Investment Q&A

Q: What is your opinion of VUG vs SCHG? SCHG has a higher morningstar rating (5 stars) than VUG (4 stars). SCHG has lower MER, VUG has higher AUM. What do you think?

Q: XSP is the CDN hedged version of the S&P 500 which should match the performance of SPY (the S&P 500 in US dollars) over the same time period. However XSP has significantly underperformed SPY eg the compounded annual performance of XSP for the period ending April 30/24 for 3 years, 5 years and 10 years is 6.71%. 11.45% and 10.98% respectively. The corresponding nos for SPY are 7.94%, 13.09% and 12.30% ie XSP has underpermed by 1.23%/year for 3ys, 1.64%/year for 5 years and 1.32% for 10 years. Both ETFS have the same MER of 0.09%- Blackrock indicates that the cost of hedging is included in their MER but this cannot be the case. Is the real cost of hedging with XSP as high as 1.23-1.64%/year? There should a small tracking error but these differnces in performance are siginficant and consistently in favour of SPY

Q: For a RRIF looking forward assuming a slow decline in interest rates, which of these two (HMAX, HDIV) would you select and why please? Do you have any issues with either or both these? Thanks again. Dan

Q: I have US dollars and I am looking for a high interest savings etf similar to PSA but trading in USD.

Thank you

Q: What do you think of spmo, as an alternative to the s&p500 or qqqq

Q: long time holder of XDV (15 yrs). I see XDIV has outperformed by far since its inception with similar yield and lower MER. For what is worth XDIV has a 5 star Morningstar rating vs 2 stars for XDV. Thinking of switching my XDV for XDIV. Your opinion please.

Q: Could I get a list of the best Small Cap ETF's to buy for Canada, USA & International?

Thank you.

Q: Want to get into the AI space via the ETF route. Might split the available money between LRNZ and BOTZ. Will this give me the widest diversification?

Q: Could you please advise me on which ETF you would recommend for trading Bitcoins in Canadian Dollars. High daily trading volume, Liquidity and bid/ask spread are important criteria.
Thank you

Q: hi, the annual rate of return on the equity price ( not including dividends ) is about 2.15 percent since may 2010. is this what you would expect for this going forward? and do you have the annual rate of return including dividends/fees etc? I can't find that. do you think this is a good time to add shares ( its trading below April 2013 ). im a bit confused as to why it is trading at this level, ie how do metrics compare with April 2013? cheers, chris

Q: I looked up CYBR after watching the podcast, and it appears there are three ETF's, CYBR.B, CYBR.U, and CYBR (hedged). Which one was the ETF discussed, and what are the differences? Thanks.

Q: I had high hopes for small caps this year, and it looks like, in the past 30 days, they finally started moving up with IWM at 5% gain and IJR at 6%. Unfortunately, my choice for small caps ETF was CALF and it barely moved up in the past 30 days. What is wrong there? I know that it is actively managed and has less holding in its portfolio... is there some problem with one of the holding? Should I sell it and switch to IJR or IWM? I know that CALF overperformed these two over longer periods of time, but the lack of momentum in the past 30 days when the small caps are up worries me.

Q: Good morning, you mentioned these securities in a reply to a question by James on May 13. Could you please add some comments around taxation of the returns, especially if in either TFSA or non-reg account. Thank you

Q: Hi guys,

Is it better to purchase SPY etf in u.s dollars or a Canadian version of that eft in Canadian dollars?

Thanks

Jim

Q: This ETF (CONY) shows a massive yield (U.S. dollars). Can you provide your analysis of it and how it works? I assume it is high risk.
Thanks.

Q: TD launched a series of Target Maturity Bond ETFs that terminate in Nov of each given year (e.g. TBCF winds up in Nov 2026)
Normally, for Fixed Income, an investor could:
- own individual bonds with exact payment/maturity certainty but very laborious
- own traditional bond ETFs: very easy, but perpetually renewing maturities and mysterious trading prices---often downward, it seems
However these new ETFs seem to offer the best of both worlds.
MER is 0.20 vs XBB 0.10 which isn’t bad.
By TD’s offering chart (May 2), TBCF shows a Yield to Maturity (net of fees) of 4.87%.
Seems like a lot to like here for the individual investor, in Fixed Income.
As a Portfolio Analytics subscriber, the Asset Allocator is unhappy with my dearth of Fixed Income holdings!

Q: Hi, With CDN interest rates maybe coming down I'm wondering if a switch from a covered call utility ETF (ZWU) to an equal weight ETF like ZUT makes sense? ZUT though has a fairly high MER, so is there a better option, or maybe better to just buy individual stocks. Thanks.

Q: Hi Peter,
For my RRIF, I want to invest in covered calls ETFs that generate high income with some growth potential for long term hold. Given the current market with possible near term interest rate cut, please share your top four Canadian listed covered call ETFs and top four US listed, with their respective current yield. Thanks.

Q: Hi. I’m looking for a Canadian-listed ex-North America equity ETF for a TFSA. And am familiar with the options you usually refer to, such as VIU. My question is whether there are more “actively” managed ETF’s (focused on developed markets) which you would consider. Such as QIE.

A separate related question. Are there U.S.-listed alternatives you would consider, in spite of the withholding tax. And is the withholding tax less of a deterrent than we make it to be.

Thanks.

Q: You recently answered about RRSP being the ideal account to hold viu in to minimize withholding tax - does this apply to VEE and ZSP too?

Thanks in advance. - Jeff