Investment Q&A

Q: Thoughts on this ETF, how is the income treated in a non registered account.

Q: What do you think of this holding for my sons FHSA? I would say he will deploy the money to buy a house within 5yrs. so a conservative investment is important. He has a total of $11000 to invest after a previous 5% yeilding GIC expired. Do you have any other suggestions? Thank you. John

Q: Hi can you name some lower risk covered call ETF's in Canada and USA that you would recommend that offer both income and growth and can be held over the long term vs. owning stocks and index funds.

Thanks!

Q: Hello 5i...what would be your current favorite ETFs in the following criteria:

International ex N.America in $USD and $CDN overall market

International ex NA with Growth tilt and with Dividend tilt. $USD and $CDN

Perferance in RRIF vs TFSA..

Holding period > 5 yrs....

thanks/ Art

Q: I was under the impression this ETF didn't pay distributions. Though actually, it does say on its site that it pays them annually. It just doesn't give any idea how much that might be. On my TD Webroker account, though, under projected income it has $2,381.86 for my 290 shares of DXG. That suggests a distribution of over 10%, which I find HIGHLY unlikely given the nature of its underlying holdings. Could you please clear this up for me?

Q: Does investing today in a China Large Cap ETF make sense to achieve diversification away from the US markets?

Q: Using DRIP is new to me so please explain in simple words.

First let me ask :How often do XEF pay distribution?
Second question I see it on my statement as being interest is it not supposed to be dividend?
For a third question, in a drip situation I see a - sign for say -$1000 and a + say $1100. What does that - operation mean in term of tax application. What amount is beeing taxed?

Thank you to continue educating us DIY investors

Yves

Q: What are your thoughts on QQC and CHPS etfs ? Are there other comparable etfs that you prefer ?

Q: I currently have 25% of my unregistered investment portfolio in PSA and HSAV. While the rest of my portfolio is well-diversified, I've noticed that the returns / interest from PSA and HSAV, (after accounting for taxes,) aren't keeping pace with inflation. I'm looking for strategies or alternative investment ideas to address this and improve my portfolio's ability to beat inflation.
The money in these funds are not needed in the foreseeable future but serves as sleep at night factor.
(TSFA's and RRSP's are fully funded)
Any ETF ideas would be much appreciated

Q: Hello,
I recently came across this ETF,. The performance in all yearly metrics is really quite impressive, beating all inclusive ETFs like SPY, DIA and even QQQ. Interestingly, there have been no questions asked about this when I searched. Do you have any thoughts on this ETF? Thank you for your excellent services.

Q: I would like to get exposure to the defence industry. I'm looking for global exposure not just the United States. Which ETF's would you recommend to gain the this kind of exposure?

Q: I have 15k in a savings account at my bank, at a very low interest rate. I'm thinking of putting the savings account funds into ZST and get a total return in the 6% range. This would be in a TFSA account. What are your thoughts, maybe ZST.L or another ETF?

Thanks.

Q: What is the Bloomberg U.S. Pure Momentum factor index?

Q: I am coming into a $50,000 gift from aging parents, and would like to invest for my 10 month old son’s education. I want long term growth until he needs the money (probably 18 years or so). Would you recommend 100% ZSP or some other ETF? Also, should I buy in one shot as soon as I have the money ?

Q: I'm trying to understand how some of these high yield ETF's work . Specifically YMAX . Looking on their website they say they are a " fund of funds " and they change things up every month . They also refer to themselves as " high risk " .... So could 5i explain just exactly which funds they own and what and why they change things up monthly ? As well as what market factors will determine which direction the ETF will go up or down ? Looking at their history they came on the market in March of 2024 reached a high of $21.84 and trade now at $13.77 . That's a drop of 37 %. But with an annual yield of 68.32% . I'm not sure of how to calculate it's yield over the year or so of existence as that 68.32% number is at today's market price. But I'm pretty sure they're in the black. 5i has better information to tell me what the return has been since inception ? I also noted that it's steady drop occurred between March 24 and April 25 after which it has been on a slow but steady climb .... What market circumstances created both the drop and reversal in April ? .....

Basically this is a " what is it ?" a "What makes it move ? " a " why does it yield so much ? " and a " why is it high risk ? " question ? ....... Thanks for your terrific service ......

Q: RE: I retired two years ago.

I hold roughly equal amounts of VUN and XUS in my RRSP. Both have performed well, and I now want to generate some cash. I’m trying to decide if I should trim both or just one? Selling VUN would reduce my portfolio risk more than selling XUS, correct? What are the pros and cons of each sell option? Thanks.

Q: I've asked a few questions on GDXY before but I'm still trying to get my head around the reasons for the fluctuations in yield . As I understand it they invest in the Van Eck gold miners index writing covered calls .... Nothing particularly spooky there. There are other covered call ETF's that invest in gold mines . But none of them have a yield anywhere near what GDXY does..... So I would like an explanation of why ? Two months ago the dividend that went into my account was 59% { calculated annually " } . Last month it was 68% { calculated annually } . This morning it was 26.9% { calculated annually } ...... That's a considerable difference from the previous two months . And looking at both the VIX { for volatility in option pricing } and a graph of gold prices doesn't account for it ..... Please explain just exactly how this fund works ? .....And why the considerable drop ? ...... Also please confirm my calculation of this month's yield ? ..... { If my financial institution screwed up the amount that should have gone into my account I want to know about it } .....Thanks again for your terrific service .....

Q: Hi 5i, Trying to move into more ETFs in our RIF & LIF accounts from individual stocks for income and preservation of capital. Please rate these ETFs for a long term hold. Any additional suggestion would be appreciated. TIA

Q: Hello,
From what i gather, VUN has similar performance to SPY except that it is in cdn dollars. Since SPY has greater exposure to tech companies, i was wondering if it is best to diversify slightly by putting one third in VUN (total us market), XQLT (ishares msci usa quality ) and VGG (US dividend appreciation ) or do you think it is best to just have one VUN , or VGG or XQLT. I am looking for an etf that is not too heavily weighted on technology. Much appreciated.

Q: What would be your answer if today’s Roy’s question was about RRSP or RIFF account ?
What bond ETF would you suggest if any or is it just better to get sitting like CASH?