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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: What would be your top 3 bond ETF picks for both Canadian and US bonds? Is now a good time to put money into these?

Read Answer Asked by Dan on March 17, 2023

Q: I'm confused when looking at the value in bond funds going up when the talk in town is that the rates will continue moving up even in Canada maybe a bit later this year. How is that? How do one reconcile that the the rise in yield moved in tandem with the rise in value Thursday and Friday?

Yves

Read Answer Asked by Yves on March 13, 2023

Q: I am looking at adding a 15 to 20 percent bond component to my portfolio. From the mix of laddered, aggregate, short/long term and high yield ETF’s listed. Which would you recommend and why? Please let me know if you have other possible suggestions? Thank you

Read Answer Asked by Myron on March 02, 2023

Q: Hello Team
I am a retired income investor. I have calculated that my RRIF needs to yield about 4% in order to last until age 93( using my targeted withdrawal rate )I am happy with ZAG which now pays 3.53% and has a yield to maturity of over 4%. Does this gap in yield mean that ZAG unit price is over valued or is that where the the yield is moving towards? Should investors ignore the yield to maturity or just focus on the general trend in rates( I hope to buy more ZAG as rates move further up)thanks Gary

Read Answer Asked by Gary on February 21, 2023

Q: I'd like your assessment of MKB versus aggregate bond etfs like XBB, ZAG, and VAB. Has MKB performed better than the listed etfs? If it has performed better then is it because the etf has taken on additional risk to achieve the higher return? How might one incorporate MKB into the bond portion of their portfolio? Is it worth the higher fees?

Read Answer Asked by Robert on February 16, 2023

Q: Hello 5i,

In your recent update, you are increasing XHY to 6% of the income portfolio. We own quite a bit of ZAG in a non-registered account (about 10% of the total portfolio) that we received this year as part of an inheritance. Given your update, does it make sense to sell some ZAG and replace with XHY? The remainder of investments are in mostly diverse growth stocks and other ETFs on your advice and I'm looking to retire in about 10 years.

Thank you and happy holidays,
John

Read Answer Asked by John on December 28, 2022

Q: I didn't have bonds this year and I wish I did even though it lost value it still did better than my portfolio tilted toward growth. If you were to initiate a bonds presence in your portfolio. Would you rather buy these 2 or one or the other. Any other suggestion is welcome.

Thx

Read Answer Asked by Yves on December 21, 2022

Q: hello 5i:
We hold the Pimco Monthly Income Fund as our sole Global Fixed Income contributor. We are not displeased with it, but wonder if you favour another ETF, or mutual fund, that could replace it, or complement it. We would probably expect at least a 4.5% distribution. Ideas?
thanks
Paul L

Read Answer Asked by Paul on November 28, 2022

Q: For price appreciation in the next 12-24 months, would you prefer a long-term ETF like XLB/TLT or an ETF with shorter duration like XBB/ZAG. Or a bit of both?
Thanks.

Read Answer Asked by Denise on November 18, 2022

Q: Great October Market Report. I notice that in the 2008 and 2020 periods, job opening numbers began to decline only after higher rates had plateaued for a period of time. Today, job opening numbers have started to decline before higher rates have begun to plateau. Does this suggest the FED has gone too far to fast...and is poised, or could be forced, to quickly pivot? I'm just looking for a good reason to step into ZAG, or XBB for some decent yields and opportunities for capital growth. Thanks as always.

Read Answer Asked by Curtis on October 20, 2022

Q: How would you suggest a 70+ participate in this market,if at all?

Read Answer Asked by TERRY on September 19, 2022

Q: What are your thoughts on index funds and if you were to buy a few which ones would it be, following the Canadian and US exchanges?

Thanks

Read Answer Asked by Cam on August 31, 2022

Q: I am 80 and I have 85 k in my TFSA . Iam looking to invest in Fix income . What would you suggest ?

Read Answer Asked by charlie on July 27, 2022

Q: Hi team. About a year ago I sold out of ZAG and replaced it with ZST. This has worked well as ZAG dropped about 16% while ZST was relatively flat. I would have thought that with rates still rising, ZST would be a safer place to be but I have heard a number of recommendations on BNN and elsewhere that it is time to get back into longer term bonds. I have noticed that the share price of ZAG has been turning up recently. Is it time to switch back into ZAG?

Read Answer Asked by Ken on July 08, 2022