Investment Q&A

Q: May I please have your opinion of CI Frist Asset U.S. Trendleaders index ETF (SID). Thank you.

Q: Through the pandemic I have decided to remove certain names from my Canadian portfolio that I was less confident in. I am now down to 19 positions from 25 originally. Also with this I have built up more cash than I would typically have. I know you guys advocate being mostly invested, but I am having a hard time finding names that I am bullish on through the pandemic that I do not already currently own. The portfolio is roughly a mix between your growth and balanced portfolios. Would you continue to hold approx 10-15% in cash or add in some sort of growth ETF for the short term until we are through the pandemic and things return to normal where I can expand my portfolio again. If so, which Canadian etf would you add for the short term considering the details i have shared?

Q: I do not believe ZSP.U would be exempt from US withholding tax. Could you confirm this? If not what ETF's would be exempt from US withholding tax for a Canadian investor? ZSP is subject to US tax and worth about .24% and on a larger account significant. Thanks for your help.

Q: Thanks to 5i, I've had the best year ever in the stock market. I've recently been trimming some high beta stocks that have become overweight in my portfolio. Not knowing much about bonds, never owning any, I'm looking at ZBD to park the cash. In Feb 2019 you said" . Any mutual fund or ETF technically does not guarantee any capital, so although ZBD is very safe and provides a higher yield than a high-interest savings account, there is always a 'risk' with bond funds." Can you expand on what the risk is, does the current enviroment add to the risk?

Q: Would value your opinion/info on these 2 as always. Thanks! Austin

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

Q: Is vbal a good option to hold entering retirement

Q: Hi, if an ETF with a relatively high distribution, say XEI, pays part of its distribution in ROC does that mean the underlying holdings of the ETF do not generate enough dividends on their own to cover the distribution? Thanks.

Q: Morning Peter and Team,
Let's assume there are 2 ETFs holding identical underlying stocks but one utilizes covered call option and the other one does not. Under what circumstances would each of these 2 ETFs provide a better return than the other.
Thanks for your great work.

Q: Gentelmen:
Is monthly income received from LIFE etf interest income or capital gains from covered call writing & dividend from constituent securities?
Thank you

Q: Hi,
Which of these 2 stocks provides a more reliable income stream with lower risk? Thanks.

Q: A few weeks ago you said that close to 40 % of the dividend paid by ZWU in2019 was actually return of equity. Would you know if this would be more or less true about most years?
Also, you don't seem to have a very high opinion of ZWU. Why then do you include it in your Model ETF Portfolio?
Thank you
jerry

Q: I work in tech and for that reason I had told myself no need to add further exposure to tech by holding tech stocks. Now I kind of regret that strategy. I wonder what percentage of exposure to tech In my portfolio is sensible? Is it too late to enter? Do you think tech stocks are in a bubble? Can you suggest some names (ETFs/stocks) in canada and US that would be good choices if we decided to add some exposure to tech?

Q: 5i, thank you again for all the great advice! I saw someone asking a question about these bond / high interest ETFs earlier today. Do you have other suggestions for bond / high interest ETFs? I have a longer investment horizon, but currently are 40% equity and 60% cash. I want to put some of this cash to work in a relatively safer manner.

Q: Good morning, thoughts on the new ETF HCAL that uses 25% leverage on Canadian bank stocks.
Will this ETF suffer similar long term erosion like the double and triple levered ETF'S?

Q: May I get your overall impression of the newly launched Invesco NASDAQ Next Gen 100 ETF (QQQJ)? Is it wise to let it grow larger before considering a position? Could it be viewed as an advantageous alternative or complement to IWO for US small/mid cap exposure?

Q: For a balanced portfolio with the next 3-5 years in mind, what are your suggested weightings in preferreds, utilities and high yield bonds. Given low interest rates preferreds in particular seem like a place investors will go to seek higher yields with some opportunity for growth.

Q: Can you comment on your view of CLOU and ARKW prospects as investment vehicles....Kim

Q: Hi 5iTeam,
TXF currently pays around 8.5% in dividend. From what I can gather, the underlying stocks in this etf pays minimal dividend and some don't pay a dividend at all. So I just wondering how TXF manage to pay such a high dividend. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Also I would like to know the average yield of this etf going back the last 10 years.
Thanks again for your great work...

Q: In general, what is your advice on covered calls in this market? If favourable, for technology QQQX and BST are on my watch list. There are many others. What do you advice as to most preferred ETF, if any?
As well, there are more complicated ETFs which factor in covered calls - RPAR, SWAN, and NTSK, for example. What is your view of such financial products?