Investment Q&A

Q: Peter/Ryan, RESP to be used starting in 3 years has BNS, GUD, OTC & PHO all ~15% + 40% cash. Would COV and/or VB be good additions ~10% each ? What else would you add or subtract ? Thank you.

Q: In my daughter's RESP I hold TD(39%)up 13%, PBH (39%)up 110%, GUD(17%) down 20% and 5% cash.
I still have 9 years to go before the first withdrawal.
I was thinking of diversifying TD and/or PBH. Which dividend ETF (with growth potential) would you recommend?

Q: Hi 5i. I am just starting an RESP for my 2 yr old granddaughter. I'm thinking long term of course and with only $5,000 available was considering VGG or VFV for a start. Either one or both. What do you think or is there a better alternative ? Thanks for your help. Ron

Q: 5i,
I currently have approx $14k cash in RESP. I have a 6 year old and 1 year old. How would you recommend me investing this money? Can you please name me top 3 stocks, and top 3 ETF to Invest in please. Thanks for your valuable input.

Q: Hi Peter and 5i:
In my grandkids (ages 3 and 2) RESP I currently have as core ETF's:
XIU - $14,000
XAW - $11,000
I have this years contribution of $6,000 to invest.
My plan is:
1. Start doing some individual stocks.
2. Reduce XIU by $7,500 and buy TD.
3. PHO - Invest $3,500 (or might you suggest ZQQ)
4. XAW - Invest $2,500
Does the above portfolio approach look reasonable to you? Look forward to your suggestions and always valuable feedback.
Thanks so much.

Q: Hello
I have a 17 months and a 6 yrs old. I did very well on my 6 yrs old RESP and now wondering if I should get a separate RESP for my 17 months or switch to a joint account. Any recommendations? Any benefits having a joint account assuming only one of the 2 would reach University for example? If all things equal I would prefer to manage a single but bigger portfolio.
Thank you!

Q: I am looking for an ETF for RESPs for my three grandchildren. The eldest is 8 yrs old, so the money will not be needed for some time. I would like conservative growth, if there is such a thing. I am thinking of XIC or CDZ. Or maybe you could suggest something else. The amounts are about $5K so one ETF is probably best, for now. Thanks

Q: Hi Peter and Team,

Greetings for 2018!

For my daughter's RESP, I am trying to decide between 2 tech stocks, Kinaxis (KXS) or Descartes(DSG)? Which do you recommend? What is the optimal number of stocks to hold in the RESP, 5 to 6 stocks?

Thanks.

Q: Your thoughts on ZQQ as a long term (10+ years) RESP hold or would you just buy a low fee S&P 500 (maybe VFV) ?

Q: Hi Team,

I hold MFC in my kids RESP. It's up over 75% since I bought it many years ago. It represents 50% of the portfolio now, (enb, fts and bce are the other stocks). I want to switch some things around and add a bit of growth, but with the interest rates rising should I leave it alone ... or do you think a lot of those potential gains from rising rates have already happened?

What would a couple growth ideas be for a 10 year horizon in an RESP?

Thanks!

Q: Hello Peter,
We made our annual contribution to our grandsons RESP. He is 4 years old. We would like to add one or two new stocks to his portfolio. The current holdings are:
ATD.B
CXI
GUD
NFI
PBH
In your opinion what would be some good Additions? Thank you

Q: I have two young kids with RESPs (5 and 10). I have asked a few questions regarding etfs mostly because available resource in the accounts was small. That said, one is worth about 28K (AVO, DSG, DHX, ENB, HR.UN, KBL, MUX, STN, TSGI), the other, a series of etfs worth 12k (XIC, XIN, VUN). Both accounts have 3-5k in cash, what would you do at this point? I understand this borders on portfolio review, but in terms of sector allocation etc, I would appreciate any advice. With 38K in play, the review is not yet a wise investment. As an aside, an RESP model portfolio would be immensely useful to I am sure many subscribers in a similar spot as I find myself, with small but growing portfolios built over time matched with gvt subsidies. Anyway, thanks for all you do, and a very Happy New Year to you all. I look forward to your thoughts.

Thanks,

Eric

Q: I started an RESP for my granddaughter in May 2017 with equal weights of PBH, MX, BNS, SIS, KXS and ZCL. The total return of the RESP is 10% YTD. When ZCL had a poor earnings report in November 2017, I sold those shares and purchased ENB. Going forward, would you suggest any changes to the current holdings, and what would you purchase with new contribution money? My best wishes of the holiday season to the wonderful 5i staff, as well as all 5i members!

Q: Hi Peter & team,

Over the years I have been focused on paying off my mortgage and putting the majority of any savings I have into my RRSP account and contributing into my child's RESP account. As a result, the RRSP account has over 80% of the savings that I have accumulated to this point while my TFSA and non-registered accounts total the remaining 20%. I finally have paid off my mortgage and I was wondering whether I should now be focusing on putting most of my money into the TFSA and non-registered accounts, so that the ratio between the RRSP/TFSA/non-registered accounts become more balanced? Is there such thing as a good balance between the 3 types of accounts?

Thanks for the wonderful work and all the insightful answers you provide.

Marvin

Q: I am about to manage my grandkids resp. They have about 52000 to eventually cover the 10 and 6 year old. Monthly contributions of 300 are being made with some "top ups" as available. I would like to have them invest about 20-25% in individual stock or stocks and the balance in ETFS. How should I approach the ETF portion and do you have recommendations?
Bryan

Q: WE HOLD THE ABOVE STOCKS IN OUR CHILDS RESP AND HAVE A FEW THOUSAND TO ADD, WE WONDER SHOULD WE ADD TO ONE OF THE ABOVE OR ADD AN ADDITIONAL STOCK. SHE HOLDS ABOUT 10% OF EACH

Q: Hello 5i Team
I have about $1100 in cash in an RESP account ( grandchildren are 4 and 2 years old) to invest and unsure what sector / stocks to choose next. Current holdings are ECI, ENB, SIA and Car.un with nice gains in all. I want to diversify of course but banks seem expensive right now. Would you please suggest a few alternatives. I have considered Brookfield companies but unfortunately, I think that corporate set up causes tax reporting issues for the sponsor on the RESP account. If you know this to be untrue, please let me know.
Regards
Kathy

Q: Hi Peter and 5i team,
we would like to add a new name to our grandson's [age 4] RESP. In your opinion , what would be a good addition.
thanks

Q: I opened a self-directed RESP for my new born. Do you suggest starting with ETF's or specific stocks? If ETF's or stock, what do you suggest is a good starting investment and dollar amount for ETF or stock given that we have at least 18 years before needing the funds. If ETF's first at what point do we start investing in specific companies? I guess I'm also trying to get an idea of how to build my sons RESP portfolio.

Thanks.

Q: Hi Peter and Team,

In our grandchildren's RESP (ages 15 and 16) I have been using accumulated dividends to 'top up' the above ETFs, as I'm able to do so commission-free through Scotia iTrade. The portfolio is balanced, with the majority of holdings from the 5i portfolios. Can you suggest a strategy as to which ETF(s) I should invest this extra cash at any given time? Since the 16-year-old is in grade eleven, and the 15-year-old is in grade ten, is it safer to use CLF and/or CBO, even though their charts don't look so great, as compared to CDZ and CUD?

Thanks in advance for your valued advice.