Investment Q&A

Q: Hello 5i,

We were reading a report on the risk for corporate bonds due to a tightening of spreads. Our goal from a previous question is to protect funds needed in the next 3 years to augment CPP and OAS (no pensions).

We added bonds, but that plan may require a new assessment. Currently, our portfolio has a small position (2%) of Bonds consisting of AGT, VCLT, VCIT, & VAB. We also have laddered GIC’s for 5 years, plus PSA & BIL (for vacations in the US).

We are looking at replacing AGT & VAB with PSA and VCLT & VCIT with BIL. Do you have any other suggestions that may meet our goals?

Thank you
D&J

Q: Hi 5i,
In today's environment; October 17, 2023.
If one wanted to purchase a Canadian Passive Fixed Income ETF to hold in a TFSA for 1 to 3 years and then potentially sell. Can you suggest some ETF's that might give out sized Total Return. My goal is Total Return and not necessarily High Yield.

Q: What is your recommended short term CAD bond etf? Can you briefly discuss your top 3?

Q: Can you name a few securities that you would recommend in an effort to capitalize on the potential bond market opportunity as outlined in your March 16th market report?

Please rank and provide a brief explanation for the ranking.

Q: Why has this ETF not increased in yield? Yield has been flat for over a year yet short term rates have skyrocketed. Why the lag?

Q: What short term bond etf would you recommend?

Q: I have about half of my balanced income portfolio in equities and the remainder in cash. Although my stocks are balanced, I still hold no fixed income investments. I like the sleep at night cash but feel it is too big of a chunk to just let sit in cash., Can you please suggest an approach to fixed income and recommend a few possibilities to consider. As always, thanks for your help

Q: I am considering this fund to diversify my fixed income holdings. I currently own VAB, VSB a GIC ladder. The plan is gradually to replace VSB and part of the GICs with LWF021. I would appreciate any comments you may have. Thank you.

Q: hello
can you recommend what types of bonds should be held in a rising rate environment and can your recommend some ETFs?
thanks

Q: Can you suggest some short-term bond ETFs that are investing in government and/or large blue-chip companies? 3 for Canadian market and 3 for internal markets please? This is to provide regular income after retirement.

Q: Hi 5i Research. I have all the above ETFs in my RRIF. Does it make sense to combine all of these ETFs into one. If so, would XSB be a suitable choice? Thanks very much. Ron

Q: The short duration bond ETFs like these have declined in last few months with possibility of increased rates. If these are held for five years, would there still be loss of principal, if interest rates stay higher than today. I was assuming if bonds are held to maturity, there is no loss of principal. Hopefully, my question makes sense.

Q: I am one that is not very fond of Bonds and with their present performance I have decided to sell ETF XBB .
What would be a best ETF as an alternative to XBB in a RRIF account over a five year time frame?

Q: If interest rates were to start creeping-up slowly in the next year or two , which bond ETFs would you suggest?
Thank's
Ronald

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 still have some money in a Canadian short-term bond index ETF ( VSB) which has recently paid about 2.6% annually and a healthy cash balance across both registered and non-registered accounts.
Considering where we are in the economic cycle, record low interest rates and expected US FED policy direction for the next year or two, can we anticipate this rate to continue for the next year? Do you have any other investment areas where one could look to invest?
Thank you

Q: What is your opinion on using VCIP as a 'slightly riskier than cash' investment vehicle for a holding period of 6-12 months? It is obviously riskier than HISAs/GICs/PSA, but do you think it is riskier than XSB/VSB/HFR? There is an equity component to VCIP, but given its greater diversification compared to XSB/VSB/HFR, I wonder if, paradoxically, it might actually be 'safer'. I note that when the pandemic hit, even VSB/HFR fell quite precipitously. Would you advocate a mix of VCIP/VSB/HFR instead? If so, how would you weight the three? Thank you.

Q: Good morning 5i. I am considering "parking" about 10% of my portfolio in "cash equivalents". Are CVD and CPD your preferences in this case as I see they pay out roughly 5% which seems a reasonable risk/reward scenario? Are there other options or recommendations that you might consider? Thank you in advance.

Q: Would please comment on events that possibly would negatively impact on the above 3 ETFs?

Cheers

Q: Hello,

When it comes to bonds and interest rates I am like a deer in headlights. What would a negative interest rate scenario impact an etf like VSB and VSG or a longer term bond fund?
Thank you and stay safe!