Investment Q&A

Q: I've been struggling to find out what to do with all the cash I was holding in my portfolios so a while back I used VDY as sort of a money market fund,for me that's pretty conservative. I realize that VDY is basically buying the tsx financial sector, I'm up about 4-5% with this right now but do realize that with a correction in the financials it could come down some. I'm looking for something "safer" to park my money in.

Q: your opinion on buying a gold bullion etf, and any suggestions as to which one

Q: Why does FTB have such a large spread between the Actual MER (.50) and the Actual Management Expense ratio (.92)/ My financial planner is actively promoting it. I wonder if he gets some of the MER as an incentive therefore encouraging him to promote it. Its current yield is 3.4% wile CLF has a yield of 2.9% with an MER of .15 and .17. Do you have any comment on XBB, XSB, CLF, and FTB. Should I mirror the FTB portfolio of the five bond fund ETFs (CLF, XBB, PGL, ZEF, and ZHY) or buy FTB? I assume the yields are after the MER is taken.

Thank you.

Q: Is the dividend paid from this ETF Canadian eligible for tax purposes?

Thank you for providing this great service.

Q: Can you please explain "rate reset preferreds" in simple language for us dummies. Having been burned in a preferred share ETF, that I thought was relatively safe, in the past, I'd like to know the risks and advantages.
Thanks, Len

Q: A question about using currency ETFs to play an appreciation or depreciation of the Can. dollar against the U.S. dollar confused me. Would I not do better just holding the currency I thought would be stronger. Doesn't either ETF come with fees I could avoid by just holding the respective currency?

Q: Hi,
Could you recommend the best and simplest way to build a well balanced portfolio for a passive long term investor? Would it be etfs? If so could you recommend the ones you think (possibly 3-5)? They would be held in a TFSA and added to annually to maximize tfsa room and DRIPS would be used whenever possible.

Thanks!

Q: Is there an ETF I can buy if I believe Canadian dollar will weaken against US in near future and vice versa.

Q: I would like to set up a portfolio using the TD e-series funds. My time horizon is 10 years. I plan to purchase on a monthly basis. Can you recommend a portfolio composition using these funds (including percentages).

Q: What sort of fixed income do you recommend for a portfolio? With so many options, I have no idea which to choose. Where do I begin in making these decisions? Thank you.

Q: Peter, as I build up new cash balances to invest, I need to resist the temptation to keep buying new stocks but, rather, to add to existing positions - simply to avoid to point where I'd have 80 or more stocks! I have an account that currently holds modest positions in Exco, K-Bro, and Tourmaline. With a 5-year time frame, which of those three would you expect to produce the best total gain? Or, since the account also holds the Horizons ETF HXT, would you be inclined to prefer that broad basket (although, obviously, diversification is not my concern!). Thank you.

Q: Hi 5i,
I am young and have time to hold stocks long term. I own some Canadian bank (bns) as well as some broad etfs (and other various non-financial stocks).

Is there value or reason to own a company like Sunlife or Manulife (or similar, please recommend if you know of something better). Or would it be better to own a second Canadian bank? Or would it be best to add the extra money to my BNS position?

Thanks

Q: Hi, I own about 30 stocks 60% Canadian(mostly balanced portfolio) and 40% US stocks. I also own 4 ETF's for international exposure but feel that 2 should be sufficient. Which 2 would you keep and why? FEZ.US, EFAV.US, VWO.US and VCE.CA. All are in a RRSP so I don't think there are any tax implications?? Currency is not an issue. Thanks

Q: Can you give me the names of one good/liquid US and one good/liquid canadian ETF - primarily holding banks or other entities that will go up when interest rates go up?

Q: Hi 5i,
I have 200K invested on these ETFs as follows:
XEC: 10% VUN: 25% XQB: 35% XEF: 10% XIC: 20%

My time horizon is 5 years, How can I change my current setup to make it more rewarding, These are outside RRSP.

thanks
Fernando

Q: Hi 5i,
I just read an article explaining how oil exploration has been at its lowest point in 60 years for the last 2-3 years. With demand forecasted to continue growing it would stand to reason that this will lead to a shortage and price increase. Beyond broad market etfs, I don't have any energy exposure. What would you recommend as a good long term way to get this sector into my portfolio?

Thanks!

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan and Team,

CLF offers a better rate of return than GICs, about 3% from what I can determine. What are the risks of parking a lot of cash in that ETF, more than 100 000$?

Thanks for the great service.

Q: Hello 5i team, Iam planning to convert a LIRA into a LIF in the coming months. I was thinking of using a fixed-payout strategy of just using the distribution's as income and staying within the LIF rules, using one or a combination of the following ETF'S = XTR,FIE,XEI,do you see any problem's here or can you suggest any other income vehicle or ETF'S
Thank's once again, James

Q: I hold Harvest group closed end funds HBF.UN (Brand Leaders Plus) and HHL.UN (Healthcare Leader) Only a total 3% of overall portfolio and fully for div income and diversive purposes into firms I couldn't hold individually. I just received notice of their plans to change over to a ETF for each of these close end funds. These are the only closed end funds I hold and I am wondering your point of view on this move. They of coarse say its to our advantage for Liquidity and growth potential. These are small funds and I wonder what kind of notice they really would receive in an already crowded ETF market and if the management team is really acting in our best interests here. I am not so sure they can maintain their current div yield of 8%ish either it seems high for an ETF. As always thank you for you good honest work on our behalf

Q: There is lots of chatter these days about this being a good time to invest in Emerging Markets. Can I have your thoughts and recommendations for an EM ETF.

Thanks, Michael