Investment Q&A

Q: Dear 5i
I'm trying to understand how companies actually get paid when we own for example an ETF that has a MER of for an example .5%. If the anticipated yield is say 3% you had stated in an earlier question of mine that the 3% is inclusive of fees . So all yields posted are generally always inclusive of fees right ? This means then that the actual yield is 3.5% minus the MER of .5%. So its a matter of the company in question holding their fee back from the yield rather than a case of the said company getting paid the fee which comes out of my brokerage company account directly .Sorry if this sounds confusing . I'm just trying to understand the process and be sure about what yield I'm actually getting and what fees I'm actually paying .
Thanks
Bill

Q: Hello 5I, In this uncertain investing environment, does it make sense to put some $ into this BMO Put Write ETF, to hedge a bit and collect a 6.5% yield at least until the markets level out, or is it better to raise some cash and sit instead?

Thnx
Dave

Q: ZPR is around 75% fixed reset and floating. I would have expected the unit value to rise this year as 5 year rates have moved from around 1.8% to 2.3%. Instead, the unit value has dropped around 7% ytd. Has the spread on preferreds to bonds widened or is there something else going on? Thanks for any insight.

Q: Just to say that I really enjoyed reading the articles in your Money saver Special Edition. In the Feature written by Moez Mahrez called Future Proofing Your Portfolio I would appreciate your opinion on BOTZ with respect to performance to date and risk level. Thanks.

Q: Greetings 5i,

Recent article I found had me thinking about iShares Global Gold Miners ETF (RING) as a decent large cap gold miner ETF. It's in USD unfortunately.

Could you lend your opinion on this ETF and is there a CDN denominated version or alternative? What weight in a diversified portfolio? Is there a small cap gold etf you like as well?

https://www.theinvestorspodcast.com/blog/gold-50-off-get-yours-before-the-sale-ends/

Cheers!

Q: Can I get your opinion on CGR:CA? Looking to add a REIT in my RSSP for diversification and this ETF is offered with no commission by my broker. Thanks.

Q: HPR has dropped from the 9.60-9.70 range to below 9.00 in the last while, including yet another big drop today. I always thought a managed Pref ETF would not drop as much as the overall market during a correction and that it would be a defensive holding. Apparently not a correct assumption. So, what is happening with this ETF - should I sell and buy something more secure like a Utility, buy more of this ETF or what? My goal with this part of my portfolio is lower risk.

Q: Good Morning

MFT, according to my brokerage research shows a current yield of 7.75%. Does that not seem high? I know MFT has fallen 1.2% over the past 3 weeks, is that why?

Thanks

Sheldon

Q: Q: Can you recommend two Canadian Dollar China ETF’s that would be similar to:

1. Nasdaq 100
2. S&P 500

Thank you.

Q: Ryan; In the “ conservative” portfolio you have HYGH. Is it meant to be purchased In USD? Thanks.
Rod

Q: Dear 5i;
With regards to the latest conservative ETF portfolio ;
With the average yield of all the ETF`s being 3.23%, is this before MER`s are taken into account or after ?
Also what's your rational for using HYGH vs XHY ?
Also tax loss selling generally only applies to non-registered accounts correct ?Please deduct several points .
Thanks
Bill C.

Q: I’d like to invest in companies with excellent balance sheets, a clear catalyst for growth, and which are trading at a discount to their historic valuation. I’m hoping you can provide a list of stocks, both domestic & foreign, that meet these criteria. Are there any sectors or countries with an abundance of such companies right now? If so, please suggest some appropriate ETFs. Thanks very much.

Q: Is there a way to trade Samsung on the New York stock exchange or an etf with a heavy Samsung weighing.

The new Samsung S9 is superior in every way over the iPhone and has the potential to disrupt apples dominance of the smart phone market.

Q: A large part of my US holdings is SPY which I like for its broad market exposure and liquidity. While SPY is in my non-registered account, in my registered account I hold HDV for the higher dividend and to shield the dividend from withholding taxes. Does this strategy make sense? I ask because I am trying to reduce my total number of holdings and would like to consolidate wherever there is any overlap. Right now my annual tax rate is close to $0 and I won’t really be needing to draw any dividend income for at least another 5-10 years. Does consolidating these two into one make sense and if so which would you prefer?

Q: Hi 5i,
I'm sorry but maybe I wasn't clear in the previous question. What weighting would you give the recommended ETFs QQQ, HXS or VOO, IPAY and IWO? I'm looking long term (10+ years), growth and medium to high risk. This will be my only holdings in the US.

Thanks as always.

Q: Can you recommend any ETFs other than SHY to earn interest with respect to US cash balances until such time as we are ready to purchase US stocks?
Thanks

Q: I'm down 11% on CJP - is it still worth holding? Thanks!

Q: RESP. I will be using TD e-series funds and adding monthly contributions. Is there a best generic investment guideline I can follow? and guideline on how to adjust the risk and the kids age. My kids are 5 and 7. Currently the funds are in TD dividend growth fund and TD dividend income fund.

Thank you again.

Q: Hi 5i,

Knowing that the US is not your focus, I would still value your opinion.

I have 30% of my portfolio in cash sitting in a USD margin account and I would like to invest in etfs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100; could you please suggest etfs that do not pay any yield? I am also looking at IPAY and IWO for some diversification, would you be okay with this? Would there be any significant overlap in all these etfs? What percentage weighting would you have for more growth, medium to high risk tolerance and long term hold ?

Thanks as always. Please deduct as many credits as you see fit.

Q: In my portfolios (700k), I have 14% cash, 11% preferred share, 50% equities and 25% etfs (5.3% ZWC, 3% ZWU, 4.8% MFT, 1.4% XHY, 3% ZWE, 5.5% ZWH) all in two RIFs. I need some income to augment my pensions from the RIFs. I plan to increase the ETF holdings another 5 - 10%.
Should I increase the ETFs that I currently hold or buy XTR? Note: I am not a fan of XHY.
Thanks as always
Jim