Investment Q&A

Q: Given the possibility of a recession and the certainty of volatility for the next couple years, can you give me 4 CDN and 4 US stocks/etf's, you think might provide some safety and reliable, albeit moderated returns? The equities I've listed are my ideas.

Q: What order and at what price would you nibble at the stocks listed (already own them all at this point but no full positions other than Cost) + brief explanation why?

Is there any other screaming buys you would recommend at this time regardless of sector , Thanks for your help with my portfolio

Q: Hello:

With some coaching my older sons (aged 15 & 17) have come to realize that money sitting in a bank account is losing value due to inflation. They have taken small positions in ZQQ which appeals to their interests and the market has declined a bit but the silver lining is that they learn patience and understand risk.

With part-time jobs they have some more cash to deploy. Of course CAD holdings are easier but what would you pick? A few I think of:

BAM.A - Canadian and should see stable growth.
SLF - Canadian, but too conservative?
COST - USD is messier with FX fees but also very stable growth.
GOOG - USD again, but is it still considered cheap?

Other options?

Thank you!

Q: HI,

Do you think its time to get back to tech stocks? I already own CSU. If so, can u rank the CDN teck stocks (CTS, DSG, XIT, ZQQ, KXS, LSPD, Shop) based on reliable growth and manageable volatility? if you have better ideas please include them.

Q: I am looking for some TECH dividend exposure in an etf within a rrif I am 75 hoping to have a 5 year hold. Any suggestions welcome. Safety and Dividend growth would be nice. Thanks have a great day

Q: Hello 5i,

My question relates to ETFs such as ZQQ and others put out by BMO that hold foreign stocks and Tax Form T1135. Are these considered foreign property and thus have to reported on form T1135. My broker did not really know and the CRA site did not deal with ETFs
Thank you for your answer.Cheers

Q: My unregistered investment account has a 50% core of VEQT and 5 equally weighted satellites; CEW, VGG, XSU, ZEO and ZQQ. I am considering overweighting CEW and ZEO. Do you think this is a good idea, would you use some of the other satellites or just stick with equal weighting. I would like to maximize the return without unduly increasing the risk. Thank you

Q: Do Canadian ETFs that track US tech firms underperform? I was looking at these and a few others on the G&W and the Canadian ETFs with the exception of HTA and HTA.B (up 35%ytd) seem to have significantly lower returns. And I think HTA uses covered calls.

XLK is up 32% ytd, IYW 35%, IGN 31%. The most popular Canadian ETFS seem to be ZQQ(ZQN) 26%, XQQ and HQQ 26% and TEC 25%. Some of this is due to currency moves, but the hedging costs of the hedged ETFs surely aren't that large. Is it better to just buy XLK or are HTA/HTA.B a better alternative?

Q: There seem to be a number of CAD Hedged NASDAQ 100 ETF options. Which one(s) would you recommend for a couple of young investors, both of whom will be making regular, small contributions - one to an unregistered account and one to an RRSP? Was thinking of pairing with XEQT as both are looking for 100% equity exposure (in CAD). Your thoughts on this or other suggestions to pair with the NASDAQ 100 that may be more suitable would be appreciated. Thanks.

Q: In my grandchildren RESP I currently own IWO and VRO. I would like to add a third ETF, which would be better VGG or ZQQ? Money not needed for 12 years. At what $ amount would you start to invest in individual stocks?
Thanks

Q: Recently I sold units in FID6000 in my grandson's RESP because of its poor year to date performance and high MER. We did book an overall gain of 130% over a 3 year period. The RESP account owns a variety of income producing positions. that have modest gains. I am looking to invest in something growth oriented, with maybe a 3 to 5 year horizon ahead. I am considering splitting between one or two ETFs listed above and possibly TOI. Do you expect further growth from TOI?. Opinions on ETF's please. Moderate risk OK. Canadian currency only account.

Q: What are the Can ETFs that cover the main US ETFs, like SPY? And what are their mers?

What are the advantages of using these Canadian versions?

Do you still require W-BEN forms if you buy these?

Thanks for all your help.

Q: I had a portfolio review many years ago when you did them individually, personally by human! At the time your suggestions were right on and cleaned up my ETF's. Now I have over ten and according to your metrics it should not be so. Given those above, is there anything that is not required? I am up 25%- 150% on all of them. I am happy with all of them. I have a balanced portfolio in all 11 sectors with 44 stocks all doing quite nicely thank you. Following the income portfolio with some of my own additions from 15 years ago. I do not see any major conflicts.I am s a buy and hold dividend investor with some growth ( lightspeed, Leon's).
Thank you for your million dollar service!
Stanley

Q: Further to my question of March 19, I have received the funds which represent 15% of my non registered account ( and 7.5 % of total portfolios).
I have added the hedged ZQQ to the list as I have no tech exposure in any portfolio and have a US property being 20% of my total assets, thus providing adequate currency diversification.
I used one third of the new funds to purchase BAM and am now looking for the next 2. Your suggestion and reasons are appreciated. Derek

Q: I am beginning to shift out of specific technology stocks and into technology ETFs simply out of personal preference from a diversification and risk allocation perspective. I presently own EARK and read with great interest the Morningstar article you posted last week (No Room for ARK) which presented some other perspectives on the ARK funds in general (going forward) including some of the challenges very successful actively managed technology funds eventually face when they become so large. Which brings me to a few questions. 1. Do some of the go forward challenges the US ARK funds may encounter also apply to the much smaller Canadian versions offered through Emerge, such as EARK? 2. Can you comment generally on technology ETF alternatives such as ZQQ or TEC? I am interested in particular about understanding the comparison of a more actively managed technology focused ETF vs. a more passive index tracking ETF or one (like TEC) that seems to be a hybrid in that it tracks an index but periodically rebalances. This can all be a bit confusing so any general explanations of pros/cons would help immensely. Thanks.

Q: Good morning,

Could you please suggest a couple ideas for tech and health care exposure within a TFSA. I hear there are advantages/disadvantages of different type of ETFs.
Thanks

Q: With BAM's takeover of BPY I will have some cash in my RRSP to invest. I want to add to my position in the US market. I currently hold the above ETFs in my RRSP in fairly equal weightings and represents a total of 20% of my total investible assest. The cash from BPY would represent a half position relative to my other US holdings. I do not need to RRIF for another 8 years.
2 questions:
1. Can you recommend another ETF for the US market in CAD that might supplement my current holdings or simply add proportionally to my existing holdings.
2. I am a bit concerned about the S&P 500 and the recent addition of Tesla which is at a stratospheric valuation in addition to the FANG stocks which are also at high valuations. (I also have a position in FANG with ZQQ). Would a switch to EQL or similar ETF provide a better balance and take advantage of a more broad market recovery in 2021.
Thanks.

Q: Happy New Year!
I currently have no US exposure, Looking for some Canadian Based ETF US Tech exposure. Interested in XQQ. It has risen a lot the past year with the rest of the market. Is it buyable today? Do you have another preference? Is it suitable for a non-registered account?

Secondly, if I want to build up my US exposure using Canadian ETFs, can you give me some names I could start with?

Q: My Grandson is 10 month old. Looking for a tech ETF for his RESP. Would you list your number 1 - 4 picks.

Q: Are there any Canadian based etfs that track the Nasdaq 100 index similar to ZQQ but are not hedged to CAD?