Investment Q&A

Q: Now that Europe's economic ship appears to be turing around, ( Do you agree with this thesis?) can you suggest a few ways to play Europe? ---I recognize this isn't your bailiwick, but respect an light you can bring to the subject. Thank you.

Q: I note that I can buy an ETF that is in Canadian funds but that holds exclusively, for example, the US$ ETF as it's only asset. In this case am I paying the MER for both the Canadian ETF AND the US$ ETF?

Q: Can you please recommend a Balanced ETF for my account?

Q: Hi 5i: I find the behavior of Bond ETF's quite mysterious. I bought CLF some time ago, in the belief that a short term ladder protected to some degree against the effect of rising rates. Canadian rates have not risen and those in the US have gone up only a little. Nevertheless, CLF has gone down steadily (linearly until recently) over the last two years. The chart suggests they may recently have bottomed. It may be that the decline in price is because the underlying bonds are bought at a premium. If so, is this effect likely to be negated as rates go up? Bottom line: what can I expect of CLF over the next couple of years? Thanks for your always valuable advice.

Q: Hi,

I'm currently only holding XEF(1.5%) and VEE(1%) for international and EM exposure. I'm looking to increase it a bit more maybe to 5%, as the rest of my portfolio is in US or CAD equities. I know you have talked about VXUS as a good international ETF to hold and the expense ratio of 0.11% is hard to beat. When I look at the regional allocation for VXUS, 19.3% is EM, so if we just hold that, would we even need to hold VEE? What do you think would be best to hold to have international and EM exposure? How about VI and VIU (exposure excl. North America)?

Was looking at one or two good quality ETF's to hold. Your thoughts on how they compare?

Thanks!

Q: PPA does not pay a dividend but the most (if not all) of its holdings do pay a dividend. What happens to the dividends the ETF operator receives from the companies it hold shares in the ETF?

Thanks,
Harry

Q: Do you have any recommendations for a US money market ETF to park cash?

Q: Last night I watched an Australian money manager talk about the benefits of Smart Beta ETFs. He mentioned the following which I expect are traded on the Australian exchanges but might also be traded in N America.

Yield shares high income, ishares FI balanced risk, Vanguard dividend appreciation as examples.

Are these the same as low volatility etfs we know about here - or are they another type of etf?

If so, what is your opinion on this type of etf for safety and likely better long term returns?

Q: Hi. I have cash in my rrsp that I want to invest with safety of principle in mind for 1 year. I was thinking of Cbo. Could I have your opinion and other recommendations. Thank you.

Q: Hello 5i,
I need to add some geographic diversification to my dividend stock holdings. I only have Canadian companies at present. Is there a mutual fund or ETF that you would recommend? I'm looking at the Sprott Global Dividend Fund. What do you think of it?
Dennis

Q: My wife and I, retirees, are considering adding a real estate ETF to our portfolio, to hold in TFSAs. You commented that ZRE has an equal weighting in REITS and is more diversified than XRE (that has a 30% weighting in RioCan and H&R). ZRE has a slightly higher distribution % that appeals. My question is on safety of capital. I perceive Rio Can and H&R to be high quality REITs versus say an Artis or Cominar that have a higher weighting in XRE. Which of the two ETFs would you consider safer, or is it a coin toss between the two? Thank you for your comments

Q: I am planning to move some of my U.S. holdings gradually to an etf style. Below you will see a 60/40 split that i found on an american site. It looks good like a good mixture of growth and safety to me. I was wondering what your thoughts would be. I noticed that a few of the symbols don't work, so i would have to find equivalents. But, this gives an idea of the sector breakdown. Thanks again:
All Century Portfolio
20 percent total U.S stock market (VTI) Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF
5 percent U.S. REITs (VNQ) Vanguard REIT ETF
5 percent U.S. small cap value (VBR) Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF
15 percent Pacific equities (VPACX) Vanguard Pacific Stock Index Fund
15 percent European equities (VEURX) Vanguard European Stock Index
10 percent U.S. TIPs (AGG) iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond Fund
10 percent U.S. high yield corp bonds (VWEHX) Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund
20 percent U.S. total bond market (TIP) iShares TIPS Bond

Q: Hi,
What is your opinion of ZWE for some exposure to European markets in a diversified portfolio?
If you don't like this.. can you recommend a better idea?
Thanks
Phil

Q: For weeks now ETFs have dominated on the TSX new high list. Is this because foreign markets are doing better?

How does the performance of your ETF portfolio compare to the
performance of 5i's Balance portfolio. Are we wasting our time
and do you expect this to last.

This is not the case with the NH list of the NYSE.

Q: What ETF would you recommend for exposure to Europe? My portfolio is mostly from your balanced equity and income portfolios. I currently hold VEE.

Q: Hello 5i
When i look at the yield for both VE and ZDM in both Morningstar and in the ETF Newsletter i`m getting significantly different values . The ETF newsletter says Yield while in Morningstar it always gives the 12 month yield . Shouldn't`t the figures be the same ? Isen`t any stated yield generally refer to a 12 month time period ?
Thanks
Bill C.

Q: Hi 5i;
!`m wanting to diversify my Portfolio and have ETF investments that include Europe and Asia . !`m considering ZDM which has a 35% Asia component but of that 35% its mostly Japan . So if one is expecting Japans economy to do well then this could be good but other wise the Asia component is in itself not very diversified throughout the rest of Asia .
That being said is Japan a good place to invest in over the next couple years or am i best to go with VE or ZWE for Europe exposure and VEE for Asia exposure separately ?
Thanks
Bill C

Q: Hi 5i;
Just a curiosity question . My current Financial planner has me invested in a couple ETF`s with MER`s of about .96% . That MER expense gets paid out of my fund but who gets that amount , my Financial Planner or the company the ETF is purchased from ?
Thanks
Bill

Q: Hi Team,
Could you please rank from "best to worst" which account to hold Robo Global Robotics & Automation ETF (ROBO) - my choices are $US cash, $US RRSP, and $US TFSA. Thank you. Michael

Q: Hi 5I- I would like to deploy most of my 30% cash in your income fund, but feel better if it was more global in nature. This would form the major part of my fixed income. Could you suggest some global or international div. etf's to compliment your 5I income model. The big US bully bothers me. We are early 70's retirees needing more than bond exposure. Thanks kindly.