Investment Q&A

Q: Answer at your convenience. I have had a small position in IJR for a couple of years and was going to start adding to it in the new year. However, checking back on past questions I see that the small/mid cap etfs noted above have been mentioned fairly positively. Would any of these be preferred to IJR or would a basket of say, 3 in total (with or without IJR) in this space be a better approach. Could you give brief comments, in order to compare, and which way would you lean if you were making
the choice ?
Thank you for all that you do.

Q: What ETF's would you recommend for Small Caps both US and Canadian? Thanks

Q: A question was answered today in which you endorsed 6 ETF's for a passive approach to portfolio construction. If you were to add three additional ETF's to this mix that provided more aggressive exposure to sectors that you liked, what would they be?

Q: What would be your recommendations for etf’s covering the tsx venture exchange? What would be your prognosis on this sector moving forward?

Q: Can you recommend five CAD-denominated, growth-oriented ETF’s trading on the TSX for a three-year hold? This could include sector-specific (eg cybersecurity, AI, dividend-growth, etc), theme-based (eg momentum) and/or general/broad index suggestions (eg TSX, S&P500, NASDAQ100, etc). Thanks.

Q: Hi Peter and 5i Team,

I need to raise some cash and plan to sell/reduce in a non-registered account to accomplish this. Of the stocks and ETFs addressed in this question, please rank them in the order that YOU would sell/reduce, starting with the ones to sell/reduce first. If any holdings are an outright sell, please indicate. For example, we've held BYD for a long time and have a decent gain, but it's short-term performance has faltered somewhat.

As always, thanks for your insight.

Q: Seeking 5i advice regarding investing approx. $600,000 into Canadian ETFS for income and balanced approach. Considering TD Canadian Equity Index, for perhaps $100,000..
Could I please have your recommendation for the remaining amount.
Thanks in advance for your help
Rick

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

Q: Looking of some growth ETF suggestions for my non-registered account, hold for at least 5 years.

Q: Good day team,
I know you’ve been asked a lot about small and mid cap etfs but can you kindly recommend a few etfs both hedged and unhedged for a non registered account pls. No need to funds for at least 10 years.

Q: I read your recent comments on small caps. What are your favorite US small cap ETFs and your favorite Canadian small cap ETFs.
Thanks,
Mark

Q: Interesting comments in your latest Market Update about small caps. In addition to any potential upside in 2025, we are close to the possible annual January “bounce”. If you had to pick 5 (ranked) Canadian small caps to take advantage, which 5 equities would you lean towards? Also, is there an ideal ETF that would cover all the small cap basics? (2 questions)
On another note, long time member here who is extremely grateful for the outstanding service you provide. I’ve listened attentively, learned a lot, and have been blessed with some lucrative decisions, always guided by your sage wisdom. For that I offer a heartfelt thank you, and wish all at 5i a wonderful Christmas and another prosperous 2025!
Chris

Q: Seeing that the outlook for small caps is more positive what would be your choice for Canadian and US ETFs in this area? Thank you.

Q: I’m hopeful that 5i can help with sector rebalancing in our combined accounts. Portfolio Analytics currently indicates that Technology is now 20.85% of our portfolio, but recommends a target of 16%.

Of course, this is due to 5i’s recommendation of CSU, which in turn led to positions in LMN and TOI. We’re certainly grateful for this!

In addition to the three stocks cited above, we also have positions in these ETFs, followed by the percentage weighting in the Technology sector:
XCS - 4.68%
VEF - 10.37%
VFV - 33.77%

Is this overweight position in Technology something we should be concerned about? If this was your portfolio, what would you do? We are seniors (76 and 81), and both of us have defined benefit pension plans.

Thanks as always for your insight.

Q: Hi there! Long time subscriber here, and love your platform!

I'm currently developing a plan to align with my goal of purchasing my first home in about eight years, alongside a long-term investment strategy. I’m seeking your insight on how a person in this situation could responsibly proceed (I understand that nothing here is considered actionable financial advice).

I'm currently contributing $400 biweekly to my FHSA, aiming to reach the $16,000 contribution limit this year. I also have approximately $5,000 in my TFSA, with all funds currently held in cash in both accounts.

For the FHSA, I’m considering investing in a high-growth American ETF, such as VFV, IUSG, or IWO, to balance growth and risk over the eight-year horizon. However, I would only like to invest in CAD (I'm not sure which ones only allow USD). Could you provide guidance on which ETF might be the most suitable for this approach, and why? If you have other recommendations, I would appreciate your insights.

For my TFSA, I'm interested in an aggressive investment strategy, potentially utilizing one of your growth or balanced portfolios. Given my exposure to cryptocurrency, I aim to diversify into equities for greater stability while still pursuing substantial growth over the next 45 years. I'm comfortable with higher volatility during this period. With $5,000 currently in my TFSA, would you recommend specific securities or a strategy that balances high growth with diversification?

While I’d prefer to follow your portfolio exactly, my current funds are only 5% of the $100,000 needed to follow it exactly. As an alternative, I'm considering selecting stocks from your portfolio and eventually investing evenly across the entire growth portfolio when my TFSA grows to an appropriate amount. Given my current $5,000 and my $100 bi-weekly contributions, which companies would you recommend selecting from within those two portfolios? Should I allocate $1,000 each to five different stocks or focus on three stocks with an initial $1,600 investment in each (the more I diversify on such a small number the less the potential return)? Your advice on which equities to select for both approaches and your opinion on the most responsible approach would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance! :)

Q: I would like to buy a US small-cap ETF
Can you suggest the best two at this time with ranking and suggest an entry price if possible
Would you advise to also purchase XCS the Canadian small cap ETF
Thanks

Q: Please recommend ETFs to follow the Small Cap Index that you have the most confidence in; one in Canada and one in the USA.

Q: What is your favourite predominantly Canadian small cap ETF ? And American ?
Which of the two do you prefer for a 3-5 year hold?
Thank you,
Philip

Q: Speaking as specialists in Canadian small cap equity, what are your favourite Canadian and U.S. small and micro-cap equity mutual funds and ETFs?
Best regards,
David

Q: Hi there,

Can you comment on the strength of small and mid caps going forward and give me 1 US and 1 Cdn etf to look at?

Ok thanks!