Investment Q&A

Q: Hi Peter and team. I am wondering if it is time to pick up some European ETF's. What are your thoughts on IEV AND VGK,which one is better and is this a good time to buy or should I wait.
Thanks

Q: Re the trading of etfs which typically consist of a NUMBER of stocks, what factors dictate a rise/fall in price? Plz compare with the rise/fall of an individual stock.
Thanks

Q: Would you have a recommendation for an ETF (preferably in US$) for China or Asia that would include majors like Alibaba. China appears to become interesting with international accessibility to the Shanghai Exchange in the near future.
Thank you!

Q: hello 5i:
I'd like to have some US bond diversification in our portfolio and research shows some good ETfs from both Dodge and Cox,and Fidelity. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be available thru either BMO Investorline or Scotia iTrade. Please suggest some alternative options for me, as I've found little to nothing available, other than Canadian bond ETFs and mutual funds. I've found Emerging Market and European bond funds and ETFs available in US dollars, but these are not of interest. Can you help with either mutual funds, or, preferably, good ETFs. Or, can you suggest a way to buy the Dodge and Cox or Fidelity ETFs I mentioned earlier.
thanks
Paul L

Q: I Looking at a 5yr chart of CBO & CLF which show they have declined in value by about 6% over that period. Bonds are supposed to go up during periods of declining interest rates. trying to get an intuitive handle on this I was led into the swamp of Duration & rolling down the yield curve, neither of which is intuitive. I concluded that CBO.. managers are exploiting volatility to enhance the yield/Cap gain and paying out a mixture of of coupons & trading gains. This would mean that the decline or growth in NPV of CBO.. is not a metric that can be easily interpreted. Could the NPV rise in a slowly rising interest rate? Can you provide an intuitive way to understand CBO..s varying value

I appreciate your answers every day

Ernie

Q: can i have your opinion on vdu.

Q: I have no US exposure and am thinking of buying VIG US dividend fund, as you recommended to another member. My question (and therefore a concern) is; are the dividends charged as income since the Canadian dividend tax credit is not available?

Q: how would you rate this etf for exposure in an rrsp presently holding only can. stocks no mutal funds nor other etf. it would be 3.9% of a 200k portfolio.or do you have a better suggestion for international exposure.

Q: I have $125,000 to invest, I am looking for a combination of growth and income. Would you invest all in your model portfolio or with you put a portion in US and or emerging markets, I would problably use ETF's for US and emerging market portions.

Q: I currently have a full position in ZRE and half positions in FSV and HCG at 44.65 and 38.75 respectively. In order to reduce interest rate sensitivity I am considering selling ZRE and using the proceeds bring FSV and HCG up to full positions. Other financial holdings are TD, SLF, and BNS. The dividend income from ZRE is not required and is currently being re-invested. Sector allocations are: Financials 15%, Utilities 10%, Consumer Discretionary 10%, Consumer Staples 9%, Industrials 15%, Health Care 7%, Telecom 9%, Info Tech 12%, Energy 9%, Materials 4%. Any feedback on this idea would be appreciated.

Q: Hi Peter! I have 50% of my total portfolio in well diversified Canadian stocks, mostly from your equity portfolio. Of the remaining 50%, 5% is cash; 25% is in US stocks; 5% each in Europe (FEZ) and Emerging Markets (EEM). I'm thinking of diversifying further by placing the remaining 10% or so into specific countries such as Japan and/or India.
Can I have your thoughts on this plan and can you recommend any specific ETFs?
Thanks! Michael

Q: Hi 5i Team,

What are your thoughts on FIE (iShares Canadian Financial Monthly Income ETF)?

It looks good on paper - good diversification, good dividends, but on the other hand performance over 5 years pales in comparison to something like BNS.

Is it worth it for the instant diversification in the financial sector, or are you better with 2-4 stocks?

Thanks,

Mike.

Q: Hi, What do you think of RWO, or do you think something like TCN would give a better return? I'm looking to gain from US housing as it rebounds.

Q: Hello 5i, Could you recommend 2 ETF's, one for corporate bonds and the other for preferred shares. Also would these ETF's be good as income for a persons retirement by being more secure as a buy and hold. Thanks

Q: I 've read that you are recommending CDZ and XDV for dividend paying ETFs. The yield on XEI exceeds the yields of CDZ and XDV. As well, fees charged for XEI are less. Would you also recommend XEI ?

Q: Please recommend several fixed income etf's. Thank you for your advice. MR

Q: is there a TSX equivalent to the GLD. Please and thanks.

Q: RBC Canadian Dividend Series A mutual fund has been a double for me but the mer of 1.78% is quite high compared to that charged by etf funds. Could you suggest some etf products that would work as well as the mutual fund but are cheaper?
Thanks,
Dave

Q: Hello Peter- I have a lot of US dollars earmarked for the fixed income portion of my portfolio. I realize that 'safe' investments pay less than two percent (if that). I am trying to get 4-5%. I realize that I will have to take a little bit of risk to do this. My two choices are IShares Emerging Market Bonds EMB-N (this pays 4.4%)or the other option is to buy individual rate reset preferred shares. I believe that they work pretty well the same as the Canadian ones and they reset at Libor + 3 to 3.5%. BAC and C both issue these shares. I think that it is better to buy the resets as opposed to the perpetuals. Do you have any comments on this or any alternative suggestions?

Q: Hi. your response to Gervais re United Health Group versus the etf VHT, indicated that VHT held only 21 securities. Vanguard's
website indicates 307 companies. Pls clarify.Thanks T.