October 24, 2022
Q: In your reponse to Cecil today you state: "VOO will be more tax efficient as it is US-listed whereas VFV is Canadian-listed. Foreign withholding tax on dividends will be exempt." I was under the understanding that there is no foreign withholding tax on dividends in an RRSP.
Read Answer Asked by Dennis on October 22, 2022
Q: Good Evening
To follow up on my yesterday's question, you suggested ZPR for a proxy on CDZ. How can a laddered preferred share ETF (ZPR) could be a proxy for CDZ?
Can you please clarify?
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Terry on October 22, 2022
Q: For registered accounts, (RRSP) holding VOO directly will be more tax efficient than holding VFV. Can you elaborate. Pl;ease---Cec
Read Answer Asked by Cecil on October 21, 2022
Q: Peter, one of the worst 'safe' investments I have ever made has been ZPR. Looking for a somewhat enhanced yield and a bit more safety, my 2014 investment shockingly dropped by about 40% in a year! The explanation 5i offered at the time was the declining interest rates combined with ZPR's rate reset preferred share holdings. But now, interest rates are INCREASING and ZPR is again down - almost 20% in the past year, and 12% in just the last six months. I realize other factors can move prices, but I'm mystified how a supposedly more stable investment can decline so much, so quickly, both when prevailing interest rates go UP and when they go DOWN! Do you have any explanation that might make sense to a mere mortal?
Read Answer Asked by James on October 21, 2022
Q: Great October Market Report. I notice that in the 2008 and 2020 periods, job opening numbers began to decline only after higher rates had plateaued for a period of time. Today, job opening numbers have started to decline before higher rates have begun to plateau. Does this suggest the FED has gone too far to fast...and is poised, or could be forced, to quickly pivot? I'm just looking for a good reason to step into ZAG, or XBB for some decent yields and opportunities for capital growth. Thanks as always.
Read Answer Asked by Curtis on October 20, 2022
Q: what is your thinking about bonds right now.Can you explain how they work with their yields and resets.Are you recommending any bonds or bond funds right now?
Which ones if so.Do you think that the bonds have sold off too much right now?
Read Answer Asked by Josh on October 19, 2022
Q: I am considering dipping my toe into the bond market via ETFs. I know the market is forward-looking as it pertains to equities but does the same hold true in the same way for bonds? Would pricing for XLB, for example, have likely already factored in expected rate increases for the next couple of months or do bonds tend to reprice only after the fact?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on October 19, 2022
Q: UTWO:US and UTEN:US are ETFs of US Treasury bills: UTEN of US ten-year treasury bills, UTWO of the two-year. Both ScotiaiTRADE and RBC-DI make it difficult to buy US T-bills hence my interest in bond ETFs. Would you recommend — at THIS time— an ETF that holds’ 2 year and 10-year T-bills? ETF.com describes these as single-bond passively managed ETFs. RBC-DI shows UTEN:us has a yield of approximately 4.8 % pa and about 2.1 % on UTWO TODAY. For comparison, 2.5% is the approximate yield on US Money Market funds.

Is it worth buying either one or both of the above-noted bond ETFs? I am sure you have better ideas than the above ETFs, so would appreciate your suggestions of instruments that are better than the ones I have noted above.
Read Answer Asked by Adam on October 19, 2022
Q: Hello,
Which of the Brookfield companies quality for the dividend tax credit?
Also, which Canadian dividend ETF’s also quality for the dividend tax credit you would recommend?
Thanks for your great service.
Read Answer Asked by David on October 19, 2022