Investment Q&A

Q: What would be your top picks in individual stocks and ETFs for a 21 year old starting a TFSA

Q: Would you be invested in a covered call bank ETF or a non covered call bank ETF for the next year or two?

Q: Hello Folks:
Unfortunately we have lost approx. close to 30% of our EMAX investment in the last few months. The current dividend is 16%; up from 13% upon purchase.
Should we accept this loss, move on or wait? Are there superior choices for this stock (we did primarily consider it an income investment, although a little growth potential would be okay). A goodly proportion of our investments are in energy; how do you view this sector and it's outlook?

Thank you for your most terrific service!!!!
brian

Q: interested in a good ETF for Africa and also one for Eastern Europe

Q: What do u think about having a Euro investment account in order to invest in overseas companies and what's the best way to do that?

Q: Hi,

Can you suggest an ETF for materials exposure? I hold NTR but am looking to expand my exposure through an ETF.

Thank you,

Robert

Q: Hello 5i,
Is there an exceptional amount of ROC for NXF.B and if so is it meaningfully detrimental to an investment in this. I enjoy the distribution but I do not want it to bite me in the butt when I finally sell. I have nine such cover call ETF's ( HDIV, HHLE, HMAX, HYLD, NXF.B, QMAX, SMAX, UMAX, ZWH.U) out of 48 positions making up 11% of the portfolio of mostly blue chip solid dividend payers. Am I heading for a disaster when I sell in a 5 to 8 year time frame? 79 year old value investor enjoying dividends.
Stanley

Q: Goldman has ETFs that are advertised for downside protection. The 3 ETFs that I stumbled across are GBXA , GBXB AND GBXC. Are these good for investors who find their portfolios are heavily tilted towards aggressive growth? If not these ETFs, any other method or ETFs you can suggest ? (US markets only). This question is prompted by an uneasy feeling that too many US businesses are again overshooting to unjustifiably high valuations. (I did trim but the related capital gains taxes around 34%, make me wonder if I should perhaps have left all those flowers in peace. Understood, one should not allow tax considerations to influence a decision to trim. Nevertheless, I am reluctant to trim more than I already have. Hence the search for a safety net that is available at a reasonable cost for downside protection. Thank you.

Q: Hello,

A new ETF from BMO: BMO Covered Call spread Gold Bullion ETF Methodology (ZWGD). Any thoughts? Still too early to judge?

Thanks

Dave

Q: Is TDB8160 as good as these others? What is the advantage or disadvantage to the others, and is one more liquid/safer than the other? Thank you!

Q: Looking for a foreign bond fund to round out my fixed income portfolio. Would PMIF fit the requirement? Thanks Ron

Q: Good day! Could you please recommend a couple of income etfs with a bit of growth for an unregistered account? Etfs with no ROC please and a reasonable expectation of preservation of capital.
Thanks in advance!

Q: I am preparing to invest cash again.

Where we sit...a low point..in the economy and sentiment....could you suggest 3 Cdn dividend stocks ( and 3-5 US growth stocks and 5 ETFs (balanced and global) that represent a good buying opportunity in these poor markets...that have the potential to show very good returns over the next 5 years out.am preparing to deploy cash into the market.

I would say I am a investor that can tolerate 80 in the medium risk category and up to 20 % in higher risk holdings.

Timing is not a good thing to factor in, but things appears a like a recession is coming if not already here...would you sugest averaging in? and over what period of time.
Thank you

p.s. Currently all I own is RBC, Sun Life and PIMCO Monthly Income.

Please deduct the appropriate credits for this expanded request.
Richard

Q: What is the best way to hold and invest in euros?

Q: looking for an ETF that covers non-North American securities. I need to increase my international exposure.
Also do you suggest to hold it in a non registered or registered account?
TIA

Q: I’m looking for a way to assess the correlation of certain holdings to determine whether it makes sense to consolidate positions.

How would you think about this? Are there any free tools to pull correlations? What kind of correlation figure should one look for when assessing whether two holdings are too correlated to provide diversification value?

Just as one example, I’m looking at VVL and VUN. But please keep your answer focused on the general questions above.

Thanks very much.

Q: Would I be correct in concluding that Trump's on again off again tariffs are good for covered call ETF's ? When he announces a tariff the market takes a dive. When he backs off the market rises ..... Under those conditions can not the call writers charge a higher premium ? I've noticed GDXY yielding 43% was at 52.9% the previous month. And SLVO is yielding 23.2% . Even the US treasury ETF HPYT is yielding 20% .....Even boring old UMAX a utility covered call ETF is yielding a hair under 16% ..... Do you see a relationship between the amount of the premiums covered call ETF's can get to " Yeah I'm going to tariff the snot out of you " to " Nah, i was just kidding " ..... market swings ?
Basically I'm wondering if Trump is the perfect storm for options .....

Q: What do you recommend for an ETF or actively managed fund which holds high quality (blue chip) stocks, and pays out some dividends?

Q: Hello,

I'd like to invest a portion of Industrial allotment to European defense and aerospace. Are there any ETFs that you recommend? Preferably on TSX, but I'm ok with US markets as well.

Thanks.

Q: In an effort to balance my portfolio, I’ve invested in both short-term (XBB, currently +0.9%) and long-term (XLB, currently -2.74%) bond ETFs, all held within a registered account. Despite these being commonly recommended by industry analysts for portfolio diversification and stable returns, I’m seeing losses across both and finding it difficult to understand how to generate positive returns from bonds in the current market environment.

Given this, I’d appreciate your guidance. Should I consider:
• Selling XBB and XLB and moving the funds to a high-interest savings account?
• Adding to my bond holdings by including alternatives like XSB or VAB?
• Holding my current positions and staying the course?

I’m open to adjusting my strategy but would value your insight on how best to approach bond investments right now.