Investment Q&A

Q: I am writing in regard to a question posed by John on Jun 25th regarding alternatives to mutual funds that his TD adviser had invested in for he and his wife. We too (my wife and I) WERE invested with a TD adviser up until a year ago. We also had a TD Direct Investing account that we use for investing in stocks. The final straw for remaining with the adviser came in 2017 when TD started charging a yearly fee over and above their MER's when investing in a TFSA. They also stopped allowing us to invest in D series units of mutual funds. We transferred all of our assets to the Direct Investing account and haven't looked back. We are now able to buy any type of mutual fund, ETF, stocks or fixed income product like GIC's that are sold through Direct Investing.
Also, when answering John I believe you may have replied with alternatives to a couple of wrong mutual funds. I believe he was asking about CIF843 (not 842) and FID231 (not2312).

Q: I hold both of the above, MIND I am breaking even on MIND but am down 22% on MJJM. My thought was that once Canada legalizes marijuana it will it should start gaining. I am wondering how you feel about these.

Q: Do you know of any good Canadian listed equal weight US technology ETF's (that are hedged to the Canadian dollar?
I know of ZQQ but its not equal weight and XTF but it writes covered calls.
Thanks

Q: Greetings to Team 5i:

If I am reading the data correctly these ETFs trade on fairly thin volume? It looks like it would not be unusual for them to trade 5k, 30k, and 20k shares respectively on any given day. I am new to direct/on-line investing and trying to figure out the best strategy to buy ETFs (or any equity) like these if the quantity you want to purchase approaches maybe 1/4 or 1/5 of the total shares typically traded in a day. Obviously I'd prefer not to get into a situation of an order getting filled over two days or only partially filled since the returns are meager enough without incurring two commissions or something. Is there a concern here, or a strategy that should be followed as to the type of order entered? Thanks as always for your guidance because I truly do continue to learn something new every day with 5i.

Q: I currently do not have any exposure to commodities in my portfolio. I am looking to add some gold and silver stocks or ETFs. Can you recommend 3 or 4 companies or ETFs in this category and provide your reason for those recommendations.

thanks, appreciate your insight

Q: I am developing an income portfolio which will fund our retirement as we have minimal pension income. We are looking for monthly income that is relatively stable. We have a number of the big Cdn banks and Utilities owned in this portfolio. Which of the 2 monthly income funds would you prefer?
Thanks

Q: Can you please provide a few bond ETF's that may react positively in a market correction to soften the blow to a portfolio? Thanks

Q: Is there any difference / benefit of holding these in a TFSA vs RRSP (tax wise). I understand the favorable tax treatment to US stocks in an RRSP via withholding tax. What about ETFs that trade on the TSX but hold US stocks?

Thank you!

Q: Please deduct two question credits.
I would like to buy a small cap index fund. What do you recommend?
I hold CHR since last fall and it is not performing well. Would you hold or sell and if so, why?
Many thanks for your great work,
Jen

Q: I wish to add more fixed income to both my Can $ and US$ portfolios. Reviewing recent Q & A has given me information for Canadian options. Can you suggest US$ Etf's for US and/or international exposure. Thanks for your help and continuing good advice. Doug

Q: Hi ? I have done well with RBF1030 (RBC Life Science & Technology).
Do you see a net advantage to replace it with one or two ETFs ? If so, which ones ?
Thank you so much for your clear and concise reply to my recent question on US tech stocks. Most helpfull. Just what I needed.
JD

Q: What comments do you have about KBWD - Invesco KBW High Dividend Yield Financial ETF? On the surface this Powershares US ETF seems too good to be true with an average dividend of 9% and share price growth from $12.00 USD since inception in December 2010 to a current price of $23.34 USD on July 3rd with a 200 day MA of 22.46. Other than a 25% correction in early 2016, the share price growth has been steadily upward since inception. It has a very high MER of 2.4% but the PE ratio is 9.1, PB ratio 1.04 and beta is 0.754. Are there any reasons to avoid this ETF?

Q: I am interested in purchasing 1 or more of these 4 active Vanguard, ETF's. Can you point me to some good articles and research which would help me determine the %allocation and in which market cycles one product may be most suited. I was thinking of allocating approx. 100K to a combination of these 4. In your opinion can you rank these from 1 to 4 where 1 is the product you think is the overall best.

thanks!

Q: Morning,

I have a 2/3 position in ZWU and like it for the 3 sector exposure, covered call and high yield with DRIP. Would now be a good time to add the other 1/3 or wait until after the summer? What are your thoughts on it's exposure and stability for a long term hold?

Thanks!

Craig

Q: I am looking for a US dollar denominated ETF with a good yield and covering mostly large, stable companies. I was considering SPYV (I like the P/E, yield and expense ratio here) or DVY. Could I have your opinion on these choices? Do you have other suggestions?

Q: Hi,
I'm rebalancing my portfolio and I am underweight in US equities. Based on current market conditions and high valuations in the US markets I am reluctant to purchase US equities. My thought is to purchase an ETF like XHU that pays a decent dividend. In the case of a market correction I would have the dividend. Your thoughts on this strategy.

Q: To add to Julien’s post from today on bonds. I am in a very similar situation, younger (early 30s) with no bond exposure, all equities in the portfolio. I’d like to start adding some bond exposure through ETFs and did appreciate your suggestions on specific names. My question is, what etf would you say is a ‘one stop shop’ for bond exposure, as I like to keep it to one or two names at most. I’ve seen ZAG or VAB mentioned before. I’d like to keep it in CAD as I don’t want to add exchange risk. The purpose for the bond exposure would be to add uncorrelated assets and reduce volatility. Thank you as always

Q: could you please give me the ETF's if any in the nursing home field Can. and/or US
aso any top rated health care ETF thanks Paul

Q: What is your recommendation on
Dynamic global dividend funds series F
Or maybe an ETF that is similar
Thank you for your input
BD

Q: Hi. I hold a position of INVESCO S&P S/C HLTH CARE ETF in my portfolio. It's a diversified (75 stocks) US small cap healthcare ETF.
I would like your opinion please. Thank you.