Investment Q&A

Q: Hi I was hoping you could help explain where an RRSP is preferred in investing over a TFSA. I consistently try to offset my income by contributing annually to my RRSP, however unsure the types of stocks or ETFs I should be holding. I currently pay into a pension, hence (pension + RRSP money) results in a higher tax bracket at retirement leading to more taxes down the road. I hold mostly high growth stocks as I feel I have time on my side with my age of 41, although don’t want to get bailed on taxes down the road. Something I feel I can’t avoid.

My question is, should I be holding such high growth stocks in my RRSP or consider other options ? If so, what?

I do understand TFSA’s are generally preferred for tax free reasons. This being said, my RRSP is steadily growing year after year.

Any guidance is much appreciated.

Q: For a 5-10 year hold within a TFSA could you please provide your top 10 Canadian stocks or CDR’s ranked by total return/compounding potential? For a non-registered account with a 3-5 year timeframe could you also do a top 10 list including both Canadian or US equities (no CDR’s), again ranked by total return/compounding potential? Thanks.

Q: Which ETF do you feel compliments VOO the most? This would be for my RRSP. Also, I’m 15 years from retirement.

Your top 3 in order preferably?

US/CND/international/All world.. doesn’t matter.

Thank you

Q: I am coming into a $50,000 gift from aging parents, and would like to invest for my 10 month old son’s education. I want long term growth until he needs the money (probably 18 years or so). Would you recommend 100% ZSP or some other ETF? Also, should I buy in one shot as soon as I have the money ?

Q: Might buy a house, probably won't buy a house. Prices so high, I've been maxout out the FHSA so far and it's mostly in VEQT, bit of PLTR and CRWD which have done well. What other US or CAD stock would you recommend (shorter term BUT will leave it in there longer if market goes down/ ultimately could convert to RRSP) that is underpriced and or could have huge potential upside. Imagining turning the FHSA $40,000 limit into ... ideally a $200,000 down pmt over the next 3-10 years

Q: Hi team. A few months ago I asked about the best stocks and/or ETFs for my 32 year old son to invest $12K of RRSP $. We didn't get to this yet.... In the past you recommended a few ETFs. What would you recommend today. I'll help him get this invested through a self directed plan next week. Thank you!

Q: In retirement I currently rely on my non-registered portfolio to provide about 80% of my income. Within this portfolio only 15% of the portfolio could be classified as dividend or income stocks (like CNQ, RY with 3-5% dividends). Thus far I have been creating income by skimming from my growth stocks, rebalancing when needed, and cashing in on my losers. While I recognize that a higher portion of dividend stocks would provide a greater sense of income certainty and less volatility, I have felt reluctant to forgo, what I currently believe to be, the potential for greater growth by focusing on the careful and patient management of higher potential growth stocks.
Question: From your experience, will I have a greater probability (not certainty) of creating more income in the long term (10 years) through this strategy or should I rely on a greater portion of dividend stocks?

Q: I'm writing to follow up on your response to Josh's questions regarding beaten-down Canadian stocks.

Would you kindly rank your preferred order of purchases among the names discussed? Are there any that you would consider "table-pounding" buys at current levels?

Please also include your thoughts on CNQ, as well as FOUR, ROAD, and CLBT.

Thank you,

Q: Hi 5i,

In response to Marcel's question on retirement planning:

This link takes a little trial and error based on variables set by the user. I found it very useful for Meltdown strategies for RRSP's. .

https://mayretire.com/

D&J

Q: I've been reading a lot about what retirees should do in this environment and most people suggest, have a cash wedge you're comfortable with and keep the balance of your portfolio in the market.

That seems reasonable to me if you have a portfolio. Have you an idea of what percentage of the general public has investments? Are we just talking to a privileged few? Thanks

Q: When a RRSP becomes converted into a RRIF ,I tend to believe that owning a certain proportion of covered calls ETF ( let's say 30- 40% ?) could be interesting in order to get enough dividends each year , to avoid selling, and to preserve the capital for constant revenues when you are in excellent health..Thanks for any comments or suggestions ,the goal being long term optimized revenues .

Q: What’s the best type of account to put this fund in?

Q: Are those funds advantageous to hold in a rsp account regarding on the withholding of US dividends? I am never sure if those dividends get charged fo all holders, or just the cash accounts. So if these do not shelter the rsp from the tax, which equivalent would you suggest.?
Thank you

Q: Another newbie question here. I have RRSP accounts in both $US and $ CAN. When calculating the percentage a position represents, should I use the total worth of both RRSP accounts combined or separately? I really appreciate any help you can provide. Cheers.

Q: Hello Peter,
I tried to balance growth and income as well as dividends (no with holding tax in RRSP for US stocks but there is in TFSA), and hence, can you let me know if these make sense for a mid 20s person starting off to have a more growth in TFSA and more income in RRSP.
TFSA: veqt, vgg, and xfn and maybe xic ( veqt has cdn exposure so thought i would exclude xic )
RRSP: vbal, zuq, xic, and xuu all of these trade on tsx. Much appreciated.

Q: This year, I transferred most of my Canadian TFSA funds to US and into USA Equities. Now a friend told me I can only hold so much of my total holding in US. Is there a limit on how much I can hold in TFSA, RIFF or Cash account?

Q: For a young investor (18 yrs) making regular contributions to a RRSP, TFSA, and FHSA. Using an all-in-one ETF approach, are there all in one ETF's that are better suited for each of the different accounts? Would an all equity ETF be appropriate in any of these accounts?

Q: Hi


I ask this for tax savings in the end.

As I am single (widowed age 68) and have done very good as a result of 5i.

When I pass away have my RRSP will be taxed at about 50%.

My thinking is moving my RRSP into a RIFF and start withdrawing now and funneling my payments to my children after paying the taxes.

I do not receive OAS now, so it is not a issue.

I would like to see my children learn how to invest now.

Does this make sense.

Thank you

Mike

Q: I have been fortunate enough to retire before my husband and we live off of his salary. Currently I have over $1M in Registered trading accounts. In this scenario, is it typically better for a person to start taking money out of their RRSP when they have no income, and then move these funds to an unregistered trading account to grow, or is it better to leave this money in a registered account, take a large tax hit later, and let it grow sheltered until needed? As always, your comments are very much appreciated.

Q: In the next couple of months, I will start a monthly drawdown of my RRSP account as a part of my retirement plan. Is there a good strategy for this, or perhaps an article you can send me to? I wonder if the cheese slice strategy is best, or planning ahead by a month or more by trimming the runners and stock-piling some cash so I'm not in a position to sell on a "down" day. Any ideas you have will be handy - thanks!