Investment Q&A

Q: Can you comment on the makeup and duration of the bonds in this ETF? Is it comparable to XBB.

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: My top holdings are:
GOOG 6.61%
AAPL 5.21%
AMZN 5.12%
NVDA 4.61%
V 4.23%
NPI 3.75%
WSP 3.58%
PBH 3.37%
XBB 3.21%
COST 3.1%
OHI 3.48 %
ENB 2.8%
JPM 2.72%

They make up 50% of my portfolio. I have 12% in cash. Would you add or reduce any of these positions? Long investment horizon(17 years). I’m over weight consumer cyclicals and FS (3% BMO and 3% BNS). Light industrials @7%.

Q: I'm looking to reduce risk and start preserving capital in my all equity balanced portfolio. I have raised about 10% cash and am looking into fixed income etf's to achieve my goal. Would you suggest something like XBB/AGG/XINC or fine tune with a few different US/CAD fixed income etf's? Or is there a better option than bonds?

Thank you.
Derek

Q: I need some fixed income suggestions for my RRSP. Anything you particularly like at this time? I know its fixed income but I do have some risk tolerance and a 17 year investment horizon so open to something that pays more than .0000012% interest. Appreciate your thoughts :)

As always.. amazing job team!

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: 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: I have allocated 20%-25% of my portfolio to Fixed Income. Would XBB and CBO be sufficient to cover the fixed income component? (say 50-50).

Thanks again for the great advice as always!

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: Do bonds rise when interest rates rise? If so, can you recommend a few dividend paying bond funds for a RRIF.

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: Setting up an 40K RRSP with a 6 to 10 year time frame. What is your opinion and/or alternatives to ZEB, VXC, ZDV, XBB in equal proportions.

Q: Please comment on the timing of taking a position in RBF1650 as an income investment. What is the risk compared to XBB? Inflation is one of the biggest worries for Canadians currently. Happy New Year to everyone at 5i. Thank you

Q: Fixed Income portion of portfolio is 40% and some deposits came due so need to deploy that cash into fixed income. Thinking of putting 25% of the 40% FI into these two ETFs. I would appreciate your thoughts on this plan please. Alternatives are welcome. Thanks again.

Q: Hi, I currently don't have any bonds and would like 2 etf's you recommend to start with for fixed income. Currently a few years from retirement.
Thanks for all the help!

Q: I had a GIC come due last week in my RRIF, which is managed by an advisor.
They advised buying a bond fund, Dynamic Edge Conservative Class A, MER is 1.89%. What do you think about this fund, it is a fund of funds?
What would you suggest ( for a senior) as an alternative. The amount $30,000.00. The GIC rate is about 1%.
I value your opinion.
Shirley
I really value your advice, as I am a senior

Q: Ishares US REAL ESTATE ETF (not in your data base)
can you comment on this ETF for a diversified real estate play. Do you view this as a decent entry point.
What's your view of starting a portfolio of these 5 ETFS with a 20% weighting in each, then rebalancing every year back to the original 20% weighting. Im hoping maintaining the 20% cash position will help smooth out the portfolio in these uncertain times, maybe it will outperform the more popular 60/40 portfolio.
thanks Gordie

Q: What are the best bond etfs to own in Canada and US in your opinion? Please provide several options in both countries. Thank You.