Investment Q&A

Q: Hello I hold XSP for some US exposure but would like to increase my exposure to US market. Can you advise how much overlap there would be if i purchased VUS. Would it be better to just hold one, and do you have a preference? Thank you. Bill.

Q: In the first few days after the Trump win the pref ETF's moved up. Now they have dropped below where they were pre-election. Do you anticpate a continued drop and another bad run for prefs in 2017?

Q: Hi Peter and Team

What Canadian listed ETF would you recommend today for US market exposure for the TFSA of a thirty year old with a long term time horizon? Would your answer be any different if it was for an RRSP where the 15% US withholding tax was not an issue? There seem to be hedged and nonhedged versions of all of them so would you recommend a hedged version now with the USD so strong?

Thank you!

Q: two US Bank ETF's - 1 headged to CDN $. Would it better to buy the unheadged ETF if we expect the US $ to go up?

Thank You

Q: Peter and Ryan,
I know you're expertise is Canadian investments, but I'm interested in your thoughts regarding the future prospects for American regional banks.If you believe there is upside in the sector, are there any specific companies you could recommend, or is there an ETF you believe has upside in the future?
Thanks so much for your appreciated guidance.

Q: Do the added Mer fees charged on smart or factored ETFs result in superior performance when compared to regular passive Etfs?

Q: Thoughts on adding an ETF like RPF to our portfolio which currently has about 16% in the following preferreds: AIM,ALA,CPX,TD & POW? Any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Ted

Q: 3 ETF growth portfolio: In the April 2016 issue of MoneySense magazine, on page 14, there is an article titled, "A Growth Portfolio for the Long Term" It is made up of these ETF's. I did a backtest assuming the portfolio began on Nov. 18, 2013. The total return is 34.55%, or 11.61% per year. What is your opinion of these ETF's and this combination for a long term sleep-well-at-night portfolio? Are there other ETF's you'd suggest? (IWO perhaps?) BTW, no rush to answer this question.

Q: I am nearing retirement. Most of my savings is in a non registered account (75% non registered and 25% RRSP). Can you suggest tax efficient ways of managing the fixed income portion of the non registered component? I understand ZBD and BXF are tax efficient. Would you recommend these or do you have any other ideas? MERs are important and I noticed the management fee for BXF is about .2%. With a return of only about 1% does an investment in this make sense?

Q: Hi Peter and Team!! I do not have any exposure to emerging markets in my portfolio. Could you suggest an ETF for me, and is it a good entry point at this time? Thank you, Tamara

Q: There does not seem to be an ETF covering the Venture Exchange. Can you suggest a combination of ETFs that would duplicate such an ETF? Thank you.

Q: Hello 5I,

I see a lot of questions concerning ETF. Would you consider doing portfolios of ETF along the same same lines of your income and Growth Portfolio?

Paul

Q: I think I want to buy an international ETF but don't know much about them. I already have shares of Fairfax India and the Mawer world smallcap fund. Do you have some suggestions of Canadian ETF's which might be good?

Q: What do you think of FIE, ZPW and ZWH for an RESP ?

Thanks

Dave

Q: Is there an ETF listed on the TSX that replicates fairly closely Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index? If so, what is your opinion of the fund as a core vehicle for the fixed income allocation of my portfolio, in addition to laddered GIC's? Many thanks!

Q: Hi 5I Team,
I own the above preferred shares. With interest rates on the rise is it time to sell these? If so what would you recommend.
Thanks
Bob

Q: Peter and Ryan,
I currently have equal exposure to BNS and TD in my portfolio. In light of the recent American election, would you sell the BNS holdings to buy more TD? (TD is acting much better post election). Both companies are held in my RRIF account.

Supplementary, if I wanted to add American Bank exposure, which ETF would you suggest adding to the same RRIF account?

As always, thanks for your much appreciated guidance.

Q: What is your opinion on these multiple factor ishares? They currently appear new as they do not have many shares outstanding, 1MMM to 2.5mm and have low volumes of trade. Should this be a concern a this point?

Q: Do you like the prospects of base metals, even after the recent run up?

What do you think of Xbm at these levels? It's nearly doubled in the past few months. Would you wait for a pullback before entering?

Alternatively, should I buy a basket of 4-5 stocks, and which might you recommend?

Thx

KR

Q: I own 4 Canadian financial institutions (BNS, CM, RY and TD). No exposure to life insurance companies or U.S. financials. I would like to avoid U.S. financials. I find it very hard to trust management and it seems like there is always a scandal at a major U.S. bank. I use to own Wells Fargo thinking it was best in breed and they couldn't even avoid scandal. With the advantage of the CDN dividend and BMO and TD's exposure to the U.S. I prefer to get exposure to the U.S. that way.

My question is whether I should sell CM since it is more exposed to the CDN economy than the others and purchase BMO instead for their U.S. midwest exposure? I am not opposed to getting U.S. banking exposure through an ETF like XLF perhaps. Which strategy do you favour? Each bank is currently 3-4% of my portfolio.

Thanks,
Jason