Investment Q&A

Q: Portfolio analytics vs Portfolio tracking and Analysis. What is the difference?

Q: In your portfolio analysis you have recommended for the utilities sector that I purchase either ZUT or XUT.
I own Fortis now.Do you recommend that I sell this now and purchase 100% ETFs for the suggested Utilities sector?
Since I also need additional US investments.which of the following US ETFs would you recommend RYU or XLU?
Thanks again for your guidance.

Q: I have recently been making significant adjustments to my portfolio, based on the results of Portfolio Analytics. In particular, I am significantly decreasing my financials and energy, and making large increases to my US and international weights.

Despite my changes, I am still overweight by 6% based on the recommended financials, and by 5% for energy. I am underweight international by about 6%. What is your recommended tolerance? How much leeway do you suggest for the recommended allocations?

Also, I am currently invested about 11% in VIGI. What is the maximum allocation you suggest for any ETF? I am a fan of the dividend aristocrats/growers strategy. Is there any other international dividend ETF which you would recommend (if possible, sold in Canadian dollars) along these lines?

For the US dividend growers, I have DGRO, VGG and ZDY.

Thank you for this incredible service that you offer!

Q: From your suggested ETF list you provided for my Portfolio Analytics which ones would be best to incorporate in my RRIF and TFSA? Hope you have access to those ETF's. Thanks.

Q: Hello 5i,
Like many here, I have , according to the portfolio analytics program, far too much in Canadian and far too little in the rest of the world. I am trying to remedy this but I am finding reducing Canadian holdings a bit difficult. I know that you like to see each holding equaling five percent. Although, I guess you qualify this when you say that you are testing the waters on some stocks, then you go at about two and half percent.

I am wondering whether one might consider very similar companies, such as BNS and TD or CP and Cn, almost as one stock? That is, rather than hold five percent in each as maximum, hold 2.5 percent in each as maximum, allowing the two to equal five percent? thanks

Q: When you reccommend an ETF portfolio as part of PA, is it dynamic or static? Will the allocations be the a year from now as they are today?

If they do change will they change automatically, eg with market movements, my age etc?

Thanks

Sheldon

Q: Thomson trades in both the US and Canada and, even if I hold TRI in the US, the Asset Allocator allocates it as Canadian.
TRI's average daily volume is higher in the US than Canada.
From a business point of view, TRI's sales in the US are greater than Canada.

When thinking about portfolio diversification, on a geographic basis, should TRI not be considered a US equity, whether held in the US or Can?

Could your online tool be adjusted to allow the user to manually make that change?

Thanks

Q: Hi Gang,
After doing my PA, it says I am short in US holdings and the following sectors; consumer defensive, consumer cyclical, health care and industrials.
Suggestions of your favorite US stocks within each would be great. I don't need the $ for more than 5 yrs, reasonable risk ok. Looking at my portfolio as a whole, I plan on holding these in my RRSP. does that make sense re US tax with holding?
thanks
Michele

Q: I noticed today a question asked about the asset allocation of goog and how this will be fixed. Thank you. Will this fix also apply to other such holdings such as Disney, currently classified as consumer cyclical, now communcation services? Thanks again

Q: Thank you for your timely e-mail this afternoon regarding Pensions as Fixed Income. I have always considered a DB Pension as good as a fixed income investment and when I set up my Portfolio Analytics yesterday, I was wondering how to tweak it to include my DB Pension. Your PV of an annuity idea allows me to test various values and also test it using a lower PV for a reduced % spousal survivor pension.
Thanks again and I think I have more to uncover in the use of this tool.
Paul

Q: InPortfolio analytics, with the addition of the value of a defined benefit pension(roughly $80,000/yr becomes $2,000,000 in value), you add this value to the fixed income part of the portfolio. I know it's a difficult thing to calculate, but these pensions all invest in various forms of investments including equity, so some of your fixed income is already ion equity but not shown in your analysis.
Cheers, and thanks for every thing you provide us in a difficult investment world.

Slainte. Chris

Q: With the analytics package , one can not monitor his spouse’s portfolio separately . I find this frustrating as my wife’s age , income, and circumstances are different than mine... I use a different , safer strategy for her portfolio. I guess this is similar to the question by the person who didn’t want to include RESP in his analytics . Thanks , Tom

Q: Good morning,
I have a US based Fidelity 401k but the Portfolio Tracking doesn’t seem to recognize any of the fund symbols. Any chance of getting them added to the database?
Thanks for the good service

Q: How do I enter a pension into Portfolio Analytics?

Q: How do I enter GIC's into the portflio analytics ? I can only show them as cash and this distorts the composition big time. Thank you.