Investment Q&A

Q: what are your thoughts about ZMMK? what are the risks?
Is it better to store cash in a HISA ?
Same as JPST what are the risks and this is in US dollar only?
you think JPST is safe ?

Q: I am starting a non-registered portfolio. I would like exposure to the US tech market.
Here are 2 questions:
What are the tax implications of an ETF? (I have read several suggested documents in the Questions section of your website but I am still not sure about the tax cost). Are there any costs other than the MER to hold an ETF?
I am looking at XSP, XUS, VFV.
Thanks.

Q: i will be selling iwo for a tax loss. I wonder whether you might suggest the best replacement for it, ie in terms of a small or medium cap etf? thanks as always for your excellent counsel

Q: Hello Team,
Which of thes two ETFs do you prefer and why. My though is that topt is not diverse enough. Also, what percentage in a portfolio would you be comfortable allocating to each?
Another question! Bkng has been off some lately. Do you consider it to be basing or is it a larger issue in your opinion?
Thank You,
Barry

Q: Best holdings for a US dolar RRIF, I already have QQQ and SPY, up sustantially and think I should take some profit and redeploy the cash. lookings fior capital appreciation not dividends
Thanks for good advice as always

Q: I have some money parked in CBIL and UBIL. Can you suggest any other comparable short-term T-bill ETFs?

Q: I am curious what information you have on BITW and your opinion on the crypto market as a whole. It has a 2.5% mer but remarkable performance YTD. I presently hold IBIT and ETHQ and until recently was a doubter but can not argue with returns to date.

Q: Could you recommend a few ETFs trading in CAD that would provide exposure to healthcare. A couple of ETFs for growth and a couple for Income using covered calls.

Q: Can I get your opinion on investing in South Korea? I know it is unlikely to be a focus area of 5i, but in your experience, do political issues (in relatively stable countries) represent good buying opportunities?

Q: Thank you for your answer just now to my question on ILCV and VLUE. Your comments useful, thank you.
A clarification, please. Would I be correct in assuming from your answer that you do not particularly like EITHER one of the ETFs identified? Wanted to confirm just in case my conclusion is mistaken. Many thanks. :ao:sab

Q: I read your recent comments on small caps. What are your favorite US small cap ETFs and your favorite Canadian small cap ETFs.
Thanks,
Mark

Q: Is the following true for holding the ETF ZID within a non-registered account:

- Does not have to be declared on the T1135 form.

- Distribution may contain Return of Capital (ROC) which itself is not taxed, but does affect the ACB of the shares.

- Distribution may contain (non-eligible?) dividends.

- Distribution may contain income which is taxed at the same rate as ordinary income , but at the highest marginal tax bracket.

- Distribution is not grossed up (i.e. the dreaded negative effect on OAS).

Q: Can you provide cdn and us stocks/etfs that own physical gold and silver (not the miner) that has good liquidity. Thank you.

Q: is this a good way to put cash to US dollars while we wait to see how negative the trump effect is going to be on the Canadian dollar/economy
Is there a better way that you would recommend
Many thanks

Q: Your call on XSTP.U please

Q: I am a senior citizen now with a lower tolerance for risk and accepting of a lower rate of return on my investments for that. When interest rates increased, I invested in MM funds; now with rates going south, I am looking to get back into some more conservative stocks/ETF/Mutual funds with growth prospects.
Can you provide 5 stocks/ETF's you believe would fill this request. I am looking at Canadian but if there isa US one that makes sense, I would look at it.
As always, thanks for your advise.

Regards

Jim

Q: As an income focused investor, I'm most worried about cashflow versus capital. This approach has allowed me to comfortably weather the gyrations over the past few years. Yes, dividend stocks went down, but my cashflow was mostly secure and I slept well. I've settled on a mix of funds and individual stocks that meet my cashflow needs, using 5i for research and advice. About 20% of the portfolio value is in Covered Call funds across various sectors and fund companies, which pay 7% to 17%. This has enabled me to boost my average portfolio yield significantly, while 80% of the portfolio is in more conservative dividend paying investments. I acknowledge that the Covered Call strategy limits my upside.

Two questions: 1. What are your thoughts on this approach? 2. Is there still a robust covered call marketplace in a declining market - ie: what happens to the covered call premium opportunity?

Q: Happy holidays to all of you guys and girls at 5i thank you for all that you do everyday throughout the year. Just looking ahead to add to one of these 3 etf’s is there any one of these etf’s that should be chosen first before the other 2 or is it worthwhile just adding to all 3? All of these are about the same % of our portfolio and I do need to add more to international exposure (as per portfolio analytics.) Thanks again and wish everyone the best in the new year.

Q: Hi 5i,

I have GIC's maturing end of this month and I am not looking to reinvest the funds in another set of GIC's.

Financial advisor at the bank is recommending I put the funds into ZBAL ETF. But this ETF has MER of 1.72% which I am not a fan of.

Would appreciate your thoughts on this ETF and potential alternatives that you could suggest with lower MER.

I have been investing in stocks for the past five years and I am still relatively young so I am ok with risk.

Thanks in advance.

Greg C.

Q: Is there any advantage of buying US bonds like AGG over XBB? I notice the MER of 0.03% is a bit cheaper.

Thanks