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: Sheldon recently asked a question about the 1 minute portfolio approach. You answered that you would suggest a more global ETF rather than the Canadian ETF suggested in the Globe article and that it might be a good way for an investor to create a base or core to their portfolio.

Taking into account MER, diversification, holdings and anything else you think is important, could you please suggest a global stock ETF that you feel would work well as a base/core part of a portfolio?

Could you please also suggest a global bond ETF that you feel would work well as the base/core part of a portfolio?

Thank you,
Geoff
Read Answer Asked by Geoffrey on January 23, 2019
Q: I'm using XIU puts for my CAD portfolio and spy puts for my US portfolio, whenever i feel there is a market risk.
A few weeks ago one of the 5i questions was about XIU short selling for down risk protection.
My US portfolio is $290k. I'm interested in providing protection for70% of my portfolio for the next 6months. I would appreciate your opinion of how you would use the SPY short selling for that.one of the problems that i see is that you tie up too much margin and i use it when i buy risky equities ( like NLY).

Best Regards

Frank
Read Answer Asked by Frank on January 23, 2019
Q: I have about $10,000 I would like to get some non-U.S., foreign exposure with. Maybe an ETF or 2, a dividend would be great but not if it takes away all the growth. Would you recommend China, India or Europe? I know it will limit my choices but I would like to purchase it in Canadian dollars. Thank you so much :-)
Read Answer Asked by Jill on January 22, 2019
Q: Greetings 5i team,

For people who invest in a US market index ETF, are there significant differences between IVV, VOO and SPY ?

Are there any other similar US market index ETFs?

Thank you.

Milan
Read Answer Asked by Milan on January 22, 2019
Q: I propose a 8-9% allocation to this sector. I would sell GUD [gain] and small position in CPH [loss]; hold TD Health Sciences at 15% [good long-term performance and good cross-section of sector] and add to ISRG initial position. That would enable me to add approx. 15% to each of IHI ETF {little overlap with TD Fund], ZTS, IDXX, ILMN, and LHCG.
This is a difficult sector to pick stocks. What would you advise re allocation and selection?
Read Answer Asked by sam on January 21, 2019
Q: I would like to buy a REIT etf for my TFSA, to capture some tax-free income, and trying to decide among XRE, ZRE and VRE. What would be your recommendation? Or is your choice none of he above but something else?
Read Answer Asked by M on January 21, 2019
Q: TD Mgd Idx Bal Growth Port - e (TDB852). Would you consider this fund a good choice for a child's RESP, the Child would not need the money for 15 plus years. I lean towards more growth but family would prefer something more balanced. This is close to the"couch potato" method. MER is 1.27%. There are no fees to purchase this e-series fund with TD and no fees to sell after 2 months (not that it would be sold for a long time). It is a mix of their 4 e series funds (40% Canadian bond index, 23 % us index, 20% canadian index and 76 percent international index). Would you recommend something else?
Read Answer Asked by Michael on January 21, 2019
Q: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/inside-the-market/one-minute-portfolio-15-years-later/article37709823/

I read this article in the Globe today that appeals to me because of it's simplicity, low cost (few commissions, no MER's) etc and it's relative performance as measured by the author. I know it a very simple approach and mirrors the Buffet "Here's what you should do when I die" with my money. Would be very interested on your take of this and if you think it would be a good idea or not and why. Thanks Sheldon

(A similar article appeared in this weeks Globe)
Read Answer Asked by Sheldon on January 21, 2019
Q: Good morning. I would like to increase my fixed income allocations and would like suggestions on where best to invest additional cash. I already have enough in GIC’s and our pref shares have been suffering of late but we are below our target in the fixed side. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by alex on January 21, 2019