Investment Q&A

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!

Q: I know this is outside 5i's wheelhouse, but I am going to cheekily ask it anyway. I am contemplating a 50% drawdown of my investments (to purchase a cottage) and want to determine the optimal way to do so. 50% of my investments are in a cash account, and roughly 50% split equally between TFSAs and RRSPs (all of which are maxed out). Almost all my high growth stocks are in my TFSA (NVDA, VRT, GOOG, MSFT, AMZN), with mostly slower growers and dividend stocks in the other accounts. Considering both tax consequences and the need to continue having a diversified portfolio, where would YOU take the money from?

Q: 5i, In my RRSP have 3 US stocks NVDA, JPM, BRK.B , soon to start withdrawing, I would like to find CAD equivalent for them, would you please suggest a replacement. Does it make sense to keep in my RRSP all in CAD stocks?

Q: Good morning
My question is regarding RESPs.. I’m currently holding CSU, LMN and VFV in my RESP. All equal weightings. Would you top up or add ? If adding, please list your top 5 in order. Thanks

Q: Please recommend the name of 5 TSX stocks, for starting a $100k retirement fund, earning 10% on dividends + appreciation, relatively low risk. Thank you.

Q: I am learning to use portfolio analytics (PA). PA provides some guidance that makes a lot of sense from a tax efficient perspective. For example, it recommends to place Canadian dividend payers in unregistered accounts and Canadian and US growth funds into TFSAs. Are there any downfalls to not having each account diversified?

Q: Hello,

General best practice question here on portfolio diversification based on a question asked many years ago.

1. If you were starting fresh with an equity portfolio, how many names would you choose and would they all be equal weight by name? Within that number, would you have a recommendation investing in a set number of ETF's?

2. Would you recommend adding stocks across each of the 10-14 sectors (or prioritize specific ones) and apply the same weight?

3. In terms of tax benefits, would you tend to hold US stock in a TFSA or RRSP? I seem to read conflicting views.