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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: We have 30% allocated in our registered accounts for fixed. (currently 10% each for CBO, ZAG and XBB) Are these the best options for today and the next year(s)? Also see XLB recommended recently and wondering if we should be adding or replacing any of the above?
Appreciate your opinion
Thanks Doug
Read Answer Asked by Doug on September 18, 2023
Q: What bond funds are the best to invest in right now for the long term? Currently I hold ZAG.TO and CVD.TO. Should I continue buying them? I would prefer a higher dividend than what the ZAG gives.
Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by Pat on August 22, 2023
Q: I listed in descending order securities that under performed since their 2022 highs. Please rank the securities in order of the best chance to recover their losses when we get back to the risk on mode. Thank you
Read Answer Asked by Richard on July 25, 2023
Q: Good morning,

With bond rates moving higher can you suggest your top 3 bond etf's to gain exposure at a low cost. Would holding these in a registered or cash account be best? As always thank you for your time
Read Answer Asked by Kolbi on July 17, 2023
Q: Supposing that an investor had three registered accounts of roughly equal size that they wanted to change from equity ETF's to a fixed income allocation for their portfolio, and these accounts would have to be converted to RIF's in 6 years. Let's also assume that we get one or two more small rate hikes this year, then interest rates flatten and begin to come down slowly over the following several years. Which of three options would you choose on a risk/reward basis? 1. Just hold money market funds currently paying 4.5%+ 2. Barbell XSB and XLB using two accounts, and put XBB (or ZAG) in the third (avg. yield close to 3 %? with potential cap. gains) 3. Put TLT in all three, yield close to 3%? maybe highest potential cap. gain? With the BOC policy rate going up close to 5 points since the start of 2022 the bond funds above fell anywhere from 10%+ to 30%+. Does that imply that if the BOC rate went back down 2.5% that they would rise 5%+ to 15%+, or you can't make that kind of straight line assumption? Maybe there is a way better option, but I don't really want to tie up funds in GIC's and don't want to try to pick individual bonds either. I also considered something like PSA but no cap gain upside there and the money markets probably pay as much interest or more. Thanks for your thoughts.
Read Answer Asked by Stephen R. on July 05, 2023
Q: Hi 5i team,

I haven't put any money into fixed income yet. Do you have any suggestions for fixed income ETFs or other products worth looking into?

Thank you,
Matt

Read Answer Asked by Matt on June 22, 2023
Q: Question for the 5i team. I took over our investment accounts about 8 years ago and since then bonds were not particularly attractive. As bonds my be about to have their day in the sun I feel it may be time to consider adding them to our portfolio. I however lack the knowledge and experience to make informed decisions at this time. The first part of the question is, can you recommend any informative reading or sites that would be of benefit to a novice bond investor. The second part would be a quick summary of your outlook for bonds, longterm, short term, etc and opinion as to which bonds, ie treasuries, to junk, would offer high yield without excessive risk for young retirees. Thanks for all your helpful and sage advice.
Read Answer Asked by Robert on June 09, 2023
Q: Hello 5i
We currently hold CBO, CLF & XRB at 25/25/50% all as long term holdings in a slight loss position. I believe we are currently at (or very near) peak interest rates. Do you have any suggestions to bond replacements that might be better positioned to capture rate reductions for these holdings. (not accounting for the bonus of tax loss selling)
Again many thanks
Les
Read Answer Asked by Les on June 05, 2023
Q: Trying to build a long term bonds piece to my portfolio. Currently own small positions with ZFL and XLB. What addition add to or new buys should I make to continue adding to bonds?
After the FED's announcement what if bonds go up a lot? What if they go down a lot? Does that make a difference? Would you be a contrarian at this point? Please explain your position. Take as many credits as you see fit.
Thank you

Yves
Read Answer Asked by Yves on May 02, 2023
Q: How would you recommend adding a small/prudent amount of exposure to bonds in the current market environment?
Read Answer Asked by Patrick on April 21, 2023
Q: Rick Rieder from Blackrock posted that fixed income is setting up for generational returns. Also "on a relative valuation basis, stocks cannot be considered the cheaper asset". Would you agree that its shaping up to be a big opportunity to buy fixed assets, and if so what tops your list? Thx
Read Answer Asked by Adam on April 04, 2023
Q: Can you name a few securities that you would recommend in an effort to capitalize on the potential bond market opportunity as outlined in your March 16th market report?

Please rank and provide a brief explanation for the ranking.

Read Answer Asked by Simon on April 03, 2023
Q: On the XLB - long bond: during a dropping rate environment curious on what other sectors of the market have historically done over the same period you referenced. Utilities, Financials, Industrials and Gold. Might help to know as if you needed to raise cash to buy the XLB what sectors should it come from?
Read Answer Asked by Michael on March 20, 2023
Q: What would be your top 3 bond ETF picks for both Canadian and US bonds? Is now a good time to put money into these?
Read Answer Asked by Dan on March 17, 2023
Q: I'm confused when looking at the value in bond funds going up when the talk in town is that the rates will continue moving up even in Canada maybe a bit later this year. How is that? How do one reconcile that the the rise in yield moved in tandem with the rise in value Thursday and Friday?

Yves
Read Answer Asked by Yves on March 13, 2023
Q: I am looking at adding a 15 to 20 percent bond component to my portfolio. From the mix of laddered, aggregate, short/long term and high yield ETF’s listed. Which would you recommend and why? Please let me know if you have other possible suggestions? Thank you
Read Answer Asked by Myron on March 02, 2023