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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: I tend to stay away from holdings that trade on US exchanges to avoid dealing with the withholding/reporting foreign tax rules. My portfolio needs an ETF with global exposure (mostly non-NA) Since there seems to be no good Canadian equivalent to VXUS, what type of trading account would you suggest to buy this ETF with the least/simplest amount of tax implication. Would the RRSP be completely exempt? Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Alvin on December 15, 2017
Q: I currently hold VTWV, and notice that you recommend IWO generally when picking a Russell 2000 ETF. Should I sell VTWV, which hasn't done very well, and replace it with IWO, and if so, why? It seems that IWO is doing better but I don't understand why, as I would think the two are comparable.

Thank you for this wonderful service. The new design is super.
Elizabeth
Read Answer Asked by Elizabeth on December 14, 2017
Q: Most of my international (non-USA) holdings are ETFs that trade in US dollars on US exchanges. This adds a layer of FX (US dollar) into the equation when considering the performance of these holdings. With the quick and drastic FX moves that are becoming more common, I’m starting to loathe the FX volatility and believe that my other US equity holdings already provide sufficient (US) currency diversification. What advantage/disadvantage is there in holding international equities in US dollars, and if I wanted to replace each of the above ETFs with a Canadian dollar equivalent what ETFs would you recommend?
Read Answer Asked by Steven on December 14, 2017
Q: Hi,
I would like to acquire a good cover in US financials. I am looking in particular at iai (iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchanges ETF), zub (BMO Equal Weight US Banks Hedged to CAD Index ETF), zbk (BMO Equal Weight US Banks Index ETF). Can you explain the difference between zbu and zbk and what would you suggest for a good coverage of US financials with a solid growth prospect ?
Thanks in advance for your valuable assistance,
Jacques
Read Answer Asked by Jacques on December 14, 2017
Q: Would now be the time to buy Japanese equities? I have read that the Japanese currency is at a 30-year low relative to the US dollar which suggests buying a non-hedged ETF. However the only one I can find in Canada is currency hedged(CJP) an iShares product. And it is traded on the new exchange in Toronto which until today I wasn't aware of. I assume that if one buys the iShares Japan( which one can buy with no currency hedging) in the US that there is a 15% hold-back on dividends which may not be much of an issue. What are your thoughts on buying CJP and is there a Canadian version that is not hedged?
Read Answer Asked by John on December 13, 2017
Q: given current markets, what percentage of the above etf's would you hold for fixed income...thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Curtis on December 13, 2017
Q: Hi, for my US exposure, I hold the following 3 US ETFs at the following total percentages:

VTI - 50%
VIG - 20%
IWO - 30%

I have $10K USD to add and I'm wondering whether VTI and VIG are too similar or whether I'm fine to add to all 3 and keep the same rough percentages.

Thanks
Robert
Read Answer Asked by Robert on December 12, 2017
Q: Hello. On Nov. 24, your answer to Steven regarding PHYS and GLD was “but if you want truly physical bullion representation, for crisis insurance purposes, there are better options.”

Would you please elaborate regarding what “better options” an individual investor should consider.

Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Ken on December 11, 2017
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