Investment Q&A

Q: what is your current view on MFT - article in Globe recently was drawing attention to the leveraged loans used in floating rate mutual funds and ETFs as becoming a lot more risky in this environment - your opinion please - thanks - Karen

Q: I was reading an article in today's Globe and Mail where they were commenting on Investors fleeing the US trillion dollar debt market (leveraged loans)- and they felt they were becoming riskier in the current environment where interest rates were not expected to go up as much as predicted - MFT holds leveraged loans I believe - how safe do you view this ETF in this environment? - I looked at the price and it has a good current yield of 5.057% and although down a bit from its year high of $21.64 (currently trading at $20.72)- it has hung in there pretty well. I know it is hard in this environment to try and figure out which space to be in with the current unpredictable and uninformed US President - but I am just interested in your feeling about the floating rate space right now - hold, or sell. Right now I am interested in preserving principal and willing to take some risk. Was thinking of selling and maybe looking at it again once everything settles down to a more normal investing environment where rates might start going up again. Appreciate your insight - Karen

Q: Hi Peter/Ryan
I am thinking of moving from non-registered stocks to MFT for safety and collecting dividends. what you think of this strategy for long term? Do you see any risk or would suggest further diversification in current scenario.

Thanks

Q: Hi,
I'm looking at some of the ETFs that short either an index, such as the S&P 500, or a sector like US Tech, or Industrial, etc. I am considering these as a way to hedge against longer term holdings in the same sectors and my thinking is that as a managed ETF, as long as it has liquidity, I should be able to exit it when things eventually turn around as you would with any other ETF. What are the pitfalls of doing this? If it has any merit, which ETFs might you recommend?
Thanks and have a wonderful time with family over the holidays!
Dawn

Q: I am interested in investing USD in US companies in the consumer food sector(CPG) and specifically looking at Sysco and Lamb Weston. Both have decreased recently. Can you provide some insight and opinion on investing in these two and is now a good time or should I wait? As a separate question, would you recommend other US stocks or ETF in this space?
Thanks again and Happy Holidays to all at 5i ! John C.

Q: Hi 5I,
I am retired and living off my RIF. With the current volatility and market downturn, I am thinking of getting more defensive. My current holdings of ZWC, VVL, VUN and VEE are each about 8% of my RIF. I am thinking of switching ZWC for ZLB, switching VVL for VVO, switching VUN for VGG and switching VEE for VXC. What do you think of this strategy? Should I hold some and do nothing? Please explain your reasoning.
Thanks for your help and have a happy holiday season.
Dick

Q: Peter,

I am looking at purchasing the Russell 2000 in my TFSA. I see IWO, VTWO and IWM. Do you know of any that are offered in Canadian dollars, either hedged or unhedged?

Merry Christmas!

Paul Condon

Q: In an earlier question I think I said that Vanguard is not offering VOO but VIG in its place. In case this may consuse anyone I thought I should correct it:

“We believe the Total Stock Market Index Fund VTSMX, -1.60% VTI, +0.02% VTSAX, -1.59% is the best proxy for the U.S. market, offering exposure to large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks, whereas Vanguard Institutional Index Fund concentrates on large-cap stocks,” a spokeswoman told MarketWatch in an email

Q: In an earlier answer you suggested that ryt might be more interesting than qqq, as it was an equal weight fund. I do notice, though that the top five holdings are quite different. But, that is beside the point--which is whether there would be n equal weight offering corresponding to voo? I searched but couldn't find any. Although i did come across the interestng information that Vanguard has switched its own employees pension funds ti vig, from voo.
Thanks and may you have the assorted blessings of the season

Q: I am still spooked out about the markets and sold all my stock positions yesterday. I now have a significant amount of cash and would like to deploy it the Bond Market which I think is a safer place at this time. Would appreciate any recommendations you might have as to how to invest the money. With thanks, Bill

Q: Given the current market conditions, would you consider it prudent to invest in the USA market via Canadian ETF'S. If so, what ETF's would you recommend?

Q: Could you please provide me with your opinion on the importance of global diversification within a portfolio. How comfortable are you with a heavy weighting in Canadian stocks for a couple in their mid 60's. The way I see it - we live in Canada, spend in Canada and am wondering if having exposure to US and/ or global equities exposes us to currency risk.

Q: Jeffery Gundlach ... in an interview Monday made a couple of key points: ( and might have been promoting his own business at the same time).
1. (In his opinion) A recession is coming and it will likely be "longer" ... did not say how long.

2. 2019 #1 priority should be capital preservation.

3. The key to capital preservation is to build a high quality bond portfolio.

I f one subscribes to his position/suggestion, what would the components of such a portfolio contain?

Thanks.

Q: Are you aware of any risks of holding a large ( 500,000.00) amt of cash in PSA in a RSP act?

Q: If you were going to buy a basket of low cost etfs for long term (20-30 years) to hold in an rrsp what would they be? What weightings would you reccomend? Im looking to take advantage of the 8%+ annual market return for the long haul. Or would you use one of the one stop shop Vanguard ones? Could you also explain any reasoning?
thanks

Q: I am looking for a sanity check. I am a retired income investor so I like covered calls like BMO's ZW series. However I believe the market is at or near a bottom so owning covered calls ETFs is significantly less appealing than owning the underlying stocks, especially since I can claim some capital losses. So, for example, yesterday I sold ZWB and bought RY. Am I making sense? I do realize I am a bit less diversified and I realize I would need to buy a few companies to replace say ZWC.
Thanks
don

Q: As a hedge which of these gold ETF's would you take a modest position in?

Q: Morning,
Thought has it that the Fed will raise interest rates tomorrow and then in a more dovish manner restrict the number of rates hikes next year ... possibly to 1. How would you think TLT would react under this scenario?
Thanks,
Dave

Q: Hello 5i - If we have fewer interest rate hikes going forward, or as some expect, 2019 may bring a recession, what could be the effect on bond fund ETFs such as ZAG, VAB or HAB for example? If investors have reduced equity exposure (to reduce risk) and increased "bond investments", are they in for an unpleasant surprise? Thanks, Ron

Q: Hello Peter
15% of my total portfolio are HQU shares. 18% of them are in non registered acct. and rest 82% are in TFSA & RRIF's accts. I am down on them 27%.
My question is: because most of my HQU shares are in registered accts. there is no tax losses on them, what would you do in this situation ,sell all and wait 30 days for repurchase if they go down or hold on to them for next couple of years.
thanks Andrew