Investment Q&A

Q: In my open (unregistered) account, I currently own VGRO and am looking to invest some funds in ETFs . What is the difference between ZLU and ZLU.U? How would your rate the above ETFs for growth over the next 5 years? Do these ETFs hold similar investments (stocks, bonds, etc)? If I invested in 2 ETFs, which ETFs would be complimentary? Can you suggest similar ETFs with better growth potential in the next 5 years? Thank you

Q: I have been unable to find a comparison between these 2 BMO US ETFs. Would you suggest one over the other for a senior well into retirement? Fixed income taken care of.

Q: Emerging markets are getting some attention lately for reasonable valuations.
India is being mentioned as a strong growth country. Many experts suggest US large corps as a better way to invest rather than the corps of the emerging markets .
What are your thoughts and ideas for investment to take advantage of emerging markets as far as actual emerging market etf or etf of large cap US based major exporters/worldwide etf. ?

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team.

Would you endorse a switch from ZLU to VFV? When I look at the sector breakdown of ZLU, I notice that ZLU is heavy in sectors that probably should currently be under-represented, and very light in sectors that should have higher concentration. And of course, the MER of 0.08% for VFV is better than ZLUs of 0.30%.

ZLU is held in our Margin account, and VFV is already held in our RRIFs.

Thanks as always for the timely advice.

Q: I am looking at investing 2023 contributions (2 x $6500) in stocks and/or ETFs. Please provide 5 stocks and 5 ETFs for long term hold. Rank the stocks and ETFs and comment on why they are being recommended,

Current stock holdings include: BYND, BAM, BN, REGN, TSLA

Current ETFs: QQQ, VGRO, ZEM, SKYY, IHI, XIT and SPY

Thank you

Q: I have US exposure through a company pension that tracks the S&P. It represents about 20% of my overall holdings. I have recently come into enough US cash to add two or three new individual holdings, or perhaps buy an ETF or two that would complement the S&P tracking pension. I would welcome your thoughts and suggestions for individual stocks or ETFs that would be suitable additions.

Q: Hi Peter,
I want to move my investments to a portfolio of ETF's, Please suggest a group of ETF's with strong growth potential for Long term ( 10-15 years).

Q: zlu follow up question, thanks for pointing out that zlu trades in USD as zlu.u
When i compare performance of those 2 ETFs using yahoo finance or questrade edge or the bmo website zlu significantly outperforms zlu.u over any time frame
If the performance was similar i would invest in zlu.u as it is in my rrsp account but in this case given the outperformance i think i will opt for zlu.
I do not understand the performance differential, assume fx must be related but it seems like too much.

Q: Is there an equivalent to ZLU in US Dollars? I would like to invest in ZLU but since it will be in my RRSP i think i should invest in US Dollars if possible. There are many funds that follow the S&P 500 Value Index but ZLU has outperformed those over the last few years.

Q: I am thinking of setting up my portfolio with 25% positions in XIU, ZLB, XSP, ZLU. I am trying to avoid bonds and International stocks as they always seem to be a drag on the portfolio. With this arrangement I feel I have a better chance for returns closer to the market. With the low volatility ETF’s, I am hoping my positions would cause less volatility and would smooth out returns as the holdings in each are well correlated. Would you consider this plan to be too risky or would you have any other commentary or suggestions?

Q: Hi Peter & 5i,
Wishing you and the staff a joyous holiday season!
Would you see any red flags in this portfolio for a conservative investor needing the dividends for cash flow. The portfolio would be 50% equities and 50% fixed income - 5 year laddered GIC's.
Here are the stocks and their proposed weightings:
Financial Royal Bank RY 5.7%
TD Bank TD 3.6%
Sun Life SLF 4.4%
Power Corp POW 4.0%
Utility Fortis FTS 5.7%
Brookfield Renewable BEPC 4.2%
Algonquin Power AQN 2.2%
Comm TELUS T 4.7%
Bell BCE 4.1%
Cons Staple Costco COST 4.3%
Loblaws L 4.0%
Cons Discr. Magna MG 3.8%
Restaurant Brands QSR 2.4%
Industrial CN Rail CNR 5.2%
Savaria SIS 3.6%
Energy Enbridge ENB 4.6%
Suncor SU 2.9%
Materials Nutrien NTR 4.3%
Real Estate BMO-Equal Weight ZRE 4.2%
Tech Thomson Reuters TRI 4.8%
Health Evolve Global Health LIFE 3.8%
ETF BMO-Low Volatility US ZLU 8.7%
iShares-US Equity-Hedge XSP 4.8%
Thanks so much for the fantastic service.

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team,

We need to increase our US exposure and wish to do this in our non-registered account. We're considering CUD and VGG as we'd rather use ETFs. (Our broker allows us to buy and sell CUD with zero commission, and not so with VGG, but this wouldn't be a 'make or break' reason for choosing one over the other). What would your recommendation be when considering tax efficiency, performance, volatility, and other important metrics? I do like that CUD has a relatively low weight in Technology, as our Canadian holdings like CSU, ENGH, KXS, TOI, etc. have done so well, and we're now overweight in this sector, thanks to 5i. :) Also, if there are any other US ETFs sold on the TSX that you think we should consider, we'd appreciate that info as well.

Thanks in advance for all your assistance and wise counsel.

Q: Hi Peter and Ryan

Understanding that timing the market can be difficult and trying to follow your recommendations for the most part has been very useful information. Thank you
I am looking to “lie low” through what I believe to be a coming correction and wish to invest in ETFs with some protection

I am looking at ZDY ZLU ZLB ZEB as a 20 % of my portfolio over the summer. Your comments please and so you have other etfs that might be of interest... Icahn comes to mind

Peter

Q: Hi Gentleman,
I currently have a portfolio that I do not need to access for 10 years. Currently I have MFC4644 - $100K, XWD - $160K, ZLU - $190K and VGRO - $220K. Would you make any adjustments or other suggestions to my current holdings.
Thank you,
SF

Q: If you were to buy just one of these ETFs, which would you buy for a long term hold and would you purchase right now
Thanks

Q: Which best bang for the buck should a retiree look at when looking for some US exposure through ETFS, for the future recovery, I have no US exposure as of now and would like to take advantage of the downturn, I get by on the pensions I have.
Thank you.

Q: ..would you step into these two today?

Q: Hi Peter. I own ZWH.U which is down about 26%. I had thought that the covered call strategy would have provided some shelter from the downdraft, but it appears that really isn't the case. Oh well. My question relates to going forward. Since the covered call strategy will likely limit future gains, what ETF would you suggest for ZWH.U's replacement in my US accounts? thanks, J

Q: I am looking to pair ETFs or stocks for growth and safety. What do you think about this idea and XMU [or ZLU] and ZUQ, for example. What portfolio percentage would you allocate to this strategy?

Q: I sold my business and started a non-registered investment account in November 2019 and currently have no US equity. I am semi-retired and looking for total return, with a 10 year time line. Can you recommend an ETF that I can slowly add to with market dips? ZDY is down about 10% YTD, trading a 52-week low with a P/E of 14.90 and dividend of about 3.25%. But ZSP and ZLU have historically better 3-year returns. I would be grateful for your recommendations. Thank you!