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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: Hello 5i Team,
I have a mixed basket of ETFs across assets types (equity, bond, preferred, etc...) in my TFSA for income.

I was looking at the dividend growth over the past 5 years and noticed that many of the ETFs have had a negative growth. Namely, bond indexes (VAB,XHY, HYI, and ZEF) have trended downward as well as prefs, REITs and europe/emerging equities (CPD, XRE, and ZWE).

I was wondering why that is? Is it because of low interest rates over the years or rising debt levels(or something worse)?

Thank You,
Andrew
Read Answer Asked by Andrew on January 09, 2022
Q: I currently own CLF,CPD,ZAG and HLY in a LIRA account. The weight of these 4 ETFs are all 2 %. each. I would like to sell 2 and then use the cash to increase the weight of the other 2 that I will keep. Which 2 ETFs would you sell?

Thanks
Read Answer Asked on January 09, 2022
Q: HNY - Amid the confusion among predictions for 2022 is a recommendation from veteran income investor Mark Grant who says he's putting clients into ETF PDI from Pimco as a means of generating 10% income returns annually. I would be interested in having your analysis of this ETF including the risks, rewards, fees, etc. Obviously not in your growth wheelhouse but for an income position in US dollars what are your views on this one?
Read Answer Asked by Ken on January 04, 2022
Q: What ETFs do you recommend for a retired senior with a company pension age 79. I am a conservative investor. How should covid developments affect my selection?
Read Answer Asked by Donald on January 03, 2022
Q: I have about 10% of my portfolio in these bond ETFs XBB 2%, CLF 4%, XSB 2%, XSH 1%, PMIF 1%. They have shown a negative performance recently with CLF down 7%. The coupon reduces the losses. Will increased interest rates improve their performance? An alternative is to reduce my exposure and buy something like BCE with a low beta and a better yield (5% +). I am 79 years old and have pension income. My portfolio is conservative holding a large proportion in banks, telecoms and utilities. I am looking for stocks, ETFs with a low beta and good yield..
Read Answer Asked by Donald on January 03, 2022
Q: Good morning. I have had RBF7280 for decades. It yields 3.43% and has an MER of 1.43. Would it be comparable to XHY which has a higher yield and a lower MER? Is there another alternative that you can suggest?
I don't trade or worry very much since I started with 5i a few years ago. Thank. John
Read Answer Asked by John on January 03, 2022
Q: Is there a Canadian Dollar equivalent to the
US I Savings Bond?
Read Answer Asked by Sue on December 14, 2021
Q: I need to shore up my accounts with some fixed income (low risk) positions. All indications are that interest rates are likely to rise, which makes me nervous to hold bonds or bond funds. I am not sure where to turn - maybe Bond ETF's? I don't want to micromanage a specific bond portfolio either. Do you have any advice on the best approach? I am still 10-15 years from "retirement" (whatever that means), so my investment horizon is still pretty long term.

Thanks in advance
Read Answer Asked by Don on December 13, 2021
Q: With the 30 year US bond flirting with 1.7% I am wondering what 5i's take is relative to the current discussion about inflation and the taper. Conventional wisdom would suggest selling bonds should tend to move rates up as would expectations of higher inflation.
Thanks in advance.
Mike
Read Answer Asked by michael on December 06, 2021
Q: Can you suggest some short-term bond ETFs that are investing in government and/or large blue-chip companies? 3 for Canadian market and 3 for internal markets please? This is to provide regular income after retirement.
Read Answer Asked by CK on December 06, 2021
Q: fyi
Question was asked where to park cash for short periods that is readily available. You suggested PSA ETF. Looked this up and I think the yield is .57%. EQ Bank (virtual) currently pays 1.25% calculated daily and is CDIC backed. Money can be transferred between EQ and your bank at any time (up to 3 days to clear). There are other high interest savings opportunities but for the past while, EQ has paid the highest rate.
Read Answer Asked on November 22, 2021
Q: Hello, I am looking for an answer to a difficult question about evaluation of risk for fixed income assets.
I understand that for a long time, it was anticipated that the long decline of interest rates and correlated bond rally has ground down and the current prevailing question surrounding interest rates is how fast they may rise.
With this in mind, could you please offer thoughts on the relative risk of bonds? How much downside potential is there, and is it justifiable to buy their low volatility, even if it is believed to be a (apparently) horrible investment with no future potential, just for those two percents of yield?
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Read Answer Asked by Peter on November 22, 2021
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