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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: Dear Peter et al:

From many of the articles that I have read, it appears that utilities sector is a safe bet for 2024. The rates are going to be stable and not rising seems to be the consensus.
If you agree with this thesis, what are the companies that do you think can mimic or match the return of an ETF like ZUT/XUT? I don't want to pay the high MER but willing to buy a small basket of stocks and hold them for at least 2-3 years.

Many thanks.

P.S. I have spent an hour browsing through the Q&A section and I "kinda" know what your answer is going to be(!!) but need some "handholding" :)
Read Answer Asked by Savalai on December 08, 2023
Q: Hello. I am looking at getting exposure in utilities. Could you please provide me with some ETF's - U.S. or Cdn? or stocks? Please rank them as well.
What is considered a reasonable management fee for ETF's?

Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by lorraine on October 26, 2023
Q: As per today, could you provide your best 3 Cdn Utility stocks for the next 5 yrs for total return (stock appreciation + div).

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Daniel on October 13, 2023
Q: With utilities and real estate under pressure these days, can you recommend 4 choices in each sector for a conservative investor with a 10 year time line interested in income with some capital appreciation. Please include 2 ETFs and 2 companies in each sector.
Thanks,
Len
Read Answer Asked by Leonard on June 21, 2023
Q: Could you pls provide ETFs for dividend and capital growth over the next 12 months for each of:
Communications Services, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Energy, Financial, Health Care, Industrials, Information Technology, Materials, Real Estate, and Utilities?
Read Answer Asked by Ron on June 19, 2023
Q: Retired, dividend-income investor. I am considering adding ZUT to our portfolio, to assist us meeting our targeted asset allocation in the Utilities sector in our Cash account. We already own AQN, FTS and utilities contained within CDZ, ZLB, ZWC.

Q#1 = do you agree that this is a good fit? When I check out the rankings of other ETFs, ZUT is just "ok". However, ZUT compares very well against XUT and I like the "equal weight" approach. I also like the roughly 30% "renewables" content within ZUT. Are there other Utility ETFs that I should consider?

Q#2 = some of the metrics I look at are P/B (1.7), P/E (22.8), ROE (5.4%). Historically, is ZUT cheap or expensive right now?

Q#3 = looking at the technicals, from a value perspective, it looks to my amateur eyes that now is a good time to buy. Agree?

Thanks for your help...much appreciated.
Steve

Read Answer Asked by Stephen on April 21, 2023
Q: I notice that utility ETF are in the low range of 52 weeks.Considering interest rates and economic context ,is it a good time now to invest in utility ETF (or even in utility covered call ETF in order to limit the present volatility ) ? any ETF suggestion ?
Read Answer Asked by Jean-Yves on February 01, 2023
Q: Hi Team,
Could you suggest Canadian ETFs of the following sectors for Senior incomes :
1 /Reit 2/ Utility 3/Prefer 4/Bank/Financial 5/Energy.
Please deduct as many question credit as needed.
Thanks as always,
Tak
Read Answer Asked by Tak on October 12, 2021
Q: Hi. I have decided to add an equal position of each of the above to my portfolio. These companies will even out my exposure among sectors. I have room in both my tax free account and my rrsp account. (RRSP won't be accessed for 18 - 20 years) I guess what I'm asking is would it be more advantageous to put any of the above in a tax free account vs an rrsp account?
Read Answer Asked by Susan on August 17, 2021
Q: Greetings 5i.

I would like your view on the following. Would you prefer to buy a basket of power utilities (FTS/H/AQN etc) to create a hybrid ETF for sector exposure? (if so, can you provide a list of your favorites?) Or is it worth the mer to buy an ETF that has most of them embedded within? In which case, which ETF would you recommend?

Many thanks for your help.
Read Answer Asked by Arthur on July 06, 2021
Q: Yesterday I sold BEPC in my RRSP as the stock had a huge run. Now I am underweight in Utilities. Is it a good idea to buy BEP.UN now as a replacement now or wait for the price to go down. Would you recommend XUT ETF instead? Currently own small position of AQN in utilities. Sincerely appreciate your opinion.
Read Answer Asked by Hali on December 09, 2020
Q: Retired dividend-income investor. Your answer today about an ETF with a focus on renewables hit all of my markers. I've been struggling how to address the renewables latest trend and your answer solves my dilemma (already own AQN, FTS, TRP).

Q#1 = So, if XUT has roughly 45% renewables, what % renewables does ZUT have?

Also, it appears that ZUT outperforms XUT over multiple time periods and has a slightly larger dividend. ZUT is also equal weighted while XUT is not.

Q#2 = Which would you choose, XUT vs ZUT and why? I'm leaning towards ZUT.

Q#3 = Now, throw in where we are in the market cycle. Assume you chose ZUT in question #2, what would you think of ZWU? ZWU has a covered call overlay that helps to deliver a 7.9% dividend vs ZUT of 3.5%. I know you are not keen on CC ETF's in an expanding market as they limit the upside.

Thanks for your guidance...much appreciated...Steve
Read Answer Asked by Stephen on December 04, 2020
Q: Hi Team,

I'm considering reducing my fixed income portfolio allocation in favour of adding some Preferred shares/ ETFs And some Utility stocks. What investments would you make to accomplish this portfolio change?
Read Answer Asked by Ian on October 13, 2020
Q: I wish to buy a defensive utility in a non-reg acct that will qualify for DTC (not sure if ETFs above qualify for DTC). I am aware of different div yields. Is there any significant difference in risks that stand out to you? Plse rank in your order of pref for purchase (already own EMA but would purchase more).
Read Answer Asked by Bob on April 14, 2020
Q: Hi 5i team,
I want to buy ETFs for my RRSP to capture the eventual market recovery. I'm thinking of the utilities and banks sectors. I understand that 'covered call' ETFs are not ideal to capture market gain in an upswing. Which ETF would you recommend for Canadian utilities industry? And which one for Canadian banks? Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Willie on March 16, 2020