Investment Q&A

Q: Retired, dividend-income investor. A question earlier today has motivated me to finally ask this question....been thinking of it for quite a while. It had to do with potential rising interest rates and your response was that dividend investors should be prepared for a bumpy ride in the short term (my paraphrase of your answer).

I own the above securities and for the most part trim-add around core positions that I hold for the long term. Is it possible to divide the above securities into two camps....one that would be "ok" in a rising interest rate environment and the other that I should consider trimming a bit or maybe selling? I am ok riding things out for the long term and do not normally react to short term volatility.

Thanks for your help....Steve

Q: Dear 5i
I currently don't own any individual bank stocks as i have achieved this exposure via the ETF`s CDZ and ZLB . I'm beginning to think though in the current climate that adding individual bank stocks might not be a bad idea in all 3 of our RRSP accounts , as opposed to adding more to the above noted ETF`s . I'm also planning on adding SLF and GSY .
So do you recommend sticking to the original plan and just add to the ETF`s or start accumulating individual bank related stocks for each of the accounts to add a bit more banking punch?
Thanks
Bill C
Ps Retired

Q: Of the above Canadian dividend ETFs, which one do you think has the best diversity and investment strategy for a very long-term hold? CDZ seems to have the highest 3-year return, followed closely by VDY, but the latter ETF seems high on the financial services at 59%; not sure how VDY determines their allocations.
Thanks!

Q: I am looking for a good Canadian high dividend ETF. VDY seems to have the best performance following the FTSE Canada High Dividend Yield Index. Can you tell me a bit more about the latter index and stocks are selected. I know the CDZ, also has some set criteria for selecting stocks based on dividend payment history. Thank you in advance for your comments!

Q: Can you suggest an alternative to CDZ? I believe one was mentioned some time ago but I can't find the reference.
Thanks

Q: Thanks for your previous response confirming these etfs cover major asset classes and geographies for an RSP with 5 years to retirement. Could you please suggest a couple of etf alternatives that could be added to provide a little more torque with a 5 year timeframe. A brief explanation for each would be appreciated. Thanks.

Q: I have transferred my RRIF account from a broker and I plan to self-mange that account. The cash balance as of today is $290,000. I'm 88 years old so I need strong cash flow and/or capital gains to meet the required annual distribution. Please provide a list of stocks and ETFs that 5i would recommend for that purpose. Thanks for your valued assistance.

Q: First a big thank you for the terrific returns we received in 2020 thanks to your stellar guidance (our largest holdings we first discovered through 5i -hello LSPD,XBC and WELL!). We gifted our kids memberships in December and praise your service to everyone. This is truly an invaluable service.
Now to the question, my brother is tired of paying high fees for his CIBC pension holdings. When I looked into this for him last year, some pools had MER in the 2% range! He’s moved the following into cash and is looking for lower fee/higher return alternatives in the following areas of his pension account:
-Imperial Canadian Dividend Income Pool
-Imperial Canadian Equity High Income Pool
-Imperial US Equity Pool
-Imperial International Equity Pool
-Imperial Short Term Bond Pool
-Imperial Long Term Bond Pool
Please charge as many questions as required.

Q: I think I understand (mostly?) how the overall choice of holdings in this ETF are determined .
But how is the weighting of any individual holding in this fund determined? E.g. current holdings in the utilities sector include RNW (with a current 4.32% yield) at the top of the list at 3.08%, INE (2.4% yield) at 2.59%, CPX (5.44% yield) at 2.17%, ACO.X (4.51% yield) at 0.92%. Are Blackrock including some assessment of the other metrics of the companies in question (perhaps explaining the comparatively high 0.66 MER)?
Why would e.g. LNF, which would seem to otherwise qualify (2.58% yield with a 17-year streak of increasing dividends) be excluded?

Q: Hi guys!

Can you please recommend some alternatives/additionas to XTR? I'm looking for high dividend with also an (as high as possible) degree of diversification. Essentially, a couple choice income picks if I were to only choose 1-3 ETF for an entire dividend-based portfolio. This is in relation to my previous question where I was looking to do something relatively safe with ~60k over 2-3 yrs. Thanks!

Q: Are utility stocks and other dividend names under greater pressure with a rising 10 yr yield? If so, could you please explain why? Thanks.

Q: I need to set up an annual income for my wife, for next 25 years. In TFSA and RRSP, using only ETF's. Dividend growth and HY dividends. Should have 5% yearly and 10% total return. Can you recommend the appropate ETF's. Vanguard/BMO/ I Shares (only)
Please NO EM ETF's One European OK--- Key is 5% annual income. Investment .5M$ It has to be buy and collect for 25 years. No input by my wife.
Thank you
Cec

Q: Since CDZ holds dividend aristocrats where the dividend has increased for the past 5 years, what will happen to their holdings this year with many companies reducing dividends? Do they sell them off at some point? How will this affect the ETF overall?

Q: Hi,
if you were putting a fund together comparable to VGG, but for Canadian equities, what might be your first 5 top picks assuming the same criteria for the ETF? Also, what would be your 3 honorable mentions?
When comparing CDZ and VGG what are the main differences in terms of the stocks that make up these two ETF's?
Many thanks,
Dan

Q: Hi,
are the dividends paid by CDZ all eligible for the dividend tax credit or is there a portion that is return of capital? Sorry, I couldn't find it on Blackrock's web site.
Also, what would explain the negative performance of this ETF's in the past year as compared to say the XIC or XIU?
Thanks,
Dan

Q: HI uys.. Could you think of anything I should do with these 3vstocksdown about 9000.00 since I bought them. thanks fot the input as always.. cliff

Q: Just read your email update on preparing for potential increased volatility. One of the measures was to focus on lower beta stocks, which I do anyway. I went though all of my holdings (easy because beta is one of the metrics I track).

I was surprised with one of my holdings = CDZ, the Canadian Dividend Aristocrats ETF, whose beta is 1.1. I would have thought that with the very nature of this ETF that it would have a much lower beta. Can you explain why the beta is as high as it is?

Thanks for your help...Steve

Q: Are there any etf's that focus on companies with, strong balance sheets and a track record of consistent dividend growth by sectors, specifically tech, health, cons. staples etc. and if not what would be your recommendation for a general etf that has the same focus. Thanks for expertise.

Q: Hi,

I've held CDZ since I first began investing on my own, about 12 years ago, and it doesn't appear to have done a whole lot. The dividend is great, mind you, but I haven't seen much growth. Over these 12 years, I've been buying many of the individual positions that form part of CDZ.

Does it make much sense to continue to hold CDZ as an anchor for my portfolio? Or can I start to wind it down and use that cash to build up other positions, while maintaining a balanced portfolio.

Thanks
Robert

Q: I just retired with no pension and living off my portfolio. I’m sitting on a lot of cash right now with very little US investments. I would like to start buying slowly. What would you suggest. Preferably ETF’s listed on the TSX with the odd US stock. Thanks