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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: I switched jobs and am looking to convert my pension into a lira. Want to put into a low maintenance type of portfolio of ETFs or one balanced growth etf. What would you recommend I consider for a balanced portfolio with 20+ year horizon.
Read Answer Asked by Matt on June 30, 2025
Q: Good afternoon,

I am planning on rethinking the majority of my investment strategy (choosing my own stocks). I plan on switching to a more ETF focused approach where I have 20% in bonds/gic, 15% US ETF, 20% Canadian ETF, 20% Foreign ETF and the rest left to my whims. For the Foreign ETF I was think VXUS and SPY for the US but what would be your recommended ETFs for US, Canada and Foreign (and perhaps bonds)?
For reference I am in my early 20s so I have a bigger risk appetite and presumably longer time horizon.

Thank you very much,
Aidan
Read Answer Asked by Aidan on June 19, 2025
Q: Included in my previous question answered today for EEM thare was also a question regarding general allocation of funds. What would be your best allocation of funds in Bonds, US, Canadian and International allocation. Sorry if my question was not properly formulated.

Thank you
Yves
Read Answer Asked by Yves on June 17, 2025
Q: Rebalancing my portfolio vs risk for a young retired.
My portfolio consist in 23% bond ETFs, 37% US, 11% International, no emerging market and 29% Canada. I am ready to take on some EEM. What would be your allocation of funds from here? All current assets would trigger capital gains excepts for bunds which I wouldn't touch and may raise the amount over time. I may take 6 months to do part of the allocation due to capital gains tax hit.
Thank you for your precious advise over the years you have been a tremendous help to grow my portfolio and help navigate dangerous times.

Yves
Read Answer Asked by Yves on June 16, 2025
Q: Is there any ETF that qualifies for dividend tax credit. If there is please share few of your favourite ETF.


Thanks for your great service
Read Answer Asked by Hector on June 16, 2025
Q: Hi All at 5i!! A young friend is starting to invest in his TFSA. He has a long time horizon. Basically, he wants to just put the money into the TFSA and let it grow until retirement in an uncomplicated manner. (IOW no individual stocks). If you were to suggest an ETF, would VFV fit the bill, or would he be better off investing in a more structured ETF which encompasses several markets (US,Canadian etc) and a small bond holding as well?. What would you suggest?


Cheers,
Tamara

Read Answer Asked by Tamara on May 27, 2025
Q: Looking of some growth ETF suggestions for my non-registered account, hold for at least 5 years.
Read Answer Asked by Art on May 12, 2025
Q: As a follow up to my previous question, in which you suggested the following ETFs: VIU, XIU and ZSP as a way to save 10% of my income for retirement, do you prefer XIU over XIC for retirement investments over a 20 year span. If so, why? Thank you again for your great service.
Read Answer Asked by Bill on April 30, 2025
Q: What ETF would you buy to be long the market in this volatile environment (moderate risk - some income if possible)? If you can suggest 3 with a brief comment that would be great. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Pierre on April 10, 2025
Q: Could you please provide your top 5 Canadian ETFS and top 3 dividend Canadian ETFs.  Rank the ETFs as well
Read Answer Asked by Don on April 08, 2025
Q: I have CAD to invest in Canadian-dollar denominated ETFs: (1) Canadian stocks - VGG. XIU XIC XDIV; (2) US ETFs in CAD FX - HXS ZUQ ZMID and ZBK and (3) - EU ETF - HXX. How to go about assessing one against the other. Is there a better ETF in each group you would prefer? Would appreciate guidance on which ones are keepers for long-term hold? How would you evaluate them?
Read Answer Asked by sam on February 14, 2025
Q: I have $100,000 of cash in an investment account, am looking for some conservative ETF’s with 1/3 going to fixed income, same to Cdn Equity and balance to Global. Any suggestions? Given the trade war with the USA, I might sit on the sidelines for a few weeks so ny thoughts on best way to invest the cash with good liquidity. I was looking at HISA ETF’s but they are very low currently.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on February 06, 2025
Q: Hi - have some dry powder available to be able to invest. We're close enough to the orange-man implementing tariffs that I'm going to wait and see what happens next week before deploying. I'm guessing any decline in stocks will be felt more in Canada than the US, but I"m wondering what you think might take a hit and what Cdn & US companies you might look at buying should the market have a healthy pullback. Probably better to ask if/when things sell off, but I'm just trying to prep my shopping list. Thx.
Read Answer Asked by Ben on January 30, 2025
Q: It is rare that I ask this question coming from an 84 year old senior, but all the above equal weighted ETF's are presently in my TFSA and can't decide how to invest for the 2025 contribution. Which ETF I should I be adding to the above list or should I be adding a new one that is not in the portfolio?
Also are any of those listed that do not belong in a TFSA?
Thanks for your usual great service.
Read Answer Asked by Terry on January 29, 2025
Q: I currently own the above ETFs in my unregistered account and they have performed well. I have funds to be invested in my LIF account and am considering purchasing one or more ETFs. How would you rank these ETFs for a LIF account? Would you suggest equal contributions to these ETFs? Are there other ETFs that you would recommend for a LIF account? Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Don on January 23, 2025
Q: Hello Peter,
I tried to balance growth and income as well as dividends (no with holding tax in RRSP for US stocks but there is in TFSA), and hence, can you let me know if these make sense for a mid 20s person starting off to have a more growth in TFSA and more income in RRSP.
TFSA: veqt, vgg, and xfn and maybe xic ( veqt has cdn exposure so thought i would exclude xic )
RRSP: vbal, zuq, xic, and xuu all of these trade on tsx. Much appreciated.
Read Answer Asked by umedali on January 21, 2025
Q: Greetings!

What ETFs would you recommend to make up someone's entire investment portfolio with the intentions to add to them monthly?

Thank you very much.
Read Answer Asked by Stefan on January 21, 2025
Q: I hold these ETF's in a RESP account and just wonder if all these ETF are different enough to own? Also would be be good to own XAW in the RESP account. Money is not needed for 10 years.

Thanks
Read Answer Asked on January 21, 2025
Q: Could you suggest some ETFs in a non registered account ($100k) and in TFSA ($60k) for a retired person who would not need those funds for the next 10 years?
Read Answer Asked by Elizabeth on January 17, 2025