Investment Q&A

Q: salut 5i! I have just sold my WEED holdings (at a nice profit .. also own small amounts of APHA and HEXO) and am contemplating buying either STZ or VOO .. with the general objective of further diversifying an already quite well diversified portfolio (stocks and etfs) .. I also hold VGG, VDU, FDN, XHY, and ZUH .. your thoughts? thanks!

Q: I currently have some cash in RRSP USD and RRSP CAD accounts. I also have some US cash for Non-Reg USD account.

I am wondering how to allocate VIG/VGG/ZDY amongst these accounts to minimize FX fees while also minimizing taxes.

For e.g. if I put VGG or ZDY in RRSP CAD, I believe a 15 per cent withholding tax applies to dividends if US stocks are held via a TSX-listed ETF (yes, even within RRSP account)!

If I put VIG in RRSP USD, I will have to pay the 15-percent withholding taxes on the US dividends.

Please do you have any recommendations on how to avoid paying these taxes?

Also given that VGG is listed in TSX and tracks the VIG ETF in the US, I am wondering whether there is any difference in putting VGG in RRSP CAD account or should I prefer putting VIG in the RRSP USD account (given smaller MER).

Thanks!

Q: Hi
My portfolio is mostly made up of canadain stocks. I do have approximately 20% in US and international etfs to diversify (split evenly). My 2 US ones have done ok over the last 5 yrs. the international, not so much. I’m not sure I’m in the best one/ones for either location. What would you recommend for long term etf/s hold. I have at least 15 yrs before needing the money for retirement. Thanks
Michele

Q: Is there a leverage play on Oil on the upside. What about HOU or CCX . Any others Oil is down a lot. What would be a good play Canada & USA ? RAK

Q: Can you suggest a floating rate corporate bond etf ? Thanks

Q: Hi,
I am an income investor whose portfolio is currently 25% fixed income and 65% in equities. With the money I made on the sale of Enercare I would like to invest in a bond fund to keep it safe in these time of market uncertainty. Which do you prefer? Would I be better to divide equally between both funds or all in one fund? Is there a better fund I should consider?

Thank you for your time.
Leigh

Q: In addition to some individual stocks, I'm invested in the above ETFs in a (hopefully not foolish) attempt to diversify my portfolio but also increase my exposure to the US tech market; in particular tech companies involved in cloud computing. Generally, I've been splitting my funds about equally between these four ETFs. Can you give me your thoughts on this strategy and in particular, the weighting of these ETFs (investing roughly equally between these 4 ETFs)?

Q: Could you please give an updated opinion on this etf as a longer term holding in a retirees "balanced" portfolio.
Many thanks as always.

Q: Hello 5i:

I would appreciate your thoughts on XHY. I have had this ETF in my RRIF for a number of years and taking into account the dividend for all this time I am still down from my initial investment. Thank you Barbara

Q: What would you see as the top 3 stocks and etfs with the most potential at this stage in the market 3 year investment ?

I enjoy the webinar by the way and continue to appreciate your work gang!

John

Q: I'm often sitting with ~$5K-$10K in cash reserves, which sit in my TFSA/RRSP account while I wait to decide how to invest that money. Usually the money sits for a Quarter or more. What are your thoughts on investing the money into XBB instead of letting it sit in cash? It pays a 2.95% Yield and historically has been fairly stable (thought it has dropped in value this year).
Given my time-frame, do you think its worth investing the money into XBB while I wait to decide how to invest, or better to simply have the money sit in cash?

Q: Hello,
I am attempting to add RYT to my watchlist but it is not in your database.
INVESCO S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT TECHNOLOGY (US: RYT)
I recently added a half position, it is down like all of the other Tech ETF's.
What is your opinion on this ETF vs XLK or other Tech ETF's.
For a medium term hold .. growth.
Thanks as always !

Q: Hi Peter: I have a US equity trading acct. In the acct I hold 1/3 in ITOT, 1/3 in QQQ and 1/3 in SPYG. Over the past 3 yrs I have been satisfied with the returns. In your opinion should I just "stay the course" or would you suggest an alternative? I value your opinion. Thank you.
Ron Noble

Q: Can you recommend two China etf’s that would be similar to:

1. Nasdaq 100
2. S&P 500

Thank you.

Q: Hi 5i,
The majority of my portfolio (70% - i.e. everything non-Canadian) is invested in XAW & XUU, which I add my savings to regularly to keep my geographic allocations where I want them.

I will shortly be receiving a sizable (to me) lump sum from the sale of a small business and will be putting most if not all of it into my portfolio. My question is about currency hedging on ETFs like the ones I use. I don't have any hedged investments now. I've read everything I can find on the subject and it seems smarter money, especially with long term investment horizons, stays away from these hedged options.

I know that fact alone probably answers my own question. But, with a sizeable one-time contribution, I cant help wondering if our current 75/76/77 cent dollar might be hovering at its lows, and maybe hedging should be considered? Looking for your opinion on that subject, and also how you feel in general about the two ETFs noted above. Any better suggestions?

Thanks so much!

Q: With the market bottoming the last few days......and KWEB inparticular having had a very rough year.....do you think it of interest from these levels....Kim

Q: I am trying to clean up my portfolio a bit by reducing the number of holdings. For the fixed income portion I have 5 different bond funds (CBO, XBB, XHY, CVD, HYGH). Is there enough overlap with either of these that I should consolidate any, or would you suggest any different ETFs to simplify the fixed income portion of my portfolio?

Q: Is there an advantage to buying these etf which are marketed as minimizing volatility if one is aiming for international diversification? On the Blackrock website they are stated to be low to medium risk. Would you buy the Canadian hedged or non hedged version?

Q: Is there any ETF that holds cloud technology stocks only. IF not which ETF would you prefer.

Thanks for the great service
Hector

Q: Hi 5i team,

I am 65 and want to invest my TFSA money into 3 equity ETFs, one for US, one for Int’l and one for emerging markets. I am prudent investor that prefer companies with some growth but decent valuation, strong balance sheets and stable business. Nothing too aggressive. Could you please suggest ETFs for TFSA that suit my needs and are traded in C$ and hedged? Thanks.