Investment Q&A

Q: I am thinking of investing in VXC (or maybe XAW) in my RRSP. I understand that since this is a fund of funds and some of the underlying ETFs are US based, that there will be foreign withholding tax of some amount. To avoid the tax, am I better off to invest in the underlying ETFs (Canadian versions only) specifically VFV, VIU and VEE? (small cap I could not find). How much of an issue is the foreign withholding tax? Is it small enough to not bother buying all these underlying ETFs directly? Your thoughts please.

Q: Hello Everyone at 5i!!!! Could you please suggest both a Canadian and Us growth ETF that invest in international companies. Thank you, Tamara

Q: Can you suggest a few good ETF’s which should form the basis of one’s portfolio.

Also please suggest ETF’s for specific applications like..... high risk/ growth, dividend, US equities, Canadian equities, dividend stocks, tech stocks, emerging markets ..... and your choice of basket of ETF’s which a person could use to build a portfolio ( with % allocations)

Q: I have received $ 170,000 USF Can you suggest 5 or 6 ETFs for diversification I dont need any more Canada coverage

Thank you
Paul

Q: May I please have the names of 3 or 4 recommended non-North American, non-European ETFs and one European ETF?
With appreciation,
Ed

Q: Is there a set/portfolio of ETFs you would recommend for a medium risk investor to ”set and forget” forever? What % allocation would you attribute to each? Timeframe would be for 25+ years.

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?

Q: Good morning,
I mostly follow the Growth, Balanced and Income ETF portfolio's and was thinking about adding some VEE for international emerging markets. Would now be a good time in preparation for a world economy recovery.
Cheers
Carl

Q: Hi,
Looking to replace this emerging markets fund (Pacific) because the MER is close to 3%. What would be a better solution in the ETF world, and is CDN-listed.
It's for a senior and this is their only int'l exposure. Thanks.

Q: I recently purchased Portfolio Analytics and I'm severely underweight internationally.

For international (excluding US) I am thinking VIU and VEE.

Any suggestions on how I should decide an appropriate weighting ratio of these two? Does it make sense to have equal VIE and VEE... more VIE?

Are there other ETFs I should be considering for international exposure?

And finally, these ETFs would make up a substantial portion of my portfolio. Would you suggest buying in one go or over time and if so what timeframe would you suggest?

Thanks for your service.

Q: Hello 5i,
It was suggested that I switch from XLB, XSB, and VEE to ZAG and ZEM which I did. Lately I have seen on the daily watch report that XSB, XLB, and VEE are again mentioned as suggestions in many instances over the past few weeks. Should I switch back or maintain my positions in ZAG and ZEM?

Q: In terms of geographical allocation, I'm very deficient on International exposure. What do you suggest that I hold in a RRSP account, in terms of ETF to plug this hole?

Q: I recently borrowed from my HELOC to top up our TFSAs. I'm thinking of potentially keeping it simple and going TEC + XAW (40/60 split). This would give me quite a bit of US exposure but thought of bumping up US exposure. Would it make sense to instead buy VUN + VIU + VEE in a 70/23/7 split instead of XAW which has a lower US allocation? Do you think US equities will continue to outperform world over 10+ year horizon?

Also thinking instead of the 40% allocation in TEC, should I take a small position in ARKK or other ARK funds? Maybe 30% TEC, 10% ARKK? I feel like many of the names in ARKK fund are priced to perfection. Thanks

Q: My two main holdings are QQQ and VIG in the US and ZQQ and VFV and ZQQ in Canada. I'm looking for two medium risk etfs that will balance these with CD, OIL, Financials, health, and industrials . I'd like reasonable growth expected in the next few years but with a manageable lower risk beta?
1) Can you suggest 2 CDN ETFS
2) Can you suggest 2 US ETFS
3) Can you suggest 2-3 emerging markets ETFS

PS can you also explain why TDOC seems to have a beta of .15??? Considering its growth, that seems impossible?

Q: I currently own only VA for international exposure and will be buying XEF. Would it better to sell VA and buy VEE or buy VEE as well and hold all 3 ETFs ?
Thanks

Q: Hello -
I have a concern about the grossing up of Canadian dividends (non registered account) affecting my OAS when I reach 71. By that time I will be forced to RRIF, I'll have my CPP, and I also have a company pension that I will be drawing from prior to that.

I know you are not tax experts, but wondered if you see anything wrong with my thinking here. I am leaning more towards lower paying dividend paying blue chips in that non-registered account. I already have ATD.B and CNR. Are there any other quality Canadian companies that you are comfortable with in this "lower dividend" category?

Alternatively I was thinking I could "swap" some investments. i.e. have more Canadian dividend payers in my RRSP and have my emerging market ETF's - ZID and VEE - in my non-registered account. Do you think this is worth considering?
At least those dividends would not be grossed up. Although the trade-off is that you lose the dividend credit.......sigh.

Q: Hello.
I’m interested in adding emerging market exposure. Please provide your top etf picks
(USD and CAD).
Thanks.
James.

Q: Words you hear often -"You can't beat the Index" . If one was to follow this theory - what would you invest in?

Q: Do you recommend a China specific ETF as part of an RRSP portfolio, and if so, which Canadian traded ones do you prefer?

Q: I am trying to increase my international / US stocks allocation with 1 of a few ETFs. I don't need income but some yield would be nice.
How do you feel about emerging markets for the next few years?
Can you please provide suggestions. Would you recommend a large position say around 15% to be meaningful in the portfolio. Long term buy and hold. Thank you for your help.