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Investment Q&A

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

Q: Hi 5I,

Looking back to 2008 the utilities sector held relative well to the meltdown of the TSX. This time around ZUT is following the TSX down. One would think people still need hydro to heat/cook.

Can you comment on why this is happening? Is there a fear these companies will become insolvent due to their balance sheets?

Thx,
Chris M.
Read Answer Asked by Christopher on March 16, 2020
Q: First off I just want to say thank you so much for your special report you issued last week. For a young investor like myself who has never been through events like we currently are experiencing your advice has been extremely valuable to help navigate these uncharted waters.

I have been sitting on some cash and would like to increase my technology (both Canada and the US) exposure as it is low right now. I am comfortable with moderate risk. I have a few questions on this subject so feel free to subtract as many credits as you see fit:
1) For Canadian tech companies, after reading your special report and the Q&A's, it seems you like CSU, KXS, DSG, and SHOP. Would you recommend buying these individual companies (or others?) or would XIT be a reasonable alternative with these 4 companies composing ~61%? Or is there another tech etf you would suggest?
2) For US tech companies (or any US company for that matter), with the Canadian dollar being low, would you recommend looking at specific US companies or a Canadian ETF that holds US tech companies? I am worried the exchange would eat into possible returns. Do you have any recommendations (e.g. I have seen you mention XQQ for an etf, SKYY highlighted in etfupdate, and companies like MSFT, GOOG, TEAM, etc)?

Thanks for all that you do.
Read Answer Asked by Justin on March 16, 2020
Q: Hi,
Multuiple questions here, please deduct the credits you think are appropriate.

1) Can you please explain when it makes sense to hold a hedged version of an ETF
2) If one holds a Canadian ETF with US holdings, how does taxation work? Does it change whether they are held in a cash acct, TFSA, or RRSP and how?
Read Answer Asked by S on March 13, 2020
Q: Interest rates are dropping but bond funds are getting clobbered - they normally would go up - is there fear that huge numbers of companies are going bankrupt such that bonds will not be repaid? It doesn't seem to matter whether short term or long term bonds - they are going down. XBB down 3%, ZAG down 3%, ZCS down 4% today so far. This seems crazy. Is this a buy opportunity for corporate bond funds or is the great depression about to happen and everything should be sold into cash?
Read Answer Asked by David on March 13, 2020
Q: Hi 5i team,
My question is regarding index ETFs for NASDAQ. Would you endorse HXQ for TFSA? Somehow, the daily chart of HXQ does not follow closely QQQ.
For RRSP, which one will you prefer? And how about for Non registered?
Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Willie on March 13, 2020
Q: I have both CLF and ZAG in my bond portfolio. CLF continues to go up as interest rates come down. ZAG was doing the same until the last two days. Do you think the drop in ZAG is due to the industrial bond component and business credit risk? If there is fear that businesses will default on their bonds, it might be appropriate to take profits in this fund.
Read Answer Asked by Ken on March 13, 2020
Q: Do you see more downside to ZCS? And why ? It seems very safe in this environment but I want to make sure I understand the risks. Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by Pierre on March 13, 2020
Q: I have these 3 ETFs in my RRSP for fixed income exposure. I am strongly considering selling CBO and CLF, down approximately 3% each, to raise funds to buy stocks that are, in my opinion, getting to really attractive valuations today. I'll keep XHY because it is down a bit more (11%) and will likely recover as things improve. Is this an acceptable strategy in times like these. 25+ years until retirement.

Thanks,
Jason
Read Answer Asked by Jason on March 13, 2020
Q: In my RRSP accounts I have built up a laddered GIC portfolio in addition to a variety of stocks and equity etfs, taking the income generated by the portfolio and adding to the ladder. Given the low rates for 5 yr GIC, under 2%, I’m thinking of taking this years income and purchasing CVD, which has a lower payout but more stability than the above mentioned Preferred share ETFs.
I may split my purchase between CVD and one of the above Preferred Share ETFs and am leaning towards ZPR as performance and MER of the 3 is similar but ZPR has a higher dividend payout.
In addition to better income, interest rates should be close to bottoming and if I stage my purchases over the next 3 months I will benefit from unit price appreciation when rates start going up and will have locked in a 5-6% return.
Your thoughts please.
Read Answer Asked by Bruce on March 13, 2020
Q: Hi Peter. I own ZWH.U which is down about 26%. I had thought that the covered call strategy would have provided some shelter from the downdraft, but it appears that really isn't the case. Oh well. My question relates to going forward. Since the covered call strategy will likely limit future gains, what ETF would you suggest for ZWH.U's replacement in my US accounts? thanks, J
Read Answer Asked by John on March 13, 2020
Q: Peter and team
I sold off all my equities part way through this recent collapse.
I have followed your BPort, along with some picks from the GPort.
I do not have the time to diligently follow individual stocks anymore, and was thinking of switching to ETFs.
What are your thoughts about splitting some 400k in cash between ZCN,ZDV, and ZUE. Is there too much overlap in the two Canadian ETFs, and what are your thoughts on going with the "hedged" ZUE?
This is a non registered account. I am pretty sure that ZUE is treated as a Canadian Equity with no foreign withholding tax. Correct?
Thanks

Phil
Read Answer Asked by Phil on March 13, 2020
Q: Hello 5i
This is a mixed bag inquiry. Looking for some perspectives on the above watch list. I m wanting to increase my overall US & tech sector exposure plus add to my CDN financials. All positions have yield income to weather the storm for the next few quarters
I m considering half positions (2%) in each.

Read Answer Asked by Brant on March 13, 2020
Q: I always thought that it is wrong to regard bond etf's as fixed income. With all the equity carnage I also suffered a 4.46% draw down on XBB today. Individual bonds have a maturity date at which time your principle is returned; not so with XBB. Can you explain the reason for XBB falling off a cliff today. Thank you
Read Answer Asked by Richard on March 13, 2020
Q: 5i
Being retired with~40 % in bond ETF`s as my fixed income and thus part of my relatively safe part of the portfolio , i was quite surprised when equities dropped so much today , that the bond ETF`s dropped considerably as well ie CBO , ZAG and XBB . They all dropped ~4% .
Can you help me to understand why bonds would drop so much under this scenario ? If investors are fleeing to safe havens such as treasuries and bonds and out of equities why do bond prices drop particularly as much as it did today ?
Thanks
Bill C.
Read Answer Asked by Bill on March 13, 2020
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