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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: Hi 5i team,

As many do, I currently hold part of my portfolio in fixed income (bond etfs). I am wondering if you can recommend any fixed income or "fixed income like" investments that might hold up best in the current rising rate environment that seems to have a long way to run. I had held ZAG but have switched to VSB with rates rising. Currently even cash is doing better than these however. Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Peter on March 25, 2022
Q: According to a G&M article on treat of stagflation, XSB is not a good choice of invest re 40-60 portfolio.
Assuming you agree with this article what would be your top 3 or 4 investment to replace XSB ?
Read Answer Asked by Roy on March 21, 2022
Q: What is your view on QYLD as a place to stash cash in the current market? Looking at the chart, although its unit value has dropped since inception, it seems to have held its value on a total return basis - would you agree? Any better recommendation?
Read Answer Asked by David on March 14, 2022
Q: Hello 5i
We're curious about FLX (formerly FLOT)

Held since 2018Dec it was up ~2.85% including Interest pmts at 2021Dec31
Since then it has further dropped and we are now down ~2.0% (including interest pmts)
Would appreciate your opinion whether this is due to the change in its
investment objective introduced in December, or is it more related to the market
scenario since then.

Would you recommend holding or exchange for some safer bond ETF ?
If the latter could you please provide a couple of examples

Thanks for your guidance.
Terrance
Read Answer Asked by Terrance on March 14, 2022
Q: If you were to sell any of the above, list in order your top 5 or 6. Or would you keep the portfolio as is for next 3 years.
Roy
Read Answer Asked by Roy on March 04, 2022
Q: Context: Sold CNQ after a long run up. Funds now to deploy into a locked in RSP about to be unlocked into an income stream. Currently have all blue chip dividend payers and am looking to offset risk by initiating a bond position. Looking for:
-CDN domiciled etf with NA and/or Global focus
-3% minimum yield
-High grade but willing to accept corporates for yield
-Prefer shorter term to maturity, to match future rate increases
-If not CDN domiciled, willing to look at US and willing to look at more than one to match criteria

Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by Harry on February 28, 2022
Q: Portolio Analytics shows that I'm woefully short in fixed income. I am wholly unfamiliar with the category - is it as simple as shopping for the best GIC rate, or are there other, better options I should consider? Please give me some recommendations. Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Ben on February 23, 2022
Q: I have used hfr to park cash for several years. With rates about to rise I want to park some additional cash there but wondering if there is/are other short-term note etfs you can recommend for comparison.

Thanks very much.

Mike
Read Answer Asked by Michael on February 17, 2022
Q: It seems certain there will be several interest rate increases this year (and possibly more in 2023). That means fixed income will become more attractive. Please provide your outlook on this change and discuss how various fixed-income types (bonds, mortgages, mortgage-backed securities, consumer financing, etc.) will be affected and what opportunities for individual investors are likely to appear in the fixed-income sector as rates rise over the next 12-18 months.

Thank you,
IslandJohn


Read Answer Asked by John on January 24, 2022
Q: I am trying to understand bond diversification better. I have a long term portfolio of mostly equity exposures and some XBB. Do you generally recommend further diversifying bond holdings? Eg to an inflation protected fund or more global exposure or specific maturity profile (eg shorter maturities)? If so could you recommend ETFs for diversification purposes?

I don’t want to over complicate things but also want diversification to different market scenarios in the spirit of an « all weather » portfolio. In particular real return bonds seem useful for this compared to XBB. I would be grateful for your thoughts. Thank you very much.
Read Answer Asked by Chris on January 11, 2022
Q: I have about 10% of my portfolio in these bond ETFs XBB 2%, CLF 4%, XSB 2%, XSH 1%, PMIF 1%. They have shown a negative performance recently with CLF down 7%. The coupon reduces the losses. Will increased interest rates improve their performance? An alternative is to reduce my exposure and buy something like BCE with a low beta and a better yield (5% +). I am 79 years old and have pension income. My portfolio is conservative holding a large proportion in banks, telecoms and utilities. I am looking for stocks, ETFs with a low beta and good yield..
Read Answer Asked by Donald on January 03, 2022
Q: Thanks for your comprehensive answer to my question on fixed income. Just a further clarification. I have often wondered about the usefulness of preferred shares. It seems to me that they are just as vulnerable as stocks, so why have them rather than stocks? I know that you get paid first if the company goes under. But I am not sure that is a big consideration in most cases.

Secondly, i wonder if you might suggest some symbols that correspond to such an arrangement for fixed income.
Thanks for the excellent service
Read Answer Asked by joseph on December 15, 2021
Q: hello
can you recommend what types of bonds should be held in a rising rate environment and can your recommend some ETFs?
thanks
Read Answer Asked by Mary on December 14, 2021
Q: I need to shore up my accounts with some fixed income (low risk) positions. All indications are that interest rates are likely to rise, which makes me nervous to hold bonds or bond funds. I am not sure where to turn - maybe Bond ETF's? I don't want to micromanage a specific bond portfolio either. Do you have any advice on the best approach? I am still 10-15 years from "retirement" (whatever that means), so my investment horizon is still pretty long term.

Thanks in advance
Read Answer Asked by Don on December 13, 2021
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