Investment Q&A

Q: You recently answered a question about HDIV and ETSX. I currently own ETSX and have been happy with the income and growth it has generated. I am thinking of adding HDIV or EIT.UN.
Could I get your comments on EIT.UN as a comparison to the other 2 funds?
I am a retiree looking primarily for steady income with some growth.

Q: I listened to a CIBC webcast today outlining the fact international equities were cheaper then US and possibly Canadian equities based on P/E ratios and are expected to outperform US and possibly Canadian equities in the near term. Interesting sectors discussed were international infrastructure companies, defense, e-commerce and semi-conductors. Could you provide a few Canadian ETF's that would provide exposure to these themes and list you favourite?
Thanks
Jeff

Q: Is viu a “derivative” of vxus? Total overlap?

Q: CQLI Here is one I can not find much information that I am hoping you can shed some light on. The chart look good and the yield is over 20%. Looking for niche areas for a mid term places to place some cash with good returns until the clouds clear a bit.

Q: Your suggestion for an international equity ETF that excludes the USA please.

Bill

Q: Hi 5i, If you had to hold only one gold position, which would you choose...AEM or PHYS? btw...what is the MER of PHYS and would this be a factor in your decision?
Thanks

Q: Adding fixed income in individual bonds is made complex by bank-owned brokers, for some reason. I finally thought of adding Bond ETFs. Please give your thoughts on the following high yield bond ETFs : FALN, BINC, JBND and USHY. Any that one should stay away from?
Thank you.

Q: Long-term rates in the US are reaching above-average highs. Am I wrong to think that these rates are unsustainable in the long run and therefore they have to eventually come down? If this thesis is correct, doesn't that make TLT an excellent buy now? You are paid to wait and know that you will get your money back someday.

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: Hi Peter and 5i Team,

Just a followup to my question about ETFs that focus on long term and mid term Treasury bonds, are there any ETFs that focus on Canadian Treasury bonds, or are the ones that you suggested (TLT, SPTL, VGLT, IEF), the best options?

Thanks again for your great work!

Q: I purchased these with a view to moving away from equities. I am retired and interested in dividend income. While capital appreciation would be nice, ensuring limited capital losses is more critical. I'm getting a healthy monthly income from all 3 but based on recent adjustment by RBC Direct it seems some of that is ROC ... so it's an inflated dividend percentage as it is clear capital is eroding. Seems like I may have made a mistake ... down about 7% as I sit today since I purchased. When you consider ROC I'm down over 10% on my original purchase price. Not the end of the world, but what is it going to take to get the share price moving back up for these 3? Would you continue to hold ?

Q: Good morning. I currently own the above 4 ETFs in the following shares of my portfolio:
ZDI: 9.56%
The combination of ZDY, EQL and EQLI: 15.9%
I have some other US positions while ZDI is currently my only ex North American position.
ZDI has been performing very well YTD with +13% total return (per my purchase cost) while The US EYFs are lower than 0% total returns.
Do you currently see the European momentum building or continuing ? And if so woul it be worth it to flip some of the US ETFs over to ZDI or any other ex-North America ETF ? THank you.

Q: Have some money to park but looking for best interest rate return. Looking at CASH and CIB238. Which is better in your opinion? Looking for safety for 1 year. What is approximate current return for each?

Q: What are your thoughts on the Simplify Opportunistic Income ETF (Symbol CRDT). as per their site this ETF "seeks to provide current income, with long-term capital appreciation as a secondary objective". I like the healthy 7% dividend as well as the "limits" in share price between ~ $24.50 and $26.00 over the last couple of years. Do you know if any of the returns are ROC ? Overall thoughts on this for a safe/healthy dividend (I am focused on income not capital appreciation).

Q: I submit this question again since it did not seem to go through, sorry if is doubled .I intend to invest cash very progressively in 2025 ,since I consider as ''not totally impossible'' that (among other world factors ), the economic situation in Japan could lead to a sell-off of their US bonds , and have an impact on word economy and eventually on interest rates. On Yahoo finance website : YTD daily total return indicates : 0,97% for CASH,1,08% for PSA,and 0,77% for HSAV ! Does this means that lower NAVs counterbalance the yields after one year ? (but NAV looked relatively stable..).Once I can finally understand those numbers, I wish to choose the most efficient ETF in a non registered account if you could suggest one of the 3 ,considering all factors , as capital gain fiscal advantage of HSAV, VS total Yields and NAVs tendencies. Many thanks for your always very useful clarifications

Q: Good day. XML is the Canadian hedged EFAV. It holds nothing but EFAV. But EFAV is up 17% ytd while XML is only up 9.7%. Could you explain why there is such a gap? Surely hedging can't cost that much.

Q: What are your thoughts about these etfs .

Q: Hello 5i Team.

One of the most important reasons that I am a subscriber is not only to ask questions about my own portfolio and stocks on my watch list but also to learn from you folks PLUS fellow subscribers and their questions!

Today (20th May) Peter asked a question about Bond ETFs VS Actively managed Bond funds. Having read so many Q&A s about bond ETFs by you, I thought Bond ETFs like VAB,VSB etc would have been your top picks! I didn't realize that actively managed Bond funds beat the ETFs. A new lesson for me!

Given that is your answer, can you suggest your top picks in actively managed Bond funds, for Canada, for the US and perhaps for the international exposure. Of course lower fees would be preferable!

Thanks for your answer in advance.

Q: I am approaching break even for the year on these stocks. Do you think it would be wise to unload these soon, based on the overwhelming US financial situation or continue to ride the wave.

Q: Please provide your recent comments on these stocks. Are they buy, sell or hold in today’s market
Thank you

Q: If a bond crisis were coming in Canada ,with increased interest rates( including Moody's lowering CDA rating ),increased debt and deficits for instance , would ETFs similar to HSAV or CASH also be at risk ( as longer term bonds) and in such case,woùd you have better ETF suggestions for short term investments ?