Investment Q&A

Q: Please recommend 5 ETF's for a young investor just starting her career and investing in her first TFSA. Thank you in advance.

Q: Hi All At 5i!
I would like to substitute XIC or XIN with VFV in hopes of more growth. Which would you suggest??
Cheers,
Tamara

Q: Hi 5i team,

My daughter and her partner are investing in their RRSPs through a work plan. They are in a number of Mutual funds, some with quite high MERs range about 1.5 to 2.5%. Also high redemption rates (some up to 5% in first year or two). I have tried to find the mutual funds from their statements, but mostly listed without codes so difficult to be certain of all data.

They have :
20% Balanced funds
47% Canadian Equity
13% Global Fixed income
20% Foreign Equity.

Amount invested is significant but not really high - includes 3 years of contributions/investment. I think they would be best to withdraw the money now and invest in ETFs. I don't think they need to similarly replicate the funds above in ETFs.

2 questions:

A. Any suggestions as to most efficient way to withdraw from these funds? Are there questions to ask that might help reduce redemption bite or should they just make the switch.
B. They are late 30's and 40 yo, so time horizon of approx. 20 years or more before needing money. They are interested in investing but are very early in this. Wondering what you would suggest for starter ETFs right now with bias towards growth. Perhaps you could suggest 4-6 ETFs that would give them age and time horizon appropriate investments.

Please use as many questions as needed.
Thank you in advance for your usual great service and the very helpful advice.

Q: What would be your top 4 CAD ETF picks for longer term growth?

Q: If one was to anchor their RRSP portfolio with VBAL which is a 60 equity/40 fixed income split, but would like to be more 70/30. Would you add another ETF or two to achieve the desired weightings? Does this strategy make sense? What would be Five i's thoughts and suggestions.

Thank you

Q: Hello, I am helping my 25 year old daughter put together a sleep at night portfolio. She is not a hands on or active investor.

She has about $ 100K and of these selections which ones would you suggest? And, what else would you recommend?
in Addition to Canada, I want US exposure with ZSP, especially with the potential growth of AI.
Thanks
Carlo

Q: We have a self-directed RDSP set up for my son (age 21, qualified for the RDSP 12 years ago). Up until now we've invested his funds in 5 different equities (4 CDN dividend paying - ARE, AQN, SU, TCL.A and 1 US - DXCM) and the overall performance has unfortunately been abysmal (I'm just getting the opportunity to be more actively involved in managing my son's RDSP). Because my son has a relatively long investment horizon for his RDSP (to age 49), what are your recommendations to optimize this much-needed benefit for his later years? Are ETFs a preferred option over equities?

Q: Opening a fund for my grandson (5 months old). Could you recommend a few ideas please.
Thank you and Happy Holidays To All

Q: Hi there,
I have invested in three mutual funds with considerable management fees. I am hoping you can recommend three ETFs with similar holdings/benchmarks and performance. They are CIG 622 (CIG AMRCAN FD CL A -FE) MER 2.44%; FID 254 (FDLTY CDN GRWTH COMP CL B -FE), MER 2.23%; and FID 234 (FDLTY US FO STK SR B -FE), MER 2.22%.

Q: In my open (unregistered) account, I currently own VGRO and am looking to invest some funds in ETFs . What is the difference between ZLU and ZLU.U? How would your rate the above ETFs for growth over the next 5 years? Do these ETFs hold similar investments (stocks, bonds, etc)? If I invested in 2 ETFs, which ETFs would be complimentary? Can you suggest similar ETFs with better growth potential in the next 5 years? Thank you

Q: My daughter is looking to start an investment portfolio. What would be your top 5 Canadian and top 5 US Picks in the current market for a long term hold? Please include one ETF for Canada and US in your picks.

Thanks
Tim

Q: I'm split at 20% ETF and 80% stock. Going into 2024 where do you see the canadian market vs the S&P or MSCI EAFE ? The US has outperformed the other 2 in 2023 as usual but do you believe that this continues into 2024? Could you comment on the 3 and what are the chances for the Canadian and International markets to perform better than they have in the coming years?

Q: My daughter is invested in just these three ETFs. With a 40-40-20 percent weighting. The reasoning was diversification, growth and safety. YTD she is up 20% but the laggard seems to be the one based on the TSX. Can you make any suggestions concerning this strategy? Thank you!

Q: Hi Peter,
I am helping my kids who are in the mid-twenties to invest. The funds will be in RRSP & in TFSA for long term. Would you please recommend a list of ETFs and/or Stocks to invest in for growth. I would like to have the portfolio diversified globally and invested into various sectors.
Thank you,

Q: Can you please tell me how the 10-year total return of XEI compares with XIU and XIC? Do you know methodology used for selecting holdings in the S&P/TSX Composite High Dividend index? Where can I find a complete list of the holdings in XEI?
Thank you!!

Q: I don't have any ETF's and I would like to have one of Canadian stocks and one for US stocks. What do you think of the above etf's or could you suggest another one for each of the markets.
Thank you Dorothy

Q: Hi Team,
For an 18 years old's TFSA, is having equal weights of VFV and XQQ diversified enough? If not what other Canadian ETF or stocks would be a good fit?
No commission costs for trading so quantity is not an issue.
Thanks

Q: Good afternoon,

I've owned the MAW 108 & MAW 106 mutual funds in my RRSP and TFSA accounts for a number of years and although I've been reasonably pleased with the absolute return of each mutual fund, the relative annual return compared to their benchmark index has not been that great...

Given that the MER of both funds is substantially higher than that of an ETF tracking the S&P 500 and the S&P TSX, I'm thinking of selling both Mawer funds and replacing them with one ETF that tracks the S&P 500 and another that tracks the S&P TSX, both with a much lower MER.

Q1. Do you agree with this course of action given that there would be no tax issue in selling these Mawer mutual funds and replacing them with two appropriate ETFs.

Q2. Would you kindly recommend your two best ETF ideas that would achieve my goal of reducing my MER fees and that track the S&P 500 and S&P TSX indexes.

Thank you and as always, your sage advice is much appreciated.

Q: I am looking to transfer money from my sons RESP into a TFSA. He is working a lot with ample overtime and likely won't require the money to cover tuition etc.. Could you please suggest some Canadian and/or U.S. etfs that would provide a well rounded portfolio to start him on his investing journey.

Q: Would you suggest some ETFs that capture U.S. & Cdn stocks - top ones that hold top DOW, NASDQ & S&P? My son is 33 YO - has RRSP, TFSA and Non- Reg acct, I believe he owns some NVIDIA stock. I realize not a lot of info. My investment strategy is quite different as I am not - as a priority, focused on growth; but, dividend growers which has served me well over the last 15 years.
Thank you,
James