Investment Q&A

Q: I have some reservations about buying individual closed-ended funds, in general; however, YYY is interesting due to its ETF Index approach. Is this a valid income instrument from the perspective of ensuring continued payouts and reasonable share price maintenance?

Q: I have some cash in a non-registered account that I will need access to sometime in the next 6-18 months. Given the indeterminate timeline I'm reluctant to lock the funds up in a GIC or term deposit and am looking to put them into a HISA ETF. Aside from slight differences in yield, MER or AUM are there any significant differences between the various HISA ETF's available and which one would you see as preferable? Thanks.

Q: Given the discount to NAV, what would you consider to be the downside risk to this fund? What about upside potential?

Thank you!

Q: with the Treasury Department starting to sell bonds this week, do you expect bond prices to drop? If so, how long in duration should the drop continue? Do you see this as a buying opportunity? if so, can you recommend bonds?

Q: It's not a question but rather a comment to complete your answer for the question asked by Paul on June 05, 2023. You can buy HSAV through CIBC Investor Edge, I had to open an account with them specifically for this purpose.

Q: Hello 5i
We currently hold CBO, CLF & XRB at 25/25/50% all as long term holdings in a slight loss position. I believe we are currently at (or very near) peak interest rates. Do you have any suggestions to bond replacements that might be better positioned to capture rate reductions for these holdings. (not accounting for the bonus of tax loss selling)
Again many thanks
Les

Q: In Saturday's Globe and Mail, Rob Carrick recommended investing in target maturity bond ETFs which, unlike traditional bond ETFs, pay the initial investment plus interest i on the maturity date. After having seen my bond ETFs go down dramatically over the past year, this seems like a good alternative. I would like your opinion . Do you see any potential negatives for these types of bond ETFs? Are if there are any such ETFs that you would recommend?

Q: Rick Reider at Blackrock has started a new income fund listed as BINC on NYSE. Would ask you to examine this fund and provide any views, concerns, etc you can at this early stage. Am I correct that it has no yield such that it would only produce capital gain or loss once sold and therefore no tax while held from dividend income. Aside from its lack of track record at this point does the intended approach of this fund and the reputation and history of the manager lead you to a possible positive view of this as a worthy income investment for an investor preferring capital appreciation over yield. Thank you..

Q: Last September I asked about MNY as an alternative for brokers who do not allow you to buy PSA. I haven't seen anything on it since.

What do you think of it now and why do you prefer PSA?

Thanks

Q: I have stayed away from bonds but recently I think it's time to allocate some funds to bonds. I have holdings in VANGUARD ALL-EQ ETF PTFL (VEQT) and VANGUARD GL VAL FACTR ETF (VVL) and would like to divert these funds into all-in-one ETF funds with 60-40 equity-bond funds. What do you suggest?

Q: Peter; I’m thinking of buying ZLC to hold until late 2023 to fund my RRIF withdrawal in January 2024. Hoping for a little capital appreciation plus some income. I’m assuming rates start to decline thru the year. Your comments would be appreciated.Thanks.
Rod

Q: If Congress fails to increase the debt limit, how do you think it will impact the price of TLT and XLB? Thank you.

Q: Hi
I would like a place to park Cash which fund do you prefer hsav or cash and how do these differ. Thank you

Q: I am trying to understand what seems to me as unusual volatility in treasuries recently - especially Monday. Has this sort of thing happened in the past ?

Q: David Rosenberg has recommended a mix split nearly evenly among long-dated US treasuries, high-yield bond and high-paying dividend stocks for investors seeking a favourable return with reduced overall volatility. My questions are:
1) are long-dated US treasuries the same as bonds?
2) how long would you go?
3)could you recommend a long-dated US treasury ETF and a high-yield bond?
thanks

Q: We have held VIG in our RRSP/RRIF accounts for about five years and are happy with the performance. It is now around 7% weighting (I know you are ok with larger ETF weightings vs individual stocks) but I'm thinking of reducing it by about 25% to bolster our underweight fixed income holdings and also to hedge against possible market downturn. My only other fixed income holdings are TLT and a couple of short term GICs. Does this switch make sense and if so what short term bond fund would you recommend if I were to make this move? Thanks for the continuing great service.

Q: Hello, 10% of my portfolio is in bonds equally weighted amongst the three. Should/could I get rid of one? Which would be the best for risk/reward and total return?

Q: Structured notes are a stock/bond hybrid with a limited life span or maturity. When an advisor touts them, they may sound appealing because they often combine high coupon rates with some level of principal protection that would enable their buyer to get their original investment back. Legally, they are unsecured debt obligations of the issuing bank. Unlike most bonds, their coupon payments are often contingent on the performance of an underlying asset such as a stock or index, which means coupons may not always be paid. Structured notes often have no potential to appreciate in price or have an explicit cap on maximum gains.

According to Amy Arnott, a Senior Portfolio Strategist at Morningstar,

“Structured notes may offer big payouts, but those advertised yields aren't always worth the risks. In fact, when we recently dug into some of the academic research on how structured notes have performed, we found that two of the three studies we reviewed found that on average, structured notes have failed to perform better than a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds, and at times have failed to keep up with risk-free Treasury bills.

Structured notes still account for a tiny fraction of investable assets in the U.S., but they've been gaining in popularity amid recent market volatility and record-low interest rates. They're often described as a way for risk-averse investors to capture additional income while limiting downside volatility. But their embedded costs, complexity, lack of liquidity and transparency, and often unfavorable payoff profiles make them difficult to use in a portfolio. Investors tempted by double-digit yields should therefore tread carefully--or take a pass.”

Can I please get your thoughts and views on structured notes and whether you are in agreement with Amy Arnott’s opinion on structured notes as an investment vehicle? Is this another losing investment opportunity like buying shares in WEED.TO back in the Spring of 2019?

Q: If the unthinkable happens and the US doesn't raise the debt ceiling leading to the US government defaulting, how would this affect holdings in each of HSAV, HSUV.U and ZMMK? Secondly if an investor held both such an opinion and such holdings, would it then be prudent to sell the holdings before the limit is reached? Please define the risks to these holdings if any actually exist.

Q: I keep hearing about the 60/40, 40/60 ratio of what you should be invested in with regards to Stocks and Bonds...

- I have Never held Any Bonds of Any Sort...Just Stocks...

- Please recommend some sort of Bond Investment I can consider that is somewhat safe, but Not ultra conservative...

- I remember when my parents said that Canada Savings Bonds were a good and reliable investment...a vintage memory...

Have a good weekend
Thanks
M