Investment Q&A

Q: Hi, There has been a lot of talk about Japanese stock market witnessing a strong recovery after almost a lifetime. In your view, what are the factors causing this rebound ?

Many portfolio managers on CNBC and BNN have recommended to have an exposure to Japanese markets. Mr Buffet, for one, as always, started early, taking sizable positions in some well known Trading and Industrial companies. Over past 2-3 years, they have also issued many tranches of Japanese Yen denominated Bonds, with interest rates higher than usually offered by Japanese issuers, once such large issue just announced.

What is your view and if you concur, is EWJ a decent investment vehicle to invest at current levels ?

Thank You

Q: Can you you rate from best to worst spy.us, vti.us, spgp.us, vus.ca and recommend a good entry price.
And is there a non hedge version of vus.ca.

Thanks

Q: If interest rates drop would short term bonds be better than longer term ,which ever is better do you have any suggestions on bonds .

Q: I am retired and comfortable with the mix of stocks I have but with the increase in chatter about bitcoin I wonder if I am missing something. I have looked at bitcoin as a pyramid scheme and avoided it. Can you comment on its value and if you think is has any, maybe suggest some options to buy into this new commodity.

Q: Recently sold a rental house and am looking for investment in low risk but monthly payment in a non registered account. I’m not comfortable with bonds and so far have come up with either laddered GICs ( paid out every 6 months) or combination of PFL, XFR, and ZMMK. Do you have any thoughts on any of this. Which would have a the best tax rate implications? And would you have any other suggestions that would work best in the current reduced rate environment we are heading in the next few years.
Thanks

Q: Hello,

GEQT vs XEQT vs VEQT vs FEQT, which one is the better buy in the all in one all equity ETFs category and why?

The sector allocations of WSRI and WSRD are quite different than the typical ETFs, with top 3 sectors being consumers goods, healthcare, consumers services. Do you think these sectors will provide some good returns compare to high technology focus ETFs?

Thanks.

Thanks.

Q: Peter and staff I am looking at HBIG and or HBIE. Your thoughts please. Are they expensive to own? 76 years retired and looking for stability of income and holding its original value. Thanks Ken

Q: Good morning
these three ETFs have stellar one year performance to January 6th according to your March issue of Money Saver magazine. Do you see them topped out for the present or would you still see a buying opportunity here
GUY

Q: I was surprised you suggested a maximum SPY weighting of 10% in response to Jim’s question on April 10.

Warren buffet recommends the SP 500 index as a one stop shop for instant diversification and long term inversting, notwithstanding its geographical concentration risk.

Can you please expand on the suggested 10% maximum weighting?

Thank you

Q: In your answer to me on the BMO and Hamilton covered call ETF's regarding " return of capital " you refer to ZWB having a return of capital of 75% and HMAX as 84% .... Your answer basically addressed taxation which in my case is inside a RRIF account...... And in a follow up question from Bruce you give a brief explanation. I don't think I understand what the term means as to me it sounds like I am getting my own money back which strikes me as a bad thing. Could 5i explain just what exactly the term means ? And whether or not it is a good thing, bad thing , or nothing to be concerned about ..... Thank you as always for your sound advice .....

Q: I'd build a sizeable position in XEI - can you suggest a strategy to do this over time?

Q: With the proliferation of ETFs using covered calls there have been numerous questions about the return of capital classification of the distributions. Many of the questioners seem to think that Return of Capital means that they are simply getting their own money back. And while this may be true in some cases in many ETFs this is a tax classification of certain types of distributions and not the erosion of capital. Many of your answers do not fully explain this and often leaves the impression that the questioners belief that they are simply getting their money back and their capital is being eroded is correct when in many cases it is not. I think an article from yourselves more fully explaining this popular group of ETFs is in order.
After much research I have recently embraced ETFs using covered calls as a means of funding my retirement. For someone younger, focusing on growth, this may not be the right choice but as a retiree I’m looking for income without having to sell investments during market downturns to fund my retirement

Q: As a follow up to previous question about currency diversification. What would be your preferred vehicles for both the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen. Thanks

Q: Hi guys,
Great service...can you give me some thoughts on this RBC product...Target Date discount bond ETF's...seem to be a good option for safe money looking for cap. gains vs. interest....do you think timing would be right to add to these.? Any preference of government vs. Corporate? Thanks.

Q: Regarding both BMO { ZWB, ZWU,ZWT, etc. } and Hamilton { HMAX, UMAX, FMAX, etc. } covered call ETFs, do either use a return "of" capital as part of their distributed yield ? ..... If so how much and would it be a deterrent from buying them ? I have put the word "of" in quotation marks as I think it means I am getting my own money back ? ..... Thanks for your always sound advice .....

Q: Good Morning,

Would HXQ be your pick today for a NASDAQ etf, non-reg account ? Thanks again

Q: I would appreciate your general comments regarding these two ETFs, in particular with regard to these as a long term hold for my nephew at age 30. That person also intends to have other funds invested in more speculative, higher risk equities (play money!)
1) Are these a safe hold that should increase in value with general market appreciation over the years?
2) Would you believe the current dividend is sustainable?
3) Are there other options in the ETF world that you might recommend for a long term hold?
4) Again for a long term hold would you prefer something along the lines of buying equities directly, with something like holding one of your portfolios, knowing that he will not be paying much attention to these investments.
Thanks! Paul

Q: Further to my prior question, in looking at ETFs, I often thought why not just buy their top holdings, and that is quite often what I do. However, in trying to find out that info for these two I noticed something I thought was unusual.

For example, the XEQT ETF lists holdings as follows ...
iShares Core S&P Total US Stock Market ... 44.8%
iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI ETF ... 24.96%
iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Compost ETF ... 24.86%
iShares Core MSCI Emer Mkts IMI ETF ... 4.97%

This seems to be the total of their holdings (99.59%). I assume these also generate management fees, which seems like an approach to increase fees paid by "layering" their offerings!
Would a person not be generally better off just buying the 4 separately in the percentages to match the XEQT ETF?
... or possibly digging deepr in the layer and finding out what equities they really are holding?
Thanks! Paul

Q: I have held Freehold for a little over 2 years, and am no more than even on the stock price (but at least have the dividends). Similar to James' question today, I am thinking about selling FRU and moving to an energy income ETF. I have been looking at EMAX, but was not aware of ENCC that was mentioned by James. EMAX is new, but I like the North American approach vs ENCC which appears to be only Canadian companies. Could you compare the pros and cons of each ETF, including taxation of distributions, call strategy and any trading premium to NAV. Do you have a preference of one over the other? My objective is some sector exposure and income, more than capital gains.
Thank-you

Q: There has been an upward trend in silver the last bit. Would you know the reason for this? Do you believe this trend will continue for the remainder of 2024?