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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: Over the last couple months I have increased the fixed income portion of my RSP, and would like to finish with a smallish position in a a high-yield bond ETF. Been looking at PDI and ZHY/XHY (they seem about the same). Some questions:

1) is the current PDI premium normal for this fund on a historical basis
2) the PDI dividend seems consistent, but how do they manage to maintain that level
3) PDI is more international than the others - do you see this as a positive or negative for high-yield corporate holdings
4) do you think it is too early to get into high-yield if interest rates keep going up or if we get into a "significant" recession
5) who do you consider to be the best manager of these 3 ETFs, and if you would buy , which is your pick and why
Thank-you Grant
Read Answer Asked by grant on February 06, 2023
Q: To full fill RIF withdrawal obligations, I am seeking high yield vehicles and found HYI, ZHY and ZJK, they all have above 6% yield. HYI is called active high yield bond ETF even has 7.33% yield. Does active high yield more risky than other two? What do you take on these ETFs if you are a yield seeking investor? Thanks. Lin
Read Answer Asked by Lin on January 18, 2023
Q: In the present interest rate environment and going forward 6- 12 months, which ETF is preferable i.e. XHY, PFIA, MFT, ZHY, XSB,XBB OR PYF? Would you choose 1 or a combination?

Thanks for your service!
Read Answer Asked by Ozzie on October 12, 2022
Q: I own ZHY, XHY and ZEF bond ETFs. They do pay some income, but the capital is getting constantly depleted - I am 10% down on ZHY/XHY and 5% down on ZEF after holding them for many years. Is there a point of keeping these funds or should I get rid of them?
Read Answer Asked by Mirjana on August 26, 2021
Q: In a flat or a rising interest rate environment which ETF is preferable i.e XHY, PFIA, MFT, ZHY OR PYF?

Thanks for your service!
Read Answer Asked by Ozzie on July 12, 2021
Q: I am planning to allocate ~4% of my total investment portfolio (16% of my total fixed income allocation) to a high-yield bond ETF (within an RRSP) with a long time frame. Please comment on more mainstream selections like ZHY and HYG vs something like ANGL.
Read Answer Asked by David on December 02, 2020
Q: Hi Guys, I was thinking of putting this ETF in my TFSA for some monthly income. I was wondering if there would be a withholding tax applied if it is in a TFSA because of the US content. I there is do you know how much? If there is then perhaps this would be more suited in an RRSP. I'm retired and am looking for income. Thanks for your help.

Mike
Read Answer Asked by Michael on November 26, 2020
Q: Please rate these as BUY; HOLD; or IGNORE. My purpose, of course, is market down turn protection.
Read Answer Asked by Terry on August 26, 2019
Q: I hold about 12% of our fixed income in ZHY, the balance in ZAG. If we are heading into recession, default rates my rise but interest rates may fall. Does this holding make sense for a balanced (60/40) portfolio, retired investor living off the income. Capital preservation is important but volatility is expected and tolerable. Thanks for the fine service! Jim
Read Answer Asked by Jim on August 15, 2019
Q: ZHY: high yield bond fund. Sitting on a fair bit of cash in RIF & RRSP from accumulated dividends. Don't want to deploy into buying more shares (dividend growers) as I think there may be a buying opportunity in the near future: uncertain economy and interest rate policy. Mild recession - rates the same or may go down, and if no recession rates may go up again at some point. Each scenario will have an opposite effect of the price of this ETF. Best case please.
Read Answer Asked by James on April 03, 2019
Q: Hi 5i,

I need to create a fixed income allocation in my LIRA. Would you recommend an equal allocation to the following ETF's: CBO, XBB, ZEF, CPD and ZHY? If not what would you recommend for a fixed income etf position.

Thanks,
Read Answer Asked by Christopher on June 18, 2018
Q: Hi 5i,

Need to create a new fixed income/bond position in my portfolio. Looking to allocate holdings (equally?) across the following ETF's: CBO, XBB, ZEF, CPD, and ZHY. Would you recommend this as a good long term strategy or would there be a better ETF combination you'd recommend.

BTW loved your May issue in ETF Fund Update (etffundupdate.ca) on balancing sector allocation.
Read Answer Asked by Christopher on June 18, 2018
Q: Hi, I purchased this and ZHY in a few registered accounts for the yield and thinking they might be a little more immune to decline in a rising interest rate scenario. Now I'm not too sure. Should I sell or are the prices reflecting recent interest rate bumps?
Many thanks you guys do a great job!
Bob
Read Answer Asked by Robert on April 02, 2018