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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: Can you please explain why or why not it is important to have bond funds in one's portfolio. I have been reluctant to buy as during COVID market crash my bond funds, did very poorly at a time when I thought they would provide stability. Since my fixed income was supposed to be the worry-free part of my portfolio I have not reentered bond funds and choose GICs for fixed portion. The same happened with preferred shares years ago. Why would one not just buy a bond where your principle is guaranteed if you hold until maturity? Are these bond funds doing what they are supposed to do and what are the benefits of a bond fund as opposed to just buying the bonds outright? Is money earned still taxed as interest in a a bond fund? For someone with no bond fund exposure what would you suggest?
Read Answer Asked by Neil on June 17, 2025
Q: Hello, which fixed income: ETF/Bond/GIC investments would work best under current economic conditions of lower rates coming from the US FEDS and Canada.? And, do you suggest staying short or long? .. Of course the lowest possible risk.
Thanks
Carlo
Read Answer Asked by Carlo on June 17, 2025
Q: Several weeks ago one of your members said they were seeking the safety and yield of CASH:CA and another name I can't remember or find again. This to ride out the market turmoil. I remember both names as being stable and having a decent dividend. Can you suggest the forgotten name or other names that are similiar and offer similiar features?
Read Answer Asked by dave on June 12, 2025
Q: Hello 5i,
In 2024 I sold my full equity position of GSY not at the top but did well for the multi-year hold (thank you 5i). I started watching for a possible rebuy particularly after the 5i report A-. One of my goals was to create a corporate bond holding portfolio vs a bond etf for a portion of my fixed income %. I noticed GSY has a 5-year 6% coupon with a BB- rating bond on the market. GSY does carry a lot of debt thus if an investor is fine with collecting a 6% return with a stepped-up risk protection profile within the bond world does this make sense? I am assuming in a downturn the bonds will trade down as well but since I have a lot of equity risk already would this make sense? I would plan to hold until full maturity and keep this in a registered account so interest tax is not an issue.
CORP GSY 6.0 05/15/30 380355AK3
Security Description
Issue Description CORP, GOEASY LTD, Call May27@103.000
Security Number 0377427
Alternative Sec Id T657E7
Security Description CORP GSY 6.0 05/15/30 380355AK3 (C)
Issuer Full Name GOEASY LTD
Coupon 6.000
Maturity 05/15/2030
Issue Date 11/04/2024
Dated Date 11/04/2024
Read Answer Asked by Dean on June 12, 2025
Q: Hi, I presently have $50000 U.S. in a non reg acct. I do not plan to purchase any stocks in the near future. Would appreciate your thoughts on what my options are to generate some income with it. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Lorraine on June 09, 2025
Q: Hi Peter and team,

What would you do with free cash that you have and want to put aside from stocks for the next 12 to 18 months.

Thanks
H
Read Answer Asked by Harry on June 09, 2025
Q: I asked this question on June 1, 2025 but did not get an answer so I am asking again.

What is the difference in underlining risks between ZST and high interest saving ETFs like CASH and HSAV?
What is the difference in yield between them?
I have about $100k in cash to park for 1 year ish so I am looking for a bit of yield during this time.
Read Answer Asked by Anh on June 06, 2025
Q: Where is the best place to park US cash for a month. Thank you, Rose
Read Answer Asked by Rose on June 05, 2025
Q: I’m thinking of switching my cash from CASH and HSAV to ZST. The reason is ZST now has a higher yield than CASH and HSAV (3%+ versus 2.6-2.7%)The intended duration is about 1 year.
What are the risks associated with ZST? Is ZST riskier than CASH and HSAV?
Read Answer Asked by Anh on June 05, 2025
Q: I presently have $50000 U.S. cash that I would like to generate interest on.
No plans to invest it any time soon.
Would appreciate knowing what my options are.
Thanks so much.
Read Answer Asked by Lorraine on June 04, 2025
Q: HI there,

I have a bit of cash sitting on the sidelines right now and would like to place it in a cash alternative ETF so that I am not losing money while I wait to invest it within the next few months. Are there any high interest savings ETFs you would recommend? Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Bill on June 03, 2025
Q: There's been a lot of noise lately about widening bond market spreads and their potential implications. From your perspective, is this a meaningful early signal of broader market stress and if so, how might it impact public equities in the months ahead?

Appreciate your take.
Read Answer Asked by Robert on June 03, 2025
Q: Is TDB8160 as good as these others? What is the advantage or disadvantage to the others, and is one more liquid/safer than the other? Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by Neil on June 02, 2025
Q: In an effort to balance my portfolio, I’ve invested in both short-term (XBB, currently +0.9%) and long-term (XLB, currently -2.74%) bond ETFs, all held within a registered account. Despite these being commonly recommended by industry analysts for portfolio diversification and stable returns, I’m seeing losses across both and finding it difficult to understand how to generate positive returns from bonds in the current market environment.

Given this, I’d appreciate your guidance. Should I consider:
• Selling XBB and XLB and moving the funds to a high-interest savings account?
• Adding to my bond holdings by including alternatives like XSB or VAB?
• Holding my current positions and staying the course?

I’m open to adjusting my strategy but would value your insight on how best to approach bond investments right now.
Read Answer Asked by Ronnie on May 27, 2025