Investment Q&A

Q: Hello Peter,
Is VFV and XSP about the same except one is hedged? I have held Sienna and Chartwell for a long time and I thought from a demographic point , they would be great long term holds.. I am down alot but the dividend is great. Are these two good long term holds or since covid, the recovery maybe too long of a time given the high interests that we see. Thanks very much

Q: 1.For Canadian coverage would you choose xic, vcn or xiu?
2.Would it be worth putting half the total amount in one of the above(xic, vcn, or xiu)and the other half in vdy?
3.For the U,S. allocation should I choose vig or spy which both require payment in u.s. dollars which I don't have, or would it be adequate to simply choose vun.

Thanks in advance. I plan to hold these allotments for many years and I appreciate dividends but do not need them for my living expenses.

Q: Hi there, I'm building a portfolio based on the 4% withdrawal rule. I read a study where based on country specific stock market data, the 4% withdrawal rule only worked in Canada, US and maybe 3 other countries. Based on this study and using history as a guide - if one were to build a portfolio with 50/50 Canada and US exposure, would it be best to use VCE and VFV or VCE and XSP? Also, if VCE is not the most appropriate Canadian ETF, what would be the most suitable? I've seen XIU, XIC and VCN often mentioned, but it appears like VCE has a slight outperformance?

Thanks!

Q: I own an Ishares all in one ETF to round things out. I just found out they hedge the currency on the non Canadian holdings. I tried to find out the cost to hedge but was unsuccessful. After doing more research I found the costs to hedge can be 1-2% a year. When doing a back test between IVV and XSP the hedged EFT lagged by 1-3% a year over 20 years. From 2002-2012 the lag averaged 2.1% a year but in the last 10 years the average lag was 1.1% a year. Do you know any all in one Canadian ETF's that don't hedge the currency?

Thank you.

Q: Can you recommend your favorite Cad Hedged Nasdaq ETF and also Cad Hedged S & P 500 ETF?
My reason for hedging is with Canadian Energy companies picking up, unless we have a housing correction, the Cad dollar should eventually rise.

thanks,

Paul

Q: I am thinking of setting up my portfolio with 25% positions in XIU, ZLB, XSP, ZLU. I am trying to avoid bonds and International stocks as they always seem to be a drag on the portfolio. With this arrangement I feel I have a better chance for returns closer to the market. With the low volatility ETF’s, I am hoping my positions would cause less volatility and would smooth out returns as the holdings in each are well correlated. Would you consider this plan to be too risky or would you have any other commentary or suggestions?

Q: My sister has an RDSP with BMO. She has 75,000.00 in each the above funds. The lifestage money will mature in June and automatically go into a money market fund. The money will not be needed for years. She also has a trust fund. Do you have any suggestions for the 75k? Also, I believe the Cad and Usd equity funds are mutual funds. Should I move them to a lower cost ETF?

Q: I am looking to simplify my non-registered investment portfolio for my retirement, which is now only 9 months away. I am looking to protect capital and create income. I am looking at one ETF and one fund as possible landing spots for my capital: XSP. And FID282.
Can you please compare and contrast these two funds for me? Are the different enough to warrant owning both? Is there anything else I should be considering?

Thanks in advance
DON

Q: Hello Peter and team,
Would you prefer VOO or VTI at this time? Also, is there an etf in canadian dollars (tsx) that mimics VTI similar to xsp on tsx and SPY? Thanks very much.

Q: Hello Peter,
Are both etfs providing similar exposure to US 500 index (similar to SPY) and are they hedged? Would you recommend one over the other or both are about the same? Thanks very much. Does hedged mean the securities are protected if Canadian dollar goes up or down?

Q: Hello Peter,
For an RESP today and future contributions with focus on Canada and USA, I was thinking of allocating more monies to indexes such as xic and xsp and less to sectors such as xfn or zeb , and xit. What are your thoughts? Also, i noticed that xsp has not done as well as SPY. i am assuming it is do to currency. In an RESP, I would think xsp on toronto and SPY on NYSE, both have withholding taxes.. Please comment. Thank you

Q: What Canadian ETF would you recommend that follows the S&P 500 index. Of your top choice please suggest a hedged and unhedged ETF and which would you recommend, hedged or unhedged. Is your recommendation solely based on the ETFs MER. Thanks … Cal

Q: My 25 years old son is starting a portfolio by buying all equity ETFs XSP (30%), TEC (30%), and XWD (40%) in Canadian dollars, which he intends to hold for a long time. 1. Is the selection of ETFs OK ? 2. Are there better alternatives in performance and fees? 3. Is the allocation OK? 4. Do you have any suggestion? Thanks.

Q: Hello Peter and team,
Can you please provide explanations of how these etfs work in terms of hedge and unhedged. XSP tracks the 500 US index but it is hedged to the canadian dollar. Does this mean that if the Canadian dollar goes up, there will be no impact currency wise. Tech.B tracks the 6 large tech companies but it is unhedged. What does that mean in relation to the tech etf which tracks same stocks but it is neither hedged or unhedged as the tech.b is doing better lately? Much appreciated, and thank you.

Q: Hi Peter & 5i,
Wishing you and the staff a joyous holiday season!
Would you see any red flags in this portfolio for a conservative investor needing the dividends for cash flow. The portfolio would be 50% equities and 50% fixed income - 5 year laddered GIC's.
Here are the stocks and their proposed weightings:
Financial Royal Bank RY 5.7%
TD Bank TD 3.6%
Sun Life SLF 4.4%
Power Corp POW 4.0%
Utility Fortis FTS 5.7%
Brookfield Renewable BEPC 4.2%
Algonquin Power AQN 2.2%
Comm TELUS T 4.7%
Bell BCE 4.1%
Cons Staple Costco COST 4.3%
Loblaws L 4.0%
Cons Discr. Magna MG 3.8%
Restaurant Brands QSR 2.4%
Industrial CN Rail CNR 5.2%
Savaria SIS 3.6%
Energy Enbridge ENB 4.6%
Suncor SU 2.9%
Materials Nutrien NTR 4.3%
Real Estate BMO-Equal Weight ZRE 4.2%
Tech Thomson Reuters TRI 4.8%
Health Evolve Global Health LIFE 3.8%
ETF BMO-Low Volatility US ZLU 8.7%
iShares-US Equity-Hedge XSP 4.8%
Thanks so much for the fantastic service.

Q: I am looking for some US exposure. Out of these two ETF's what would you choose for US exposure and why? Thanks.

Q: What 4 dividend stocks or ETFs would you suggest for a long term hold to see the power of compounding

Q: Recently I sold units in FID6000 in my grandson's RESP because of its poor year to date performance and high MER. We did book an overall gain of 130% over a 3 year period. The RESP account owns a variety of income producing positions. that have modest gains. I am looking to invest in something growth oriented, with maybe a 3 to 5 year horizon ahead. I am considering splitting between one or two ETFs listed above and possibly TOI. Do you expect further growth from TOI?. Opinions on ETF's please. Moderate risk OK. Canadian currency only account.

Q: What are the Can ETFs that cover the main US ETFs, like SPY? And what are their mers?

What are the advantages of using these Canadian versions?

Do you still require W-BEN forms if you buy these?

Thanks for all your help.

Q: Are there any tax disadvantages to adding XSP or ZSP to a non-registered account?