Investment Q&A

Q: Please comment on XHB as an alternative fixed income vehicle to regular bond funds.
Thanks!

Q: Seasons Greetings!!
I see that the top two holdings of this ETF represent a 44% weighting. That seems too high to me. Is there another ETF that offers a better balance/diversification? Your sage advice is very much appreciated!!
Dave

Q: Ryan,
I appreciated your recent blog post about the rebalancing trade potential for health care. Given there is so little to choose from in Canada would it be wise to look to US listed companies who have suffered as well. If so would it be better to go the etf route or do you have any company specific recommendations. Thanks again for your great service.

Q: What do you think of Horizon Rotation HAC for a fairly safe TFSA pick? I am semi retired, don't touch the TFSA for income right now but not exactly immune to a huge loss either.

Q: OF THE 2 HEALTH STOCK WHICH ONE DO YOU PREFER AND WHY ?THANKS.EBRAHIM

Q: Hello 5i:
Banks make up 23.5% of my portfolios - TD 18.5% and BAC 5.0%. I have substantial gains as purchases were made during financial crisis. Should I lighten up? If so should I reduce my TD holdings to half or any other suggestions?
Thanks for your great advice throughout the years
Tom

Q: I have an allocation of about $66k for non Canada/USA equity Etfs. For maximum diversification (by country) Should I be looking at a few different ETF's in different regions (BRIC/Asia/Japan/AU) - or should I be buying one or two World (ex USA/Canada) ETF's - If so what what are your top 2 or 3. - Also is there a very broad international bod ETF as well?

Q: I have no gold holdings now. What is the best way to start.

Q: Thank you for your wonderful service. I would like to purchase a couple of US dollar ETF that follows the large cap stocks, and is not hedged to Cdn $. Can you recommend one or two?

Q: I am thinking of starting a position in lif the covered call lifeco etf on the Toronto exchange. Do you see this as a bit of a hedge against rising interest rates?

Thanks,
Doug

Q: Hello Team,
For US mid cap exposure, do you prefer IJH or XMC. The Canadian ETF appears to be have a market cap of only 38 Million. Is that a liquidity concern? Any other thoughts you have would be appreciated.
Thank You,
Barry

Q: ZQQ-T (BMO Nasdaq 100 hedged) and XQQ-T (BMO Nasdaq 100 hedged) appears to contain the same tech companies in the same proportion. What difference do you see between the two ? What would be the equivalents on the U.S. market and is it better to buy this type of etf on the Cdian market (hedged) or directly on the U.S. Market ?
Thanks for your good attention,

Jacques

Q: I'm 56 years old with no fixed income and have been quite comfortable with this choice up until now. I recently have decided to have 5% in fixed income but have no knowledge on bonds. I have a balanced portfolio of stocks and try and hold 5% in cash to take advantage of good stocks in a down market. I was thinking of VAB and a 5 year GIC for fixed income. What are your thoughts and recommendations. Have a wonderful holiday to all at 5i and your families. Merry Christmas!

Q: I wish all 5i staff and they families Season's Greetings' I hope 2017 sees our portfolios grow ever healthier.

I want to gradually add some preferred shares to my portfolio, partly in lieu of some fixed income. In looking at potential candidates, I am attracted to the above three ETFs, particularly ZPR with its laddered feature. Do you have any thoughts? Are all distributions of such ETFs taxed as dividends? Thanks, Bill

Q: With 17% of my portfolio invested in these US ETFs, I'm thinking about adding another 5-10%. However, I'm wary of the Trump implications. All of the above are near 52-week highs. As a long term investor, should I not worry about timing the market, or is it advisable to wait a bit before investing in the US? Is XUS worth buying or am I fine sticking with VUN, if I go ahead and invest in the US?

Q: I do not have much experience in investing in US stocks. I would like to add some US exposure as it does seem that Trump's pro business approach might turn into a reality. Is there an ETF you could suggest that would track the US market?

Thank you, Peter

Q: My question is there any ETF like the "ProShare Short Dow 30 (DOG)" for TSX.
I am try to hedge on some of my Canadian holdings.
Thanks
Happy Holidays.
Tak

Q: Hi Peter and Team,

I find that we need to buy some more in the Utilities sector, to keep to a 10% weighting. We presently have about a three-quarter position in each of AQN, BEP.UN, and FTS. Do you think that INE would be a good addition to this mix or is it too similar to AQN and BEP.UN? We can buy and sell XUT commission-free, but I notice that ZUT (not commission-free) has a better chart. Should I increase our positions in each of the three we already have, buy a new one, or top up with XUT/ZUT? Or is there a US ETF in this sector that looks compelling? Or perhaps in the present "climate", could the utilities sector weighting be reduced below 10%? What sector should take up the slack?

Thanks for all your great advice which has been and continues to be very valuable. A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you at 5i and the members as well.

Q: Dear 5i
Do you expect US banks to do better than Canadian banks in 2017 .
Would zub be a good etf for US banks and what is their MER ?
What Can. bank etf would you recommend ?
Thanks
Bill C

Q: I am thinking of selling GWO and PWF and replacing them with a 50/50 split of ZUB and ZBK. I would appreciate you thoughts.
Thanks.