Investment Q&A

Q: I am one that is not very fond of Bonds and with their present performance I have decided to sell ETF XBB .
What would be a best ETF as an alternative to XBB in a RRIF account over a five year time frame?

Q: If interest rates were to start creeping-up slowly in the next year or two , which bond ETFs would you suggest?
Thank's
Ronald

Q: Hello 5i,
It was suggested that I switch from XLB, XSB, and VEE to ZAG and ZEM which I did. Lately I have seen on the daily watch report that XSB, XLB, and VEE are again mentioned as suggestions in many instances over the past few weeks. Should I switch back or maintain my positions in ZAG and ZEM?

Q: I need to add some bond ETFs to my portfolio. Could you give three US dollar and
three Canadian dollar funds that you prefer .

Q: As a follow-up to my question last week on interest rates up/down, please also advise which funds/ETFs perform best when interest rates move in either direction.

Thanks again.

Q: Good morning, Do you know what's happening regarding the decline of XSB, the short term bond fund in the last month or so, thanks?

Q: I've been working with your Portfolio Tracking tool, which is absolutely great, and it's telling me I should hold more bonds. Okay, that's clear enough, but what I'm unclear about is the number of Bonds (ETFs) I should hold. I know it's not really your thing, but is there a recommended bond portfolio you would recommend (for someone about to retire)? Also how important is it to hold international bonds VS only Canadian ETFs? Any advice is truly appreciated. Thanks as always for all your great work!

Q: How does one approach bond investments given the low interest rates. I see XBB had a significant drop today. Why? How would you compare XBB to PMIF?
I am retired senior 78 with a pension.
Thank you

Q: Hi,
I have 10k that was invested with my banks GICs .. now looking for something different , any suggestions where I can put the funds for 2-3 years . .. safe money with a reasonable return ..
Thanks.

Q: Several years ago your team helped me build out my sons (2) RESP accounts. The stocks have all done well growing approx 55%. THANK YOU! My oldest is finishing year one of university and my youngest will start in 2.5 years. It’s a conservative portfolio of stocks with 30% in interest bearing instruments. I have enough now for both of them so (my) common sense says move all to capital preservation - interest only vehicles. Do you agree and if so, can you recommend anything I can lock into for 2 ish years?

Q: Hi Guys

Really appreciate your opinion. Given interest rates at near zero, where do would you invest the fixed income part of your portfolio?

Thanks

Q: For my USD TFSA, could you please recommend a US ETF short term bond equivalent?

Thank you.

Q: Hello 5i,
I have $21,000 in XSB and the same in XLB. Should I sell these and just get ZAG or does it really matter and stay as is?

Q: Could you suggest 3 ETFs for the fixed income component of a portfolio of recently retired individual.
Thanks

Q: I'm re-balancing my RESP account. Can you recommend a bond ETF for a 4 year holding period. My thought was XBB.

Thanks,

Joe

Q: First a big thank you for the terrific returns we received in 2020 thanks to your stellar guidance (our largest holdings we first discovered through 5i -hello LSPD,XBC and WELL!). We gifted our kids memberships in December and praise your service to everyone. This is truly an invaluable service.
Now to the question, my brother is tired of paying high fees for his CIBC pension holdings. When I looked into this for him last year, some pools had MER in the 2% range! He’s moved the following into cash and is looking for lower fee/higher return alternatives in the following areas of his pension account:
-Imperial Canadian Dividend Income Pool
-Imperial Canadian Equity High Income Pool
-Imperial US Equity Pool
-Imperial International Equity Pool
-Imperial Short Term Bond Pool
-Imperial Long Term Bond Pool
Please charge as many questions as required.

Q: What Canadian bond fund would you suggest if as the fed states they are not even thinking about raising rates for two years? What bond fund would you suggest when rates do start to increase? If I bought XBB , which bond fund would best act like a hedge to it? The idea is to collect a small yield and preserve capital.

Q: For the fixed income portion of the portfolio, do you have any recommendations / suggestions (ETF, private fund, mutual fund, specific bonds). Realistically, hoping for a return between 3 and 6%. I am ok to take some risk. Looking for a decent risk/reward investment. Long term hold.

Q: 3 grand children and 2 family RESP's. Ages 17 &12 in one RESP and 14 in the other. At present both RESP's invested in VBAL and I am concerned about the higher bond duration vs XSB. Therefore to keep this as simple as possible I am thinking of selling VBAL and putting the entire RESP's into XSB. I would then average into Veqt by reducing the XSB positions. I am still making annual contributions and am ok with the 2% XSB yield. Please give me your comments. Thanks guys.

Q: Happy New Year 5i team - I was reading about the iShares Global Green Bond ETF (BGRN on Nasdaq) in today's Globe. I would appreciate your thoughts on this fixed income fund. I have avoided bonds in my portfolio and have opted to hold cash in a high interest savings account for flexibility. I'm retired and am wondering whether this may be a good and relatively safe way to hold one to two years of living expenses, while at the same time generating some income. Thanks for all your good advice over the past several years.