skip to content
  1. Home
  2. >
  3. Investment Q&A
You can view 3 more answers this month. Sign up for a free trial for unlimited access.

Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Considering a 5 year time frame, what would be your allocation toward cdn oil (xeg), cdn ag (ntr), utilities (zwu), fixed income (hfr) and US (zwa & xqq). Above average risk tolerance seeking yield and capital gain. Are there any other suggestions....LSPD would also be a holding. thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Curtis on April 09, 2020
Q: If I believe that there will debt problems before this is over , does one want to continue to hold HFR. I have held it for a couple of years but would sell it if things go down to add to stocks I like. A couple of weeks ago it went way down when market crashed. I read your answer to stay put as things were a little crazy in bond market. Is it the worry of the bond holders that the companies will go under and in fact this is not a real safe holding right now as I see 1|2 of it's holdings are BBB?
Read Answer Asked by Geoff on April 09, 2020
Q: Please rank the above ETFs in order of preference for income and safety. Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Paul W on April 08, 2020
Q: Inspired by the news of Carnival putting out a 12.5% bond coupon, I wonder if this is an area to look into. Carnival may be a risky corporate bond, but I wonder if there are stronger companies caught in debt when the fall came that are offering good returns.

In short, is there an ETF which is focussed on high-grade corporate bonds and is this a good strategy?

I know you are not favourable toward the bond market, so is low-volatility equity funds (like ZLB) a good alternative?
Read Answer Asked by Kevin on April 08, 2020
Q: I have only 5% international exposure right now. can you give me 5 ETF's that have good potential upside coming out of this downturn that could help me balance out my portfolio by region. Asset class not a factor.
Thanks Dave
Read Answer Asked by Dave on April 08, 2020
Q: Peter and team
I was looking for a Canadian equivalent to Russell IWO small cap.
The only one close seems to be ZSML.U. Very small Net Asset Value and likely thinly traded. What are your thoughts and or suggestions.
Thanks
Phil
Read Answer Asked by Phil on April 07, 2020
Q: In the crash, the S&P SmallCap 600 and MidCap 400 have declined more than the larger-cap S&P 500. I am going to begin putting some money in the market and was thinking of going heavily in small and mid cap. With an otherwise diversified portfolio, do you see any big problem with this strategy. I believe they will pounce more than large caps and i will sell and rebalance later. Which etf',s would you consider a good match for this strategy?
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by joseph on April 07, 2020
Q: Hello,

When it comes to bonds and interest rates I am like a deer in headlights. What would a negative interest rate scenario impact an etf like VSB and VSG or a longer term bond fund?
Thank you and stay safe!
Read Answer Asked by Rino on April 07, 2020
Q: I am underweight the following positions: ZDI, CTC.A, EIF, SIS. If I were to add to one of these positions, which would you recommend? For longterm hold. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Walter on April 07, 2020
Q: Given that the CDZ ETF holds companies with a 5 year record of raising dividends, I am wondering if there are going to be very many left after this crisis. Best case scenario I think for most companies would be to hold their dividend due to the uncertainty. That leaves a small universe of possible companies to hold and may lead to concentration in Banks and Telcos, maybe pipelines. Any comment?
Read Answer Asked by Earl on April 07, 2020
Q: Defense Industry ETFs: Searching the database I do not find any questions on this subject (ITA, XAR, DFEN, FITE, etc.) Would be an allocation to USA industrial exposure outside of tech. Do you have views, suggestions, insights and/or rankings?
Read Answer Asked by William Ross on April 07, 2020
Q: Peter and team
Mr Burry and others speak about an index fund and ETF "bubble" about to burst.
I am not alarmist by nature, and can see how some smaller "boutique" etfs might dissolve, but I would think that the larger ones that track major indices by BMO, Vanguard etc are as secure as the markets.
Just looking for thoughts and comments

Thanks

Phil
Read Answer Asked by Phil on April 07, 2020
Q: Good morning,
This past week, I've been reviewing each holding in my Non Registered account to identify suitable tax loss harvesting candidates. Before selling any of these tax loss harvesting candidates, I must identify the best proxy replacement.
One my tax loss harvest candidates is XDV which I've held for many years now but like so may other stocks and ETFs these days, is now quite underwater. Although I still like XDV as a core holding and it pains me to sell it, I'm looking at selling XDV and purchasing CDZ as a proxy. Your thoughts on this tentative plan would be appreciated along with any other proxy that you would consider more appropriate. Thank you.
Francesco
Read Answer Asked by Francesco on April 06, 2020