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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Hi 5i. I hope all is well and you took a break at Easter.
I have noticed in the G&M that john heinzl reports on a dividend portfolio. I like his sense of humor on Stars & Dogs but I really wonder about his dividend hog portfolio. The same newspaper lets me create portfolios for comparison. I started with the same about of money (about $116K) and pretended to invest in October 2017 like he did. I made three one ETF portfolios. Made one portfolio with ETF HXT, One with VDY and One with WXM. All three of these one ETF portfolios beat JH’s significantly and WXM was a clear winner beating it by about $50K i.e., turning $116K into about $200k from Oct 2017 to now. The other two ETFs were not far behind. $50K can pay for a few dinners!
My question is whether you see any issues with WXM in the current investment environment and with the above comparisons.
Thanks as usual for this great service and patience with my questions. Thanks Danny-boy
Read Answer Asked by Dan on April 12, 2023
Q: I own prefered share ETFs in a diversified revenue/dividend RRSP portfolio.those ETF are at loss(10-20%) and at a lowest annual stock value.I did believe that those ETF would bring a least , a certain stability,wich is obviously not the case.I shall keep those ETF if there were a reasonnable probability of returning to previous values (+10%..),and sell them if more downtrend is expected.In this perspective,your impression as "hold","sell"(or eventually "buy" !)will be greatly appreciated.
Read Answer Asked by Jean-Yves on April 12, 2023
Q: Are you aware of an ETF for Southeast Asia ex China?
Read Answer Asked by Les on April 11, 2023
Q: Hi Peter,

I do not believe in technical analysis, however, from a technical analysis perspective, what would be a great entry point in the next three to six months to purchase shares of SPY, QQQ and XIC? What is the likelihood of these great entry points happening in the next three to six months?

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by George on April 11, 2023
Q: Over the next few months I’ll be duplicating the ETFMU Growth ETF portfolio inside my LIRA with retirement being 30 years away.

Out of the 13 ETFs in the portfolio , Which ones do you feel are a strong buy currently? Wanting to start purchasing the strong buys, highest convictions ETFs first.

Thank you,
Read Answer Asked by Shawn on April 11, 2023
Q: Hi 5i,
I have a few of questions about a few tech ETF's - please deduct as many points as you think appropriate.
In comparing XIT to TXF.B I note that XIT has a better 5 year annualized return (16.03% to 7.87%) but TXF.B has outperformed XIT over the past 3 year annualized period by 10.23% to 8.38%. In addition, TXF.B pays a very healthy distribution (over 9% annually) while XIT pays none. And then finally, XIT is all Canadian and has over 75% of its NAV wrapped up in 4 names - CSU, SHOP, CGI and OTEX.
All that being the case, I wonder:
Is XIT too dependent on just a few names that are all in one geography to have the safety one expects (hopes for at least) in an ETF, both looked at in isolation and also when compared to a name like TXF.B?
XIT obviously hit it big with those 4 names (and especially CSU I'd think) but is its good return likely to continue into the future with so much reliance on so few contributors, all of which are in Canada?
Is there a site that does the hard work of comparing the actual returns of ETFs by analyzing the combination of capital gain combined with the contribution of distributions so that it's possible to get a true idea of the performance of an ETF like TXF.B with its 9% /year distribution compared to XIT's zero payout? and finally:
Between a hedged ETF like TXF vs an unhedged ETF like TXF.B which have identical holdings, which would you expect to do better over the next 3 years or so, and why? I note that unhedged TXE.B has outperformed hedged TXF over the past number of years, and I wonder if you think this trend will continue.
Thanks 5i, I look forward to reading your thoughts.
Peter
Read Answer Asked by Peter on April 10, 2023
Q: Are there any Canadian listed American utilities covered call etfs or non covered call etfs? Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Steve on April 10, 2023
Q: Good morning 5i, I am looking to add some covered call ETF’s to my holdings. Which covered call ETF’s would you recommend in the sectors of industrials, tech, consumer discretionary and energy. Which would you recommend reflecting the S&P 500.
Thank you in advance
Dan
Read Answer Asked by Dan on April 06, 2023
Q: Dear 5i,
Out of all the countries classified as Emerging Markets.
In your opinion which countries are expected to outperform the S&P500 index if held for at least 5 years? Can you suggest some Canadian and/or US listed ETF's that might achieve this goal. I'm interest in holding a 2 to 5% position for at least 5 years in my TFSA.
Read Answer Asked by Ian on April 05, 2023
Q: hello 5i:
would like your take on this ETF, for a registered account. We're looking for sustainable income: I've reviewed the sector and holdings breakdowns and realize the fund will not do as well in a bull market. Part of the reason we're so interested is that Seeking Alpha’s Quant system rates DIVO the very best nontraditional equity derivative income fund out of 14 choices, which is a fantastic stamp of approval.
If (a big word), we return to a bull market where growth handily beats value, DIVO should still see gains in NAV, correct? And the yield (around 5%), should be sustainable, correct? What have we not thought of here, or in other words, what are the red flags we've missed?
thanks
Paul L
Read Answer Asked by Paul on April 05, 2023