Investment Q&A

Q: Considering a new investment in the technology sector in a TFSA account, would the semiconductor space be investable now and would your preference be to one or two specific companies or an ETF such as SMH or SOXX. Your comments and ideas always appreciated. Brian

Q: If you were to establish an RESP for someone who was just born, and are starting with a small amount of money, perhaps a couple of thousand dollars, what would you invest in? Would you invest in an ETF? If so, which one? Would you consider investing in a single stock? If so, which ones would you consider?

Q: Hi, may I know which one is better to hold in TFSA ? Thank you

Q: Hello 5i Team
I am comparing two ETF from Vanguard Canada and from Vanguard USA.
Vanguard Canada – US Total Market ETF (CA:VUN), trades in Canadian dollars on Canadian exchange, tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index. The MER is equal to 0.16 %. The 2019 distribution was composed of $0.99538 foreign income, $0.00076 ROC and $0.1593 foreign withholding tax (approximately 16 % of the total distribution, applied by Vanguard).
Vanguard USA – Total Stock Market ETF (US:VTI), trades in US dollar on US exchange, tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index. The MER is equal to 0.03 %. The 2019 distribution was US$2.8747 with no withholding tax applied by Vanguard.
Questions are:
1 – Are these two ETF essentially the same (one trades in C$ on Canadian Market, the other trades in US$ on the US Market) as they both appear to track the CRSP US Total Market Index?
2 – If I hold CA:VUN in a non-registered account, will there be withholding tax applied by my broker to the distribution?
3 – If I hold US:VTI in a non-registered account, will there be withholding tax applied by my broker to the distribution?
4 – Is the difference in the MER (0.16 % vs 0.03 %) essentially the 15 % withholding tax applied to US dividends?
5 – Which is the better ETF to hold in a non-registered account, ignoring the cost of currency conversion to purchase US dollars in order to buy US:VTI?
Thank you

Q: I have parked cash on PSA, I was wondering, if a better choice is to place it in one of IWO , VYMI, XBAL; the goal is to leave it there for a few years, and to help growth the account.
Thanks

Q: Retired dividend-income investor. I hold CDZ for the long term and currently have a 75% position, topping up regularly to achieve a full position by year end. When originally purchased the yield was in the range of 5.4%, now it is 3.7% due to some of the constituent dividends being suspended. I believe CDZ is reconstituted annually. When this happens, what will happen with the dividend? With the potential changes to the underlying securities, will the CDZ methodology cause the dividend to increase somewhat?

I am "ok" with the current dividend. I am just wondering if I will get a bit of a bonus when the ETF is reconstituted?

Thanks for your help...Steve

Q: Hi,
Thank you for your straight forward answer to Paul's question to-day. (September 01) I presume that even though you mentioned XBAL as your pick, you wouldn't mind including VBAL/ZBAL in that space. Very similar aren't they?
IF one wants to augment this, to get steady stream of dividend income, should one add higher dividend paying ETFs like DGRC or VDY or XDV etc., More to keen to know your thoughts about enhanced indexing. How should one go about it?
Thanks.

Q: Would you comment on the potential of the America ETF IZRL, which invests in Israeli technology companies, in light of the possible normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israeli and therefore the flow of investment funds into Israel?

Q: Between these 2 ETF which one would you say is a better hold moving fowarde.

Q: Currently hold positions in both these ETF's for U.S. exposure in a RRIF account.
Considering replacing ZUD with either VGG or RUD.
Any comments or other suggestions would be appreciated. Brian

Q: Theses ETFs nd many more trade on the TSX in CDN$ but are they currency hedged or not? I understand currency hedging but how can a foreign based ETF trade in Canada without hedging? Thanks Ron

Q: Which Mutual fund(s) or ETF(s) would you recommend for a conservative retiree looking for dividend yield in the 3.5%-5% range? She would be drawing down the account on a monthly basis for the next 20 years or so.

Thank You

Q: Hi Peter & 5i, Is there a significant overlap between these 2 ETF'S. Also where would you park 75K US$ to earn its keep, some risk acceptable.
Thanks as always
Ivan

Q: Hi 5i team,
I want to add gold bullion as an asset class in my portfolio. What's the difference between KILO and PHYS? Which one do you prefer and the reasons behind? Is this asset class best be inside non registered account or inside RRSP/RRIF account?
Thanks.

Q: My question relates to Warren Buffet's purchase of 5 major Japanese trading companies.

If one likes to mirror Buffet's buys, in your opinion, would you be inclined to follow him into this move?
I believe none of these are traded on USA exchanges.
So if you like the move, is there an ETF that you would suggest in order to participate in this move of his?

Q: With governments pouring money out the window inflation and declining bond prices seem to be a certainty. Where do you go for safety? How would CLF compare to a fund like HFR? Are equities safer at this point? Always value your opinion, thanks.

Q: What is your opinion on this etf? I don't expect it to do well in a downturn (when it hits again), but the long term track record looks good.

Q: Could only find one response regarding this etf . Has your opinion changed since 2016? Aside from a fairly high MER any other drawbacks?

Q: I have 7% invested in ZWU covering the Canadian market plus I hold ENB, KEY and ALA individually. I do not have any exposure to the energy, water, electric or natural gas utilities which operate in the USA. Thus far there have been no questions on this fund, PSCU, and I would like to obtain your assessment of its prospects going forward. This interests me in that it holds smaller cap stocks which are always there for being acquired by a larger firm although I am not considering this fund specifically for that reason.
I am retired so dividends/distributions are important but equally important is fund security. May I have your opinion.
Thank you

Q: Would a combination of VEE and ZDI cover off the international portion of a portfolio? Long term holds for diversification, growth and some income. Thanks Ron