Investment Q&A

Q: Would you still recommend CDZ as the best Canadian Dividend ETF for retirees? Is it a good basic Canadian equity fund?

Q: Hi, I'm looking to save and invest $X every week into the market. I could either:

1) Buy etf's as there is really no commission on the purchases
2) Buy individual stocks as the funds accumulate. Commission is only ~$5, what would be the minimum $ amount to invest so that it's worth it?

If I were to choose option 1, what would be your two or three ETF choices for either dividend growth or pure capital gains growth. Same for option 2, what two or three individual dividend growth or growth stocks would you choose to allocate capital to every week or two?

Thanks!

Q: Am looking to invest in a Canadian Dividend ETF.
I have researched the above ETF's, they all have pros & cons.
Am leaning slightly towards VDY at this point.
Criteria: Will be in a non-registered account, am after monthly dividend income with
some moderate growth potential. Am not overly concerned with a high weighting in financials, ideally would have a lower MER but am after solid 3-5 year growth.
If forced to choose one only, which ETF would you recommend?
Thanks for the great service,
Steve

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

Q: What are your top 10 ETF’s to hold forever?
Would you buy them on the US or Canadian markets if available. I know some of the US listed ETF’s are more liquid. Thanks

Q: Hi 5i, I started my stock market investing in March 2020 in order to get 'skin in the game'. I am a daily learner whose investing personality is that of an 'individualist'. I have determined my investing goal to be for income (mostly through dividends) and growth (for capital appreciation). I have found lately that my risk tolerance feels lower due to increasing volatility, talk of market decline/crash, increasing inflation, shortages, rising rates etc. As a result I would like to cash in the individual stocks I own that have given me good capital appreciation and replace them with ETF's and/or Index Funds. Income and growth plus diversification to my portfolio is my objective here. Since I hold more than enough physical precious metals and an emergency stash in US dollars I feel I have enough insurance/hedge against a worst case scenario happening in the economy. Please comment on these following ETF's. I am also open to other suggestions you might have as well. Please note that my entire TFSA is in my brokerage account so taxes are not an issue for me. Thanks

ZCN BMO S&P/TSX Composite Index
CIC CI First Asset Canadian Bank Income Class
ZWB BMO Covered Call Canadian Banks
RIT CI First Asset Canadian Banks
ZDV BMO Canadian Dividend
CDZ iShares Canadian Aristorcrats
XRE iShares Capped REIT
XEC Emerging Markets ETF

P.S. I assign an equal dollar amount for each investment in my portfolio. The ETF part of my portfolio are for long term holds.

Q: Please name half dozen of your top choices for an income portfolio.

Q: I am looking for monthly income. So far I am considering ZEB, KEY, PPL, and either HHL-B or HHL-T. Your opinion on those, and any suggestions you have, please.

Q: Is there another good Canadian-listed ETF similar to VGG? I need another one or two so I don’t exceed exposure in a single ETF. Anything based on the S&P is not ideal as I already have a fair bit of technology exposure.

Thanks.

Q: About 1 year ago you provided some general guidance on a retirement portfolio and I’m wondering what changes, if any, you might recommend given another year has passed. I’m not looking for specific guidance but rather suggestions for me to investigate further given how the investing landscape has changed this past year. Retirement horizon is 5 years and the portfolio has the following holdings: ZAG(26%), ZSP (3%), CDZ(65%), ZEA(6%). We have a large cash position that we’re ready to deploy. First, what is your take on the viability and allocation of the current holdings? Second, what are some ETF suggestions for the cash - add to existing ETFs or do you have alternative funds you’d recommend for us to investigate. Thanks so much!

Q: After selling a rental property I now have cash that equals approx 25% of my investment portfolio. My goal with this cash would be to create a mini portfolio within 2 TFSA's to produce dividend income to help with everyday expenses for the next 5 years or so. After this time the investments would be sold and incorporated into my balanced portfolio as the income should no longer be needed. I am looking to keep the portfolio to a max of 6 positions that are diversified from a geographical and sector standpoint. I do not have an exact income requirement, but 4% was my initial target. What investments would you suggest to meet my goals? Feel free to deduct as many credits as required.

Q: Hello, I have the Mackenzie fund mfc244 that has done very well for me over the years and pays me a nice dividend every month. Is the a cdn etf that would be comparable in performance and payout but would have a much lower mer? Thanks

Q: Is this ETF a safe way to invest in the banking sector in a RRIF account for income and some growth and do you believe the strategy used by this ETF can outperform other ETF such as ZWB or ZEB. Can you suggest a couple of alternatives ETF that are more appropriate for a RRIF or do you feel it is better to just own the individual banks.

Q: Hi I have this etf in my account . Should i sell some and buy stocks or add some i am looking for dividend income.

Thank you

Q: I am looking for retirement monthly cash flow to supplement retirement. Can you please recommend some etfs and dividend aristocrats. About $400,000.
thank you.

Q: Hi folks, I am expecting an inheritance of about $50-70,000. I currently have what I would consider a med-high risk portfolio for retirement. I'm 46 so I am a ways from retiring but would rather put that $50-70,000 in a small number of low-med risk equities or an ETF with a good dividend and just let it grow slowly but surely. Can you provide any recommendations?

Thanks!

Q: I currently have all 4 of these etf's in my tfsa. Would you think that some of these etf's are holding the same companies, if so which one would you suggest i keep and which ones would you say i sell. And if there any other ones would you suggest i replace them with. THANKS GUYS

Q: I’m 71 years old. As I get older I’ve tried to simplify my portfolio, going from about 50 stocks years ago, to my current portfolio of about 16 stocks, 3 ETFs and 15% cash.
I am a subscriber to your Portfolio Tracking and Analysis service and I’m told I need to make changes to reach a suggested asset allocation and portfolio diversification. Right now I’m tech, utilities and financial services heavy.

Here’s what I’d like to do:
The following set up gives me an allocation of 70% equities, 20 % bonds and 7% cash. I’m comfortable with this and have gone through many 20 and 30% corrections in the past 30 years without too much despair.

In my Canadian cash account I’d have CDZ, FTS, AQN.
Locked in RSP (LIRA) I would have AAPL, ZSP, ZEM.
Unlocked RIF I ‘d have CLF, ZAG.
TFSA would have QQQ, ZEM, ZDI, CSU, TOI, SIS.
I’d like cash around 8% of portfolio.

I’m wondering if I have my portfolio diversification covered and if the right stocks or ETFs are in the appropriate accounts for best tax efficiencies?
Your input would really be helpful.
Thanks
Frank

Q: As an older senior, I own CDZ for dividends. Would ZWC be a better option?
thanks

Q: Can you suggest a few good ETF’s which should form the basis of one’s portfolio.

Also please suggest ETF’s for specific applications like..... high risk/ growth, dividend, US equities, Canadian equities, dividend stocks, tech stocks, emerging markets ..... and your choice of basket of ETF’s which a person could use to build a portfolio ( with % allocations)