Investment Q&A

Q: Hello 5i team,
My portfolios are mostly stocks and with a possible recession coming next year, I would like to purchase bond ETFs for both my CDN and U.S. portfolios. At this point would you recommend long or short or ultra short ETFs? and could you suggest a couple of each ( CDN and U.S)? Thanks Carlo

Q: Back in June 2011 we purchased Scotia Dividend Fund 6372205 no load @ 41.95 today it's at $68.80 for RESP for Granddaughter.Initial inv. 2,763.29 and today worth 4531.41.We will be visiting them next week.Usually receive div. in December.She has 2 years to go before graduating.Should we sell and buy bond fund XLB to make sure we don't lose any value that has built up.Tks

Q: it seems to me that a good place to have bond ETF is in an RRSP. do you agree? currently I have about have of my wife's RRSP in VSC and the rest is in cash right now. i was thinking that I would place the remainder in another bond ETF with low management fee and with perhaps a more aggressive posture. Does this make sense and what other bond ETF would you recommend? thanks.

Q: I'm looking to put some money away in a safe mix of ETF's (likely fixed income) with a desire to earn around 3% over the next 12 months, given overall market risks and conditions what would you suggest. thanks for your advice.

Q: Why is FTB less volatile than other ETF bond funds? How would you compare FTB to other bond ETFs? Which bond ETFs would you recommend?

I am retired in my 70s.

Thank you

Q: Assuming a decrease in interest rates which government bond funds would you recommend for capital appreciation here and in the US. Greetings, Peter.

Q: Can you please recommend a Canada ETF similar or close to TLT in USA.

Thanks for your great service

Q: Can you shed any light on the 2.75% decline in XLB over the last 30 days? Thank you

Q: Please rate these as BUY; HOLD; or IGNORE. My purpose, of course, is market down turn protection.

Q: If we are headed to zero / negative interest rates, I am thinking of playing this thesis by purchasing XLB to capture the capital gain on the interest rate reduction and XGD should do well in a low / negative rate environment. The balance of the portfolio is VBAL and XEG. What do you think? Thank you

Q: Good morning, I am noticing more recommendations lately for longer term bond ETFs i.e XLB and TLT. I have traditionally been using CBO, XBB along with some preferreds (regrettably) and a small amount of XHY. Should this old retiree consider any change in fixed income holdings? Thanks for your service.
Ted

Q: There are plenty of forecasts telling us that bond yields are declining and may go to zero.
If they continue to decline , what does this mean and how can an investor take advantage of this. Your Asset Allocator tells me I need to move $500,000 into fixed income to balance my portfolio, which is predominantly equities.
Do I go to a bond fund , or actual bonds? If so what would you recommend? If bonds what type and term? I will hold for min 5 - 10 years.

Thanks and take as many credits as you wish.

Q: David Rosenberg is once again talking of a doomsday secenario. Whether he is right or wrong, I have a feeling a recession is due and it is all about timing. I know you have previously fielded questions regarding taking a defensive stance for protection against a recession but I am wondering where long trem bonds fit into this story. Is an investment in Long Term Bonds a good strategy in this case and if so, how does one make such an investment and what percentage of a balanced portfolio would you dedicate to long term bonds?

Q: Hi 5i,
I am looking for your advice on what to buy for a new TFSA (full $63,500 deposit) at this time. The funds in this account will be required in the next 3 to 5 years. Income and growth are the objectives, within the requirement to preserve capital. Would you allocate your recommendations equally or ? Thanks!

Q: For safety of income and income, what would be your preference between XUT and a bond ETF? Thanks, Bill

Q: Good morning,
How would the drop in US interest rates effect this Canadian ETF and would this ETF be a good add to my existing XBB VAB for long term stability in an RRSP. I am retired and mostly follow the Conservative ETF portfolio from ETF and Mutual Fund 5i

Thanks
Carl

Q: Ray Dalio and David Rosenberg to opinions i highly respect sure paint a gloomy picture of the next 10-20 years.
Rays suggested Portfolio weightings 7.5% Gold 7.5% other Commodities, 40% Long term bonds and 15% Intermediate bonds 30% stocks and 7.5% other.
My question is on Bonds, Specifically Govt treasuries , this would be the TLT correct?
and wouldn't Govt treasuries be seen as much safer than say the XLB which are municipal bonds, I have heard some fund managers on BNN say they wouldn't touch an Ontario provincial bond because of the provinces Debt. So that being said is there a version of the TLT that is available for me to buy?
Thanks Gord

Q: hi 5i
my wife and i are 62 and retired both have work pensions that cover our basics.
here is a little back ground.
in my wifes rrsp account we have 120,000.00 in ggf31744 bmo u.s. fund
and 115,000.00 in vfv vanguard s&p 500 index
my rrsp is 210,000.00
i followed your balance fund with adds
rogers 14,000.00
td 15,000.00
ry 18,000.00
bam 22,000.00
in our investment acc we have 83,000.00 split evenly to suncor, enbridge,bce, telus,brookfield property ,brookfield renewable
my tsfa has 98,000.00
nfi 4,4000.00 evertz 7600.00 fortis 20,600.00 aw. 5400.00
verizon 12,000 u.s. procter & gamble 17,600 u.s. vti etf 15,300 u.s.
wifes tfsa has 92,700.00
xebec adsorbtion 4000.00 vermillion 4500.00 parkland fuel 6500.00
algonquin power 19,300 car.un 14,700
u.s. holding are utx 6100.00 ibm 8400.00 pfe 8500.00 pep 9400.00
hope that not too much
im looking for your thoughts on 230,000.00 gic that matures in a month
i would like to put it to work
we will still have 190,000.00 in a another gic
thanks for your thoughts have being using your service from your start and its been
very helpful
sam

Q: Good afternoon - Our collective family portfolio ( wife and I, retired) is roughly 40% fixed income comprised solely of GICs and Pref Shares. Our pref shares are with solid companies but given the lack of appetite for PShares the total value has been slowly deteriorating. This is something you have commented on in recent months and I’m wondering if and when we should bail and if we do, where then do we invest the proceed? Thanks

Q: I am bit lost with bond market performance. XLB NAV has gone up by 10% YTD. TLT also up by 10%. As bond yields go up with interest rate peaking the price will come down. Will the total return still be significant if the NAV comes down by 10% or more in next several years. My experience with some of the other bond funds I held previously generated negative total returns after holding them for many years.

Thanks
Ninad