Investment Q&A

Q: I found your response to Leonard’s question regarding which accounts international ETFs are best placed quite interesting. I hold large positions in both VE and VEE in a registered account. If I understand your response it means that I am paying a withholding tax twice (on US and International side) with no recourse to claim it back. If staying within a registered account, what two ETF would you recommend to replace VE and VEE for better tax efficiency? Would you endorse immediately switching and would there be any drawbacks to making such a switch?

Q: Hi,

I own both these funds. Both are held in a TFSA, and I am looking for "total return". I was thinking of selling one and adding to the other.

1. Is there a lot of overlap between the 2 ETF's? (I noticed on some trading days, they sometimes have a negative co-relation).

2. If you were sell one and add to the other, which would you sell? Or would you simply keep both "as is".

Thanks,

Craig

Q: Hi, could you list ETFs that you would recommend that hold mainly European companies & ETFs that hold European indexes. Thanks … Cal

Q: I bought these ETF's a couple of years ago for diversification purposes. They have not performed well and I am wondering if I should keep them or move on and forget about diversifying outside of North America. I do not like exchange risk.

Q: What is your opinion of these equities which I have held in a well-diversified portfolio for a number of years?

Q: We have( for me) a quite large sum of money invested in managed products. Any new money is going into Canadian equities ( 30%) following your portfolios and a mix of ETF roughly
30% USA at 10% SPY, 10% VIG, 10%IWO
30% International currently VE
10% emerging currently VEE
( I know "where is your fixed income" you ask, my spouse has a federal government pension which I count as our fixed income)
To date these sums are relatively small. As I start to shift large sums from our managed products to my self managed portfolio ( following the above ratios) I am ok with the mix in the USA spread to 3 etfs run by 3 different companies. With the international and emerging I am a bit concerned about putting all that cash with one fund (and company). Is this concern silly or should I have some diversification within my ETF holdings ( both in terms of funds and companies). For example instead of having 30% of my holdings in VE I would split it 15% VE and 15% XEF. So I guess the short questions are:

1. What is the max an investor should have in any one ETF( %)
2. What is the max an investor should have with any one company ( $ or %)

Q: Hi 5i
I am completely new to the world of ETFs but, according to Portfolio Analytics (and I did know it was a good idea before being told, really I did) I need to add US and International exposure to my portfolio. I think the only reasonable way for me to do that given I don't/can't follow non-Canadian equity markets is through ETFs.
I would like to place 55K in US ETFs and 45K in International ETFs and this will, for now, comprise the entire non-Canadian portion of my portfolio.
I am not adverse to some above average risk and while I'd like income I'm more interested in growth.
In researching where to place this money I've concluded that I might not have the candle power necessary to make rational decisions about ETFs because of the distinct possibility of purchasing ETFs that hold the same or similar underlying equities from the same or similar geographies in the same or similar sectors (assuming I'm not just concentrating on discrete sectors). Left to my own devices I feel that I could very possibly purchase a little bundle of different ETFs that are all essentially but unintentionally quite similar.
My question is two-fold:
1. Is my concern about concentration valid or have I misinterpreted the lay of the land, and
2. Could you suggest 4 or 5 US ETFs and a similar # of International ETFs that I can consider and that won't have the type of overlap I'm worried about.
I realize this is a broad and general (and perhaps rambling) question - so please deduct as many credits as you think is warranted.
Thanks a lot!
Peter

Q: Hi, thank you for the article on international stocks and the portfolio analytics.
I am now trying to decrease my Canadian home bias (40% to 25%) by increasing my international exposure (20% to 35%) and maintaining my US at 40%. My wife and I own XWD, VE and XEF in our TFSAs. I was thinking of selling XWD and adding VEE or VWO (RRSP) and/or VDU or VEA (RRSP). The switch to RRSP additions is to benefit from US withholding tax exemption.

Could I have your thoughts on the above changes. Is there too much overlap in owning all four ETFs? Could I simplify to one, two or three?

Thank you.

Q: We have a diversified RIF and are now in our 70s . We have 6 ETFs and have $20,000.00 invested in VE. We have equities invested across all sectors some sectors a higher percentage than others. Do you feel it is necessary to have monies invested in Europe when we could obtain better income investing in possibly Bonds or preferred shares. Safety and Income are important now to us . Any recommendations.

Q: I purchased these ETF's a little over a year ago as my first outside of North America holdings. Just wondering what your thoughts are about these. I do have a long time frame.

Q: I have about $10,000 I would like to get some non-U.S., foreign exposure with. Maybe an ETF or 2, a dividend would be great but not if it takes away all the growth. Would you recommend China, India or Europe? I know it will limit my choices but I would like to purchase it in Canadian dollars. Thank you so much :-)

Q: Can you please discuss the tax consequences of placing VE in a TSFA, RSP and non-registered account? Thank you.

Q: Hi,

Do you have a preferred ETF and/or mutual fund for gaining exposure to European Equities?

Thanks

Q: My target allocation for International Equity is 20% and is made up of just two ETFs (VE and VEE). Do these two holdings provide adequate and broad enough international exposure or would you recommend any additional (or different) ETFs? How would you recommend splitting the 20% total between these holdings?

Q: Transitioning my mutual funds to a self managed ETF portfolio of near equal weighting of ve, vee, spy,vig and iwo for all USA and international exposure. I am due for another block of buying. Which of the 5 above would be best to add now. VE and VEE are down so average out my loss? On weighting I was due to add mostly VEE and IWO. Just starting the transition so can add pretty much any of them.

Q: Hi- my husband and I would like to put some of our RSP money into ETFs for long term growth. We are interested in US ETFs but not sure if you cover US ones or not. If not, are there some Canadian ones you would suggest? I already have XIC.TO and CDZ.TO
Thanks, Jill

Q: Only have room for one of these in my TFSA. Could you rank them?
Another question. Is there any easy way to find information on a particular investment in previous monthly ETF & Mutual Fund Updates?
Thanks again for all your help.

Q: I’ve been very impressed with you guys on bnn as as well as direction and opinions to questions asked here. Very pleased with your suggestions and commentary. I just sold vee at a substantial profit.
I’ve moved in a more conservative direction. Really don’t need to make a lot of money just keep what I’ve got. Maybe some additional income to supplement my pensions etc. I now have over 30% of my portfolio in cash. I can’t seem to find a good value play. I have enough preferred shares. Don’t like gics or bonds.

Q: Which of these three would be your preference for investing in developed Europe, and why?

Q: I am very heavy on Canadian equities within my corporate investment account. My personal accounts are all a bit heavy on Canadian equities as well. Plan to purchase ETFs to balance. Which of your current ETF portfolio names would you add right now and is there any advantage to doing so within my INC., TFSA, RSP or personal unregistered account. Would invest a 5% positon in the next few weeks. Balanced equity portfolio is the target, 10 year horizon.