Investment Q&A

Q: I have been trimming a few positions in my TFSA as they've gone up quite high and now I have $40,000 USD and $4000 cad. I've been waiting to buy certain stocks on the dip and will DCA some of these funds into market but I was thinking I should put it in some type of interest receiving liquid option in the meantime. What you you recommend? I was thinking Cash.to for canadian dollars? SGOV for USD? I believe Sgov would trigger that 15% dividend withholding tax in the tfsa but it's better than swapping to cad and back to usd cuz my instituation charges i think 1.5% each time. Are there any other options you would recommend? for liquidity I can sell and have access same/ next day? thnks!

Q: Hello 5i Team

I purchased UBIL.U (Global X TSX traded ETF holding US Treasury Bills) in my RRSP as a holding vehicle for my 5 % cash allocation. My purchase price is US$50.01 (resulting from ETF commission) per unit.

I understand UBIL.U trades between US$50.00 and ~ US$50.20 based on interest rates on a monthly basis

In December 2024 Global X declared at non-cash distribution of US$0.70807 per unit. The units were consolidated and now my average cost basis is ~US$50.72.

Therefore when I sell the units of UBIL.U in my RRSP I am incurring a capital loss of between US$0.50 and US$0.70 which I cannot recover (or apply against other capital gains) as the units are held in my RRSP.

Questions

1 - Will other US$ Cash ETFS incur the same non-cash distributions?

2- I could in theory purchase US $ Treasury Bills through my broker (RBCDI), however their fixed income product selection is not great. Any other fixed income suggestions.

3 - Are there are any other products which will not incur the non-cash distributions?

Thanks for all the great services that 5i provides

Q: Can you suggest 3 mechanisms to "park" cash with safe steady income and good tax efficiency?

Q: An analyst made the point that he thinks any foreign bond exposure should be hedged to the Canadian dollar. His point was that fixed income is usually meant to de-risk one’s portfolio and that by taking on foreign exchange risk in this particular asset you are working against yourself. Assuming one doesn’t require the foreign income generated what do you think of his argument?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: I am 79 years old and retired. I have outstanding capital losses in my non-registered account. I plan to sell most of my bond ETFs, which currently pay taxable interest, and purchase shares in HBB (Horizons Canadian Select Universe Bond Index ETF - Corporate Class), which only accrues capital gains.

Could you please comment on this strategy? Would you consider it a wise or risky move?

Thank you.

Q: Have cash to park for now, what would be the best choice here…or maybe be a mix of both.
Thanks you and have a great day.

Q: Considering recent interest rate reductions can you please advise on investing in xhy.to or ushy at this point? Are they equivalent but just in different currencies?

Thanks.

Q: I own HBIL and have noticed that when yields increase, it falls in value. I get that. But when yields fall as they have been lately, the price goes up much more slowly. Can you explain please. Thanks

Q: Interested in this for safe/stable income. What impacts the price of this ETF and what would be your outlook for the next 2-3 years (and is there any scenario that could see this one tank?)

Q: I just received an inheritance of $350,000. I would like to invest it relatively risk free for a period of up to 12 months. I do not want to invest in the stock market (yet), as it is not yet clear what will be done with it.

Q: I believe that Warren Buffet has most of his fixed income in short term bonds. Longer term or shorter term strategy in today’s context? I would also appreciate your reasoning, so as to better understand bonds
Thanks

Q: Fidelity Canada Short Term Corporate Bond ETF - FCSB

Your opinion of this ETF please, and compare/contrast with similar fixed-income ETFs from others. Additional comments re: Fidelity Canada ETFs (not funds) in general would be welcome.

As always, Thank you

IslandJohn

Q: ZAG is only 3 % of my investment portfolio. I am wondering if I should add more or sell and use the money to increase the weight in the other ETFs I owned. I have been in a loss position for a while and just wonder if I should continue to hold it. This is the only income ETF that I own and is inside my RRIF.

Thanks

Q: Good day, 5i If you invested funds in CMR (no trade commission) is it ok to sell some of the invested money on the next day? Thank you for your help.

Q: Dear Peter et al:

Everyone including yourselves talk about 7+ T USD on the sidelines when a question about market correction is asked. This money will step in and protect the markets from a crash. That seems to be the
thesis here.

But the huge cash reserves of big companies, (BRK for example) pension funds and various PE firms
(listed and unlisted) have ALWAYS
been a feature in the market, no?.Even during the bull or bear
market this Cash on the sidelines has been a constant, right?
So, the question is what is the range of cash on the sidelines? Can this cash on the sidelines act as a " metric" to signal Bull or Bear market?
(Just like your thesis on VIX. 40+ means buying time).

In simple terms what should be the "Normal" cash on the sidelines?!

Q: I am presently fully invested and want to raise 30% cash by selling some of my holdings…..My question is, where to invest the cash?? I used to invest in Short term bonds/tbills to preserve cash which roll over monthly but think that this is not the time for that as everything is pointing to lower interest rates! In your opinion would it be wiser to invest in longer term government bond etfs and if so which ones do you prefer? Thank you?

Q: Can you discuss the potential risks / concerns owning VUSB:us. US interest rates changing effecting the stock price. ect. Would the same risks apply to ZST.L? I own these in both RRSP and TFSA accounts. Should US dividend stock held in an RRSP and not a TRSA account?

Thanks
Brian

Q: Bond funds vs laddering of GICs.

The way I see it , the only time a bond fund MAY beat laddering is in a declining interest rate environment. I entered a number of bond funds { including from ETF newsletter } on the G & M watch list and see none of them even gained 3% over the past year. Predicting the direction of interest rates is futile at best. Other than for liquidity reasons please try and sell me on why bond funds should be purchased. Do you know of any study over the past 40 or so years that compared bond funds to laddering.

Thank you

Paul

Q: What are the best cash proxy ETFs in your opinion?

Q: Good morning,

I would like to sell most of my stocks and go in cash for about one year, its a significant amount of money. Which is the best option , ZST, ZMMK, or ZAG..in terms of best return and maximum safety.

Thanks,
George