Investment Q&A

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.

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.

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!

Q: Looking for a foreign bond fund to round out my fixed income portfolio. Would PMIF fit the requirement? Thanks Ron

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.

Q: Adding fixed income in individual bonds is made complex by bank-owned brokers, for some reason. I finally thought of adding Bond ETFs. Please give your thoughts on the following high yield bond ETFs : FALN, BINC, JBND and USHY. Any that one should stay away from?
Thank you.

Q: Long-term rates in the US are reaching above-average highs. Am I wrong to think that these rates are unsustainable in the long run and therefore they have to eventually come down? If this thesis is correct, doesn't that make TLT an excellent buy now? You are paid to wait and know that you will get your money back someday.

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: Hi Peter and 5i Team,

Just a followup to my question about ETFs that focus on long term and mid term Treasury bonds, are there any ETFs that focus on Canadian Treasury bonds, or are the ones that you suggested (TLT, SPTL, VGLT, IEF), the best options?

Thanks again for your great work!

Q: I purchased these with a view to moving away from equities. I am retired and interested in dividend income. While capital appreciation would be nice, ensuring limited capital losses is more critical. I'm getting a healthy monthly income from all 3 but based on recent adjustment by RBC Direct it seems some of that is ROC ... so it's an inflated dividend percentage as it is clear capital is eroding. Seems like I may have made a mistake ... down about 7% as I sit today since I purchased. When you consider ROC I'm down over 10% on my original purchase price. Not the end of the world, but what is it going to take to get the share price moving back up for these 3? Would you continue to hold ?

Q: Have some money to park but looking for best interest rate return. Looking at CASH and CIB238. Which is better in your opinion? Looking for safety for 1 year. What is approximate current return for each?

Q: What are your thoughts on the Simplify Opportunistic Income ETF (Symbol CRDT). as per their site this ETF "seeks to provide current income, with long-term capital appreciation as a secondary objective". I like the healthy 7% dividend as well as the "limits" in share price between ~ $24.50 and $26.00 over the last couple of years. Do you know if any of the returns are ROC ? Overall thoughts on this for a safe/healthy dividend (I am focused on income not capital appreciation).

Q: Hi there,

I own this (not a lot in a diversified portfolio but enough for this situation to be annoying lol.

it’s suffering right now and keeps dropping owing to the varies worries of US debt, latest tax cut bill and concern of countries unloading their US debt holdings.

Should one just get out? Or should one sell some and add another short term US Bond ETF?

Always thought Bonds were safe but not right now!

Ok thanks.

Q: I submit this question again since it did not seem to go through, sorry if is doubled .I intend to invest cash very progressively in 2025 ,since I consider as ''not totally impossible'' that (among other world factors ), the economic situation in Japan could lead to a sell-off of their US bonds , and have an impact on word economy and eventually on interest rates. On Yahoo finance website : YTD daily total return indicates : 0,97% for CASH,1,08% for PSA,and 0,77% for HSAV ! Does this means that lower NAVs counterbalance the yields after one year ? (but NAV looked relatively stable..).Once I can finally understand those numbers, I wish to choose the most efficient ETF in a non registered account if you could suggest one of the 3 ,considering all factors , as capital gain fiscal advantage of HSAV, VS total Yields and NAVs tendencies. Many thanks for your always very useful clarifications

Q: Hello 5i Team.

One of the most important reasons that I am a subscriber is not only to ask questions about my own portfolio and stocks on my watch list but also to learn from you folks PLUS fellow subscribers and their questions!

Today (20th May) Peter asked a question about Bond ETFs VS Actively managed Bond funds. Having read so many Q&A s about bond ETFs by you, I thought Bond ETFs like VAB,VSB etc would have been your top picks! I didn't realize that actively managed Bond funds beat the ETFs. A new lesson for me!

Given that is your answer, can you suggest your top picks in actively managed Bond funds, for Canada, for the US and perhaps for the international exposure. Of course lower fees would be preferable!

Thanks for your answer in advance.

Q: If a bond crisis were coming in Canada ,with increased interest rates( including Moody's lowering CDA rating ),increased debt and deficits for instance , would ETFs similar to HSAV or CASH also be at risk ( as longer term bonds) and in such case,woùd you have better ETF suggestions for short term investments ?

Q: Do actively managed bond funds have a history of outperforming bond etfs? My bond etf doesn’t seem to move much.

Q: Hi Peter and 5i Team,

Can you recommend a few ETFs that are focused on 20+ Treasury bonds, and also one that is focused on 7-10 year Treasury bonds?

Thanks for all the work that you do.

Q: I am looking to increase my fixed income percentage but this current market has me bamboozled. Major markets are basically even YTD despite Trump's tariffs still being on the books. There was a significant rally the other day because the US is “only” going to levy 30% tariffs and China will drop theirs to “only”20%! But while the markets go up, long term bonds continue to drop which I thought was a negative market indicator. So are things as mixed up and incoherent as I think? And with this background is now a good time to buy long bonds, short bonds or equal amounts of both?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: Would like your opinion on the new debenture issue -is this a reasonable risk
for fixed income (5% max) or is the rate a red flag? How is the debt /cash flow ?

Q: Do you consider HYLD as a reasonably safe place to store cash in my normally growth orientated TFSA while I decide on a growth stock I want to invest in long term? (The high yield is very tempting).
Thank you.
David