Investment Q&A

Q: This fund which was a great fund years ago will shortly be converted into a lower MER fund which I appreciate. However, this got me to look closer at recent performance which I don't think has been very good. I am considering switching it to something else. Can you recommend an ETF or another fund that would be a good replacement. We don't have a lot of foreign exposure other than this fund and a Mawer fund (MAW102) but we are otherwise very diversified in individual stocks.

Q: Hi 5i Team, and with income tax season upon us, if a mutual fund company chooses at their convenience to consolidate their (Dividend) Fund A into their (Dividend) Fund B going forward, does it create a reportable taxable capital gain for the holders of Fund A? In this case, the statements show Fund A as a "redemption" (for the fund that is being closed at their convenience) and Fund B as a "purchase" (for the larger fund that is going forward), on the identical trade date (i.e., there is no order date and no later settlement date, but the redemption and purchase occur on the same calendar date as in a substitution of fund products). In this case Fund Company A was acquired by Fund Company B, and presumably the funds overlapped, and the mutual fund company chose to consolidate the two overlapping funds into one larger fund going forward . Since this was initiated at the convenience of the mutual fund company and with no action initiated on the part of the taxpayer, and essentially the product that the taxpayer is holding is unchanged (i.e, Dividend Fund A replaced with Dividend Fund B from the same mutual fund company), would this be a reportable capital gain, or otherwise the taxpayer within their right to choose not to report in the year 2021 taxation year and retain the ACB of Fund A and declare the capital gain when Fund B is sold? It does appear on the T5008 form issued by the brokerage. Thanks to all your Team from an appreciative member.

Q: I am interest in buying Maw107. When I look at the fund It seems to me there is no bid and ask and no daily volume (from TD waterhouse mutual fund section).How they determine daily price change?

Q: Hi 5i, I own some D-Serie funds in my BMO InvestorLine account. I was told that, by law, the D funds will not be allowed anymore in self-directed accounts and will be converted to F-series very soon. Do you -or your readers- know where this directive comes from? And will this conversion be tax-free? Thanks.

Q: Nine Point has an Mutual Fund and a ETF version of their energy fund:
Do they hold the same companies?
If so - why would one buy the more expensive MF over the cheaper fee ETF?
Also - could you detail the fees for each version.
Thanks

Q: Hello,

What are your thoughts on the Canso Corporate Value Fund - Series F as a fixed income option?

Thank you,

Glen

Q: I have friends that have sold mutual funds and wondered why the final proceeds seem so much less than they expected based on recent monthly statement values (i.e. they've sold a day after the their last statement in an up market). Why do mutual funds valuations seem a bit contrived? Are there hidden fees deducted from the sale proceeds in general? If so, what % are they typically?

Q: For a mutual fund, do you think the CIBC balance index fund managed by Jacques Prevost is a good overall fund for a conservative investor? Reported returns of 6.7% for 5 and 10 years. Mer of 1.22%. I noted 25% allocation to financials. It’s in my wife portfolio and she was looking for advice. Any comments would be appreciated. Thank you!

Q: Hi, Thanks for all the great advice. What would happen if an ETF or mutual fund (or the organization) becomes insolvent? Would the investor's holdings segregated in some way? Would it be safer to hold the actual securities in a CIPF covered brokerage account rather than an ETF of stocks or bonds?

Q: Hello 5i,
These three make up the fund portion of a senior's portfolio. All of these have a US focus. Can you suggest 1-2 ETF's that would compliment these three with more diversification and some balance. Nothing risky; 5-year horizon.

And should the TD mutual fund be replaced with an ETF with lower fees?

Thanks for your guidance.

Q: Peter,

I had read that mutual funds could no longer charge DSC fees. I didn't realize that trailers were also being outlawed.

Were trailing fees a major cash cow for them or something smaller?

How do you envision the fund companies making up for the loss of fees?

Thank you

Paul

Q: I would like an ETF to take advantage of the pull back in tech stocks. I generally like the holdings of XIT except for the huge position in CSU (I bought some anyway because I've always been wrong on CSU). Its a small position which I would like to build on but I would also like to add some US exposure - preferably CAD since I don't feel like exchanging more funds right now. Suggestions?

Also, what is your current opinion of PTF? I only recognize a few of their holdings and have no idea how to assess, apart from noting their reasonably good history.

Q: MAW102 has under-performed recently; methinks because it excludes the Canadian and US markets.

Should I continue to hold?

Thanks, Gary

Q: Re: Brian's question about this fund - You quoted a MER of 2.36% where the actual MER is 1.57% (Series X) . Would your answer still be the same.

Q: The last MF that my mom holds in her non-reg account is CI Canadian All Cap Fund Series X. All other (higher fee) MFs have been converted to low cost ETFs. If she sells, there's a capital gain to be paid. It's not a trivial amount but it won't trigger OAS clawback. If she were your mom would you suggest she convert this to an ETF as well or is the MER low enough to just let it be? Or is one's view of what the Feds will do with cap gain inclusion rate a bigger factor?

Q: Peter,

When I do a data dump I see there are some errors on yield in the system. Analytics shows the following yields on Mawer mutual funds.

MAW 104 - 10.56%
150- 12.39%

The following seem reasonable
102- 2.64%
120- 1.87%.

Thanks

Paul

Q: I have owned this Mawer fund for quite some time and have been very happy with its performance long term. Can you please explain the large drop in December in a little more detail? I know you said they “paid a distribution” I just don’t know what you mean by this and why it seemingly cost me a chunk of money. Thanks for walking me through this!

Q: Your view on flow-through shares [ eg. ninepoint]

thanks.

ralph

Q: What is your opinion on FID 269-C?
Can this mutual fund be sold as a normal share on the market using Disnat brokerage?

Q: Hi, I currently own quite a few Mawer Funds. One I do not own is the MAW Global Small Cap. I see it's dropped around 10% over the past month. Any particular reason for that, and do you recommend taking a small position at this time? Thanks.