Investment Q&A

Q: What are some ETF'S that rotate the sectors ?

Q: I have $40,000 US to invest for 5 -10 years. With half of that amount I would like to buy about four equity-based ETFs for capital appreciation. Some I have read about include QQQ , BBH, and VGT. Are these good choices? Please add other recommendations.
For the other half, I would like more income based ETFs with a sensible degree of risk, such as VIG. Please add other recommendations.
I am not interested in Canadian based ETFs but International based ETFs would be alright.
I do no previous experience with ETFs.

Q: My son has asked my advice on how best to invest ~$13K he holds in GICs in registered accounts. He has a very young family and wants to begin investing on the right foot with this initial investment while adding to it over time, funds permitting. My personal investing approach has been to invest in high quality, primarily Canadian, dividend paying equities but for him, just starting out and with many investing years ahead of him, EFTs seem a far more appropriate and safer choice.

Would you consider 60% CDZ and 40% ZDY a good suggestion for him or would you recommend other EFTs that better track the indexes like XIU and ZSP? Do you consider just two EFTs sufficient diversification until his portfolio grows larger? What about the percentage Canada/U.S. split? Does 60/40 seem OK? Many thanks for your thoughts on the matter.

Q: I have a well diversified Canadian Stock portfolio. However, that being said, there are no Consumer, Technology or Health Care stocks in that portfolio.

Do you think that low cost, diversified, market weighted US ETFs XLP, XLY, XLK, XLV is a smart way to cover the sectors lacking in my portfolio.

Many Thanks.

Q: Are there any renewable energy etfs, specifically with hydrogen or fuel cells companies
?

Q: Hello
In today’s Globe and Mail , a financial advisor , suggests that Canadians should consider alternative investments in addition to stocks and bonds.
Investing in alternative assets for individuals can mean investing in funds that hold assets that include commodities, infrastructure like airports or highways, land and real estate,

Can you please recommend a few funds that are holding alternative investments?
Thank you.

Q: I am 72 and retired. I have been building a part of my portfolio (58.4%) for the last three years with ETFs. Current holdings are (% weight of portfolio in brackets): zwh (10.5), zwu (9.1), zwc (8.5), mft (5.9), xtr (5.3), xhy (5.2), zwe (4.7), cdz (3.2), zdh (3.2) & zre (2.9). With 24.2% cash, I plan on slowly adding to these etfs. How would you do this? The remainder of my portfolio is in dividend paying Canadian large caps.
Thanks, Jim

Q: Would you know a particular ETF that might contain many of the above tech companies?
Thanks, Murray

Q: Hi 5iTeam,
I'm interested in taking a position in an ETF that's focused on chips. Of the three ETFs listed above, which one would be your choice and why?
Also are there ETFs traded in C$ that are focused on US chip makers?
Cheers,

Q: Good day team, question re Covered Call ETF vs non. I've set up my daughters TFSA with CDZ & ZWH as a starting base. In an earlier question you mentioned covered call (ZWH) may reduce upside. Acknowledging this; does covered call also offer additional protection though (from large downward swings for eg). If so, I'm ok forgoing additional upside.

Q: Hello ... given the thuggery exhibited of late (and historically) by China, do you think EWH is a good investment for an otherwise well-diversified portfolio looking for increased international exposure? Or, is the game over for Hong Kong? Thx

Q: Would you prefer HHL or LIFE as a potential investment? Income is a significant consideration for me. Thanks.

Q: Hi General investing question. I have both ETF and actual stocks that are in the ETF. Less than 5 years away from retirement so still looking to build my portfolio. What's your opinion on holding ETF to accumulate income or buy the actual dividend stock and get both income and (hopefully!) growth? Thanks guys

Q: Hello 5i Team, - Thank you for all you do!

Could you weigh-in on these US$ cloud focussed ETF's for the long-term? Could you also suggest any alternatives hedged to CAD$ with a similar cloud focus?

Q: My 24-year old son just made his RRSP contribution. What would you suggest to be a good stock/ETF/fund to invest in right now? The objective is of course long-term growth.

Q: As part of my shift from managed products to ETFs I need to top up all or a combination of ve, spy and xef. This will be a rather large transaction so I am leaning towards 25% of the amount in each ETF and keeping 25% in cash counting on covid related market dips over the next few months.

Q: Hello 5i,
I have owned ZPW.U since 2016 and I am down ~ 20%, of course I receive ~7% dividend paid monthly.. regardless, I am getting frustrated with this investment as it doesn't seem to participate in any gains when the market declines as I assumed the puts would. In your view, what are the reasons for the decline since 2016? and do you see a possible rebound? or just exit this horrible investment.
Thanks
CR

Q: Good morning,
I own a small house in Ottawa that is free and clear with a current market value of approximately $350,000.
A recent discussion with my trusted mortgage broker confirmed that a 5 year term (Closed & Fixed) term mortgage can be obtained at a rate of 2.29%. This mortgage is said to be:
a. insured through CMHC,
b. portable, and
c. transferable.
At that rate of 2.29% and given that the interest paid would be tax deductible if I use the funds for investment purposes, I'm seriously considering borrowing around $200,000 and investing this amount for an initial 5 year period with an expected net rate of return on investment of 4.5% .
Q1. With $200,000, what are your thoughts of splitting this amount in 5 different chunks of $40K in the following instruments:
a. Mawer Tax Effective Balanced Fund,
b. Mawer Global Balanced ETF Fund,
c. Vanguard Balanced ETF Portfolio,
d. IShares Core Balanced ETF Portfolio, and
e. BMO Balanced ETF

Q2. As an alternative to the above and given the 5 year time frame, would your preference be to invest the $200,000 in a selection of best in class individual stocks split between different sectors and if so, would you be so kind as to provide me with ya listing of your best ideas at this time.

I thank you and look forward to hearing your thoughts on both of these investment strategies.
Francesco

Q: I'm interested in the idea of green/sustainable agriculture as a theme moving forward. Any stocks or ETFs that could fit the bill? Thanks

Q: My sons company is using rbc as their rrsp provider for their employees. Would you be able to recommend one canadian, one us and one international ETFs or mutual funds that rbc provides? These will be long term holds. Thanks.