Investment Q&A

Q: With the strength of the US$ and problems China has been having ZEM has been on a downward slide. I hold it in my RRSP along with ZSP and PID and some laddered GICs. Am wondering if it’s time to move on from emerging markets and add to PID or another Intn’l ETF.

Q: Regarding the T1135 form, my understanding is that by owning both ILF (U.S. ETF) and Vale (ADR), they would need to be declared (i.e. not exempt from reporting) above the $100,000 threshold correct? I believe this is true unless they are held within an RRSP or a TFSA, in which case both would be exempt.

On the other hand, ETF's with foreign holdings that are created by Canadian institutions such as the BMO's ZEM would also be exempt from reporting, even if that one was held within an open account.

If the above is true, is there a Canadian-based alternative to the ILF ETF ? I would like to have some exposure to Latin America. ZEM, for instance, has holdings I'm not really interested in.

Q: Happy New Year to all the 5i team!

Question for you: should we be adding to ILF for emerging market exposure? It's dropped the past year with most everything else but is paying a monster dividend now (like 12.7 % going off of trailing year's payments). Am I missing something?

Should we be looking at something like ZEM instead?

Thanks!

Q: Hi
can you recommend a proxy for zem for tax loss harvesting?
thanks

Q: On a Risk/ Reward basis how do you feel about ZEM going out 5 years.
When your buying what everyone else is buying you can see what can happen, this year is a good example as people are getting a good beat down.
What % of my overall portfolio would you top this holding up to at this time.
Thanks Gord

Q: I'm down 35% on ZEM & don't know whether I should sell or hang in there. With the increasing US $ & many emerging countries with debt in US $ will those markets continue to fall. I believe that 30% or so of ZEM is China based with Alibaba & Ten cent being larger %ages. These stocks continue to be out of favour in China & are dropping in New York as well. Your opinions are always appreciated.
Dave

Q: I am currently in a loss position with ZEM. Would Revenue Canada allow me to claim a capital loss if I sold ZEM and immediately bought VEE?

What are the rules as to how Revenue Canada determines whether a new investment is sufficiently different to allow a capital loss?

Thank you for this wonderful service and the excellent advice.

Q: I have noticed that VEE outperforms ZEM both ytd and over 5 years. Do you anticipate that VEE will continue to outperform going forward? For a taxable account, which of these two ETFs do you recommend for a long term investment?

Thank you for all of your excellent advice.

Q: I have run Portfolio Analytics and it shows that I am overweight by region in Canada (5%) and the US (10%) and underweight in International (15%). Can you suggest 3 ETFs that will increase my International exposure in a non-registered account and include some details on these ETFs (projected performance, fees, yields, etc)?

Q: I am currently managing my TFSA/RRSP funds and some money outside of registered accounts, which are largely individual stocks. With the market volatility, potential recession and war in Ukraine, I am finding it more difficult to keep on top of the individual stocks and am therefore considering going to ETF's. I am a year away from retirement but would be ok with more risk in the TFSA/RRSP's.
Could you please suggest 5 ETF's for the registered accounts and 5 ETF's for the non-registered accounts.
Thank you,
Jacquie

Q: Hello, would you continue holding ZEM , how long might returns suffer, are there better alternatives? Thanks

Q: Dear 5i team.

Further to Cyril's question where you "hand selected a few of your favs from the three portfolios", is this a diversified enough list to put a small ETF portfolio together based on? Can you suggest which ETFs may be appropriate?

I recently upgraded to include your ETF portfolios. Can you "handpick your favs" in these given the current market backdrop, risks, and opportunities ahead?

Many thanks.

Q: Hello,
I own these 2 stocks. If the US-SEC delists Chinese stocks, will I be able to sell them, and will the value be close to current value or "zero" ?. Do you recommend to exit now?
Thanks
Carlo

Q: I have a small position in each of the above listed ETFs. I believe one must be invested in more than just North America but, I am concerned with the Geopolitical situation in Russia (re Ukraine) and China (re Taiwan). Additionally, these ETFs have been down lately and I'm thinking of selling them. What percentage of each ETF is invested in Russia/China? What would you recommend to replace these ETFs in order to exclude or have minimal exposure to Russia/China?

Thanks!

Q: Can you recommend a global ETF that trades on the Canadian exchange that includes the whole global market except for North America? I've found some that only include developed countries but would like it to include emerging markets as well.

Q: Hello,
I will be switching to an indexing strategy in the near future and have a few ETFs that I would like your comparisons/advice/opinions. All ETFs will be held in TFSAs or RRSPs over a long term.

1)S&P/TSX: XIU, XIC, HXT*

2)S&P 500: ZSP, HXS*

3)Emerging Markets: ZEM, XEC*

*denotes commission free trades.

4) In registered accounts, is there a long term advantage to having capital gains vs dividends distributions as is the case for HXT and HXS? I would reinvest any potential dividends in other ETFs.

Thank you.

Q: What does your most educated outlook say about emerging markets in the up-coming year? ZEM a good spot to put some cash to work? As always, your pragmatic views are most appreciated!! Ron

Q: I have been filling out my TSFA with the BMO equal weighted Canadian bank ETF and their utility ETF. I would like to add a emerging markets ETF. Would you recommend the BMO ETF or another ETF company’s product? Thanks Ken

Q: I would like to exit my brokerage RRSP to a self directed RRSP and I am looking for 4 to 5 Canadian EFT's to provide balanced diversification across sectors, nations, Portfolio Analytics suggests 70 equities/30 fixed income. Other ideas you have to create a balanced diversified ETF RRSP would be appreciated.
Are there any strategies( eg time of year) to make the switch or just do it.
Thank you for your service.

Q: The above ETFs represent my current holdings for Intn’l Equity exposure and are held in my RRSP. I am able to add to my Intn’l exposure in my RRSP and would like your recommendation for a C$ ETF that might fill in any gaps that my current holdings don’t cover or alternatively I could just add to my current holdings.
I do not need to RIF for 8 more years but some dividend yield would be preferable as I do draw out my div/int earnings annually.