Investment Q&A

Q: I have a LIRA account and don’t plan to make any withdrawals for the next 15 years. I’m looking for “buy-and-hold” stock and/or ETF investment ideas that would suit this long-term timeframe.

I’m open to a mix of individual stocks and ETFs, across both Canadian and U.S. markets. Given the long horizon, I’m comfortable with experiencing periods of market volatility.

Any additional suggestions on how you would approach this situation if it were your own account would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Q: Hi, I was made aware of a gap (The "Korea Gap") in my international ETF strategy based on your ETF Update model portfolios that I believe is worth sharing.

The "Korea Gap" occurs when an investor mixes ETF providers that use different index benchmarks (specifically MSCI and FTSE). Because these two providers categorize South Korea differently, an investor can inadvertently end up with 0% exposure to the world's 10th-largest economy.

MSCI (Used by iShares XEF): Classifies South Korea as an Emerging Market. Therefore, it is excluded from XEF (Developed Markets).

FTSE (Used by Vanguard VEE): Classifies South Korea as a Developed Market. Therefore, it is excluded from VEE (Emerging Markets).

The result is if you hold only XEF and VEE, South Korea effectively disappears from your portfolio!

In 2025, this meant missing out on the massive "HBM (High-Bandwidth Memory) Craze" led by Samsung and SK Hynix, which drove the KOSPI to record highs.

Portfolio Combo | Provider | Where is Korea? | Avg. MER
XEF + VEE | Mixed | Missing (0%) | 0.24%
XEF + XEC | MSCI | XEC (Emerging) | 0.25%
VIU + VEE | FTSE | VIU (Developed) | 0.24%

I'll personally be replacing my VEE with XEC to hold the MSCI Blackrock combination.

In the XEF + XEC combo, South Korea makes up about 12-13% of the Emerging Markets (XEC) slice. In the VIU + VEE combo, it makes up about 5-6% of the Developed (VIU) slice. This means the iShares combo actually gives you a "heavier" bet on Korea.

Q: Happy New Year! I have held ZQQ:CA for several years and am looking switch to an unhedged fund that covers the Nasdaq 100. Is this a good time to switch or given that the US dollar is under pressure right now should I wait to make this switch? Is there an ETF you would recommend in the same category?
I am also overweight in Technology and underweight in International holdings. I hold DSG which has been in decline over the past year and was considering a swap for EUAD for the next five years. Other considerations you may suggest would be appreciated.
Thoughts?
Thank you
Dan
PS. I may have not pressed submit on a previous version of this question…. !! If so apologies for the duplication.

Q: My current allocation to International markets go as this: EEM 5% XEF 5% EFA 3%. I would like to raise my exposure through CAD. What level of International exposure do you suggest for 2026 and what ETF would you use? Would you buy China? India? Europe? Asia? or stay the course with the current geography?

Thank you for your advised opinion.

Yves

Q: Hi,

I have $50,000 to invest in my TFSA for 2026.

Could you provide your top 5 ETFs to invest in for US/Canadian, Top 3 foreign ETFs. and Top 3 dividend ETFs.

Holding for approx. 10 years. Risk level Moderate to high.

I have an ETF in SMH that has 108% ROI in the last 2 years. Would you advice on putting more cash into SMH?

Thank you

Q: I have set up A RESP for my grandchildren 18 months old (twins) and am thinking of investing in VIU. Would you agree with this approach for a long term hold? I have already invested in ZSP and XIC. Thank you.

Q: My portfolio by region is Canada 58%, US 37%, International 5%. It is recommended that I put my international to 25%. What are 5 stocks/ETF's that you would recommend that would increase my international exposure? Industry-wise, I am heavy on financials and energy already, and I prefer a balanced portfolio. Thanks!

Q: You have mentioned Japan increase in interest rates (just announced this morning at 25 bps) and carry over trade as one of certain key risks for 2026. Is purchasing VIU the wrong investment decision with such risk on the immediate horizon? VIU has Japan as top geographic holding at 24%.

Q: I have both VIDY and VIU. How similar are they? Should I keep both for a long term hold? If I kept only one, which should I keep.
Thank you for your excellent advice.

Q: I'm thinking of shifting some money out of S&P500 index and into XSU / EQL / VIU so I'm not so overpositioned in tech and whatnot. Good idea? Thoughts?

Reasoning:
XSU - smallcaps should outperform at somepoint?
EQL - same stocks but more equally weighted
VIU - north am excluded (also own ind stocks in cad and us)

Q: A follow up question on portfolio construction. I’ve decided to try and get more dividends while I wait for capital appreciation inside my TFSA.

So the portfolio will be 20% International holding FLVI and VIU. 45% Canadian and will hold XDIV and CDZ. The 55% US will hold SPYD, VYM, HVD and all 11 sectors through Vanguard or ishares.

I’m looking to collect some dividends while I wait for capital gains and realize I will not get full dividends on the US ETFs. What are your thoughts on this set up, is there anything to improve either with diversification or higher dividends? Appreciate your service.

Q: Hey 5i, I would like your suggestions on portfolio construction for a retired individual. Basically I would like your suggestions for percentage breakdown between Canada, US, and international. My plans for international is just buying VXUS and calling it a day. For Canada I’m buying ETFs XDIV and CDZ. For the US I’m going to buy the 11 sectors (including REITS) through ETFs, either Vanguards or ishares. So I would like your suggestions on percentages put to the 11 sectors in the US for a retired individual. Thanks so much and what a great service you have!

Q: Is VIU actively managed? What or who determines weightings in each international country ? Or is it just by stock screening that certain countries get a higher percentage weighting? Finally, if VI is the hedged version, what is it hedged against ? The Vanguard website says USD but this ETF is ex North America.

Q: Wanting to diversify my holdings to include international markets.

Could you please recommend an ETF for India, Japan, Europe and emerging markets.

What percentage do you recommend to be outside North America?

Thanks Dave

Q: these ETFs are my main yield workhorses. Can you suggest others to compliment them?

Q: Hi team,

Could you come up with a list of « sleep at night » ETFs, with a 5-10 years horizon, ranking them from best to lowest potential growth and from highest to lowest risk ?

Please deduct as many credits as you see fit.
Gratefully,

Jacques IDS

Q: We have $50,000 we want to invest and leave alone for 3-5 years. We understand there is a good chance of a market correction, and unknown market volatility the next couple years. Would you suggest putting it into an ETF, and if so, can you give us 3 or 4 names to consider?
Or, a couple sectors, with company names, to purchase shares in. Thank you.
Grant

Q: I have US stocks and CAD stocks but also want to keep a large portion of my portfolio in indexes. I have VFV and similar for trakcing S&p and have added VEQT in the last few years for world diversification. I have a small amount in XAW, but does it make sense to have more in XAW since i have a bunch of individual canadian stocks? or do you have a preference for canadians to own one of these over the other?

Q: I don’t have any international ETF. Can you please suggest 2 to 3 ETF

If you need to buy one ETF which one would you recommend to buy.

Thanks for your excellent service

Q: I currently hold the above ETFs in a RESP and wonder if I should add any other ETF or this is good enough and just keep adding to these ones. Money not needed for 9 years.

Thanks