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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: I've asked quite a few questions on these new Hamilton ETF's and thank you for the explanations you have given me thus far . They have been very informative ..... I'll likely have a few more before I make my final decision on whether to purchase .... I have noticed that though 5i generally gives them a nod of approval you fail to recommend them in questions as a covered call option. For example in a question this morning from KIM looking to replace his 11% yield from EIT.UN you give ZWU as an option instead of UMAX which yields better than KIim's target yield. First question is why ? The fact that you are giving the nod to the BMO product is making me pause in my purchase of the Hamilton product .....
Second question is though UMAX has only been around since June 23 please give the both the return without dividends and the return including dividends for both UMAX and ZWU during the available time period ? Thanks for your terrific service .....
Read Answer Asked by Garth on March 21, 2024
Q: Hamilton has the tax breakdown of their ETF's for 2023 posted on their website. I see both HMAX and UMAX distributions are 84% Return of Capital. This seems high. Do you think this is an aberration or potentially the norm? If an aberration, could you please quesstimate a percent range that you'd expect Return of Capital to usually be.
Read Answer Asked by Brent on March 01, 2024
Q: In my RRIF , I am looking at selling one of these stocks to buy UMAX for its higher yield and diversified holdings. Forgetting portfolio composition , please provide the order in which you would sell first (1) and then to last (5).
Thanks. Derek.
Read Answer Asked by Derek on February 02, 2024
Q: Good evening,

I have a couple of questions regarding the following 5 ETF's. If it cost more than one credit that is ok. Just curious if you only own those 5 ETF's how diversified would you be? I understand that you be giving up some upside but from a diversification perspective do you have all your sectors covered?

For full disclosure I have 15 percent of my entire portfolio allocated to this 5 ETfs too add a little boost in income.

My last question regarding these 5 ETF's iss they all pay a distribution except SMAX and QMAX. SMAX and QMAX pay dividends according to my platform BMO investorline. Does that mean both these two are eligible for the dividend tax credit?

Thanks and have a great day.
Jimmy
Read Answer Asked by Jimmy on December 21, 2023
Q: So a lot of people think that interest rates have peaked and are set to go down, thus the market reacts positively. I believe that interest rates have peaked BUT will remain higher for longer. I anticipate that the market will initially react negatively to this but eventually will settle down to the new reality and continue to react to such metrics as earnings growth etc..
Recognizing that no one really knows the future, what would be the likely scenario ( short and long term ) for each of the sector ETF’s I am invested in : Canadian banks , American tech, American healthcare, Canadian large cap industrials/ utilities. Thanks. Derek.
Read Answer Asked by Derek on December 18, 2023
Q: Could you please give me your thoughts on the following etf's for a RIF that is looking at income? HMAX,UMAX,SMAX and QMAX. Thanks Gary
Read Answer Asked by Gary on December 06, 2023
Q: A little while ago I asked 5i what the current yield was for UMAX and HMAX as I wanted to target the yield for an entry point . Could 5i give me the formula to use so I can do this on my own ? Use HMAX as an example to illustrate using the formula ..... Thanks Garth
Read Answer Asked by Garth on November 27, 2023
Q: I have incorporated these ETF’s into my RRIF with the goal of deferring taking capital from my principal ( mandatory and rising % withdrawal requirements ). They now represent 33% of total portfolio. My TFSA and cash accounts equal my
RRIF and are more growth oriented. The ETF’s give me a high yield, diversified portfolio of solid large cap, primarily low growth companies in Canada and the US. So I ask myself “ Why don’t I have my RRIF be 100% of these 5 ETF’s ? What say you ?

Thanks Derek.
Read Answer Asked by Derek on November 27, 2023
Q: I am an income investor. I believe that umax and zwu are similar.

Would umax (14% yield) not be preferred to zwu at 8.2%

Same for qmax (11.8%) vs. txf at 8.3%

thank you for your comments

Read Answer Asked by JACK on November 23, 2023
Q: I would like to put about 50% of my portfolio into safe, higher yielding (10%+) Canadian focused ETF's or Mutual Funds, and adjust my holdings as needed going forward based on sector performance. I feel that both Banks & Utilities are nearing lows and that a further correction may occur in the general market due to tax loss selling or possibly one more rate hike. Do you feel that the mix of ETF's listed provide a safe way to invest with the goals indicated? What % for each, as part of the 50%, would you recommend as a holding, and how would they be treated for tax purposes? Thanks for the great service and please use as many credits as necessary.
Read Answer Asked by Will on October 25, 2023
Q: From what I understand from 5i - HCAL should move up much faster than HMAX and ZWU should move up faster than UMAX when the market begins its recovery. Is this a correct analogy? Thx James
Read Answer Asked by JAMES on October 20, 2023
Q: In reference to your answer today regarding selling the 4 stocks to replace with UMAX, you state that UMAX is “ fully invested in utilities “. I do not believe this to be true as it holds industrials such as WCN, CP, CN , and pipelines and phone companies, which may have a deep moat but I do not class as utilities. I bought this etf for its selection of solid large cap companies across several sectors. True utilities in this ETF are FTS, EMA, NPI, H, ( 30 % of total etf ). The name of the etf is a bit of a misnomer.
Thanks. Derek.
Read Answer Asked by Derek on October 12, 2023
Q: In my RRIF, where income with some growth is the aim, I am considering replacing one or all of EIF, SPB, PKI, CRR.UN with UMAX ETF. In what order would you sell ( I believe it’s best to spread this out over the next 6 months) ? Is there any stock you would keep or is a definite sell ? This will double the portfolio’s income and offset the rising mandatory withdrawal . This will also increase my portfolio’s composition of large cap industrial and utility companies. Your opinion on this approach is appreciated. Thanks. Derek.
Read Answer Asked by Derek on October 12, 2023
Q: My TD Waterhouse account used to show a calculated yield based on the current price of UMAX and HMAX but for some reason shows no yield for UMAX and 10.8% for HMAX now ...... Yahoo Finance isn't much better . And the Hamilton website shows 13% and 15.5% no matter what the ETF price is ..... So the first question is what is the calculated yield for both at today's price ? And second what would be the unit price for my targeted entry point of both 14% and 14.5% for UMAX { still making up my mind on UMAX entry price } .... and 16.5% for HMAX ? With rising rates hurting utlities and banks in the doghouse I'm inclined to think I might get those entry points .....
Read Answer Asked by Garth on October 04, 2023