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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: Please suggest a few US and Canada mid-cap equity ETFs to invest for over 5 year term--buy & hold idea. As well, please provide for each a good entry point.
Thanks,
Roger
Read Answer Asked by Roger on April 24, 2023
Q: Hi there,

I've been reading up on the US vs International stock cycle as of late. It appears as the cycle of under and over performance tends to happen in cycles. Obviously no one can predict the future, but do you think International will outperform over the next few years considering where are are in the economic cycle, rates, valuations etc? Can I please have your thoughts?

Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Michael on January 23, 2023
Q: We have been keeping in cash the proceed of the sale of a condo. what would you suggest for a conservative growth ETF in canadian currency. That would represent 10% of our equities holdings. Looking for more growth than yield, as this would be in a non registered account. We would like something all in one, as I do not want to add more names to the list of equities we have.
Read Answer Asked by francois on January 04, 2023
Q: Recommendation for best Canadian dividend ETF for long term hold
Read Answer Asked by Paul on October 14, 2022
Q: 1.For Canadian coverage would you choose xic, vcn or xiu?
2.Would it be worth putting half the total amount in one of the above(xic, vcn, or xiu)and the other half in vdy?
3.For the U,S. allocation should I choose vig or spy which both require payment in u.s. dollars which I don't have, or would it be adequate to simply choose vun.

Thanks in advance. I plan to hold these allotments for many years and I appreciate dividends but do not need them for my living expenses.
Read Answer Asked by Astrid on September 20, 2022
Q: Historically speaking, what is the average rate of return of ETF’s compared to individual stocks?
Read Answer Asked by Dennis on July 26, 2022
Q: Given the possibility of a recession and the certainty of volatility for the next couple years, can you give me 4 CDN and 4 US stocks/etf's, you think might provide some safety and reliable, albeit moderated returns? The equities I've listed are my ideas.
Read Answer Asked by Graeme on May 20, 2022
Q: Hi. I hold a considerable amount in CDZ and none of VCN. My thinking is that through CDZ I have large Canadian companies that raise their dividend but VCN may offer more diversity at the expense of income. I do like the dividends and concentration of CDZ. Would you stay with CDZ or shift some funds to VCN?
Read Answer Asked by Frank on February 16, 2022
Q: The last MF that my mom holds in her non-reg account is CI Canadian All Cap Fund Series X. All other (higher fee) MFs have been converted to low cost ETFs. If she sells, there's a capital gain to be paid. It's not a trivial amount but it won't trigger OAS clawback. If she were your mom would you suggest she convert this to an ETF as well or is the MER low enough to just let it be? Or is one's view of what the Feds will do with cap gain inclusion rate a bigger factor?
Read Answer Asked by Brian on January 27, 2022
Q: Hi,

I'm looking for 2 or 3 broad based ETFs that track the CDN TSX closely, and two or three ETFs that track the US broad market closely, for a 'couch potato' strategy.
Read Answer Asked by Graeme on December 13, 2021
Q: I have the time and interest to invest in individual stocks and have benefited greatly from your advice, My 28 year old son is looking to me for investment advice and I was hoping that you could help me. He is young with a long investment horizon so he is not interested in any bond or fixed income components and is comfortable with a portfolio holding a diversified mix of 100% stocks in various geographies. He wants to control his own portfolio but does not have the time to research and stay on top of individual stocks and is leaning towards an ETF portfolio. I am not well versed in this area and was hoping you could provide some guidance.

He is looking at XEQT and VEQT as possible one stop solutions. There are some minor differences between the two, but overall they appear very similar. XEQT has a MER of 0.2% and VEQT has a MER of 0.25%, VEQT holds more stocks than XEQT and XEQT is weighted a bit more towards US stocks and a bit less towards CAD stocks compared to VEQT. Would you recommend one over the other, or hold both?

Instead of buying one of these he is also considering holding a two (or more) ETF portfolio using VCN and XAW ETFs. VCN tracks the Canadian market, XAW tracks the global market excluding Canada. A portfolio of 25% VCN and 75% XAW would replicate XEQT/VEQT very closely, but would have a weighted average MER of about .18%. The trade off is that this one would need to be rebalanced, whereas with XEQT/VEQT all rebalancing is done automatically. Would a 25%VCN/75% XAW be preferable to XEQT/VEQT?

If it was you at 28, would you do either of the above or would you prefer a portfolio of other ETFs and if so, what would those be?

Many thanks

Scott
Read Answer Asked by Scott on October 19, 2021
Q: Hi,

I'm a medium risk investor with a 5 year time frame.

Can you recommend 3 US ETFS to cover the whole US Market?
And 3 to cover the whole CDN market?
and 1 ETF to cover the international market?
Read Answer Asked by Graeme on March 30, 2021
Q: ETFs
Can you suggest your top 1-2-3 ETFs traded on the TSX for Canadian, USA and International markets that should perform well (after fees) over the next 1-2 years and have good trade volumes? Also, would this be a good time to purchase hedge or unhedged ETFs?
Read Answer Asked by David on December 10, 2020
Q: I am helping my niece set up with ETF. She is holding the below funds right now. Can you please advise their fees and which ETF would you suggest replacing them with? Is there a site where you can check the mutual fund fees and performance?

PH&N LifeTime 2045 Fund
RBC Canadian Equity Fund
RBC Balanced Fund
BLK Balanced Index
Capital Global Equity
BLK US Equity Index

Thanks for your help
Hector
Read Answer Asked by Hector on November 12, 2020
Q: Hi Team,
Is there a ETF similar to VGRO but sold in $US without converting to Cdn? I have some cash on the US side of my RRSP and like the set up of VGRO but would rather not convert back to Cdn at this point.
Read Answer Asked by Todd on September 08, 2020
Q: Hi Peter/Ryan, my 20 year old son wants to get into Vanguard ETF's. He has a TFSA stock account and now wants to add a Vanguard ETF. What is your opinion of Vanguard and is there one you would recommend. Thanks, Nick
Read Answer Asked by Nick on June 12, 2020
Q: HI, I just recently made the switch from mutual funds to ETF’s and a DIY strategy and am looking to lock down 4 low cost ETF’s that I will invest in for the long term (30 + years) and leaning more toward the aggressive side for these. I am looking to take advantage of some dollar cost averaging to enter the ETF market for some broad market index ETF’s in my TFSA and was looking for you opinion of some that I am trying to choose between.
Canadian Market – I am trying to choose between XIC, VCN & ZCN. They all have significant overlap and same MER so I don’t see a whole lot of difference between the three, although I am leaning towards XIU, thoughts on which one you would choose for your portfolio?
US Market – I am trying to decide between VUN & VFV. The VFV has lower MER than VUN and has outperformed VUN as of late. Smaller and mid-cap companies historically had higher volatility than the large-cap companies found in the S&P 500, and so the trade-off is potentially higher growth, for potentially more volatility if you go with a total market index like what is found in VUN. The S&P 500 has outperformed the total market index as of late so I guess the question is will this continue, I am leaning towards VFV, thoughts on which one you would choose for your portfolio?
International Developed – I am trying to decide between XEF & VIU, both have similar MER, thoughts on which one you would choose for your portfolio?
Emerging Markets – I am trying to decide between XEC & VEE for a small percentage of my portfolio, thoughts on which one you would choose for your portfolio?
These are some ETFs’ I have come across from doing build wealth Canada course and reading other materials and listening to podcasts that seem to fit my long-term outlook. I am by no means experienced in this matter and just looking to hit the ground running so If you have better suggestions for certain markets that I may have missed feel free to outline them.

Thanks
Sean
Read Answer Asked by Sean on April 13, 2020
Q: Hi Peter, VCN and XAW are in one portfolio, VXC is in another. Would you add to these or is there a better choice considering the Canadian dollar or Covid? Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Robert on March 26, 2020