Investment Q&A

Q: Just read an article in the Globe and Mail, and other articles in The Economist:

"Investors have bet heavily on the U.S. economy. That’s not a great idea", by Ian McGugan

Given the concerns about the US these days (huge and increasing debt, failure of rule of law, outsized weighting in the world stock market, unhappy bond market, declining USD), should one reduce the exposure to US Indexes in a passive indexing portfolio with a long term horizon (5-10 years)?

If so, where would be a better place right now to put this money? Europe? Gold? Cash? Other?

Thanks in advance for your opinion.

Q: Greetings 5i,

I'm looking to decrease some of my US investments and want to sell XUS (I also own VFV). I'm looking at either VIU or XEF as a replacement for XUS. Does this make sense and if so do you have a preference for either of these ETFs or would you recommend something else as a replacement?

Thank you.
John.

Q: Hello,
Is today a good day to invest in Canadian Company CGI? What is a good target buy price?
Also I hold Amazon in an RRSP and Vanguard in an RESP. Is it a good time, with the market drop, to increase holdings?
Thank you,
Jovan

Q: Hello, 1.How does one protect them selves from large market crashes?
2. If one were to start a portfolio with only index funds, etfs which are the ones you would suggest. Maximum 5 etfs. Thanks.

Shyam

Q: What is your opinion of this ETF? The performance history is really good beating the S&P and others over the last 10 years. They have had a couple of splits in the past and hold about 235 stocks in total. I looked at the top holdings and they are almost the same as the VOO /VFV. Would this be a good sub for the VFV or VOO? The price per unit is low

Q: I am just starting my TFSA and am starting young, I am wondering what are some good long term investments in the current environment? The companies listed are what I have recently bought shares in.

Q: Curious why this ETF was lower all day right from the get go, while SPX was positive?

Q: Hello Peter and 5i Team! it is an RESP account.

A new granddaughter born this year has a tiny new RESP in her name. It started with 3 shared of IUSG, and then, realizing that commissions were a large percentage of such small purchases, we added 2 shares of ZUQ, which has no commission.

For future small contributions, I am looking at these 4 ETFs, based on 3-year average annual return. I am specifically wondering about MER vs Tax efficiency:

ZUQ: +13.44%/yr, MER=0.33%, yield=0.60%, holds US stocks directly
VFV: +13.36%/yr, MER=0.09%, yield=0.99%, holds US stocks indirectly through VOO
XUS: +13.36%/yr, MER=0.09%, yield=1.03%, holds US stocks indirectly through IVV
ZSP: +13.30%/yr, MER=0.09%, yield=0.94%, holds US stocks directly
(as far as I know, none of these are hedged)

Generally I gravitate to low MERs, so perhaps ZUQ is not the best choice.

I recall a comment on 5i that the indirect holding of US stocks means that the withholding tax is withheld when the underlying US ETF pays dividends to the Canadian holding ETF (e.g. VFV get the dividend from VOO, less 15%). So holding in a TFSA won't avoid it, whereas it would be avoided with, say, ZSP in a TFSA.

So, my question is: do the 3-yr performance numbers take all of this into account? I am guessing not... withholding tax efficiency depends on the holders nationality, sheltered status, etc.

Bottom line - which of these ETFs would you recommend for a grandchild with a time horizon of many decades, for optimal performance?

Thanks for your excellent insights and wisdom!

Q: I use VFV for my US stock exposure. Is one ETF enough or should I spread it out over 2 or more.
If more please provide some suggestions.

Q: Hi Peter and Team,

Our Technology exposure across all accounts is 20.52%, which is concerning me. Without selling any CSU or LMN, which I plan to keep 'forever', could you please rank the following ETFs in order of which to sell outright, or reduce. Each ETF is followed by the percentage of Technology stocks that it holds:

QQC.F (62.51%)
VFV (39.6%)
XGRO (21.06%)

We have some other ETFs that we want to keep, and their Technology holdings are all less than 15%.

The proceeds from the sale/reduction in the three ETFs above will be used to increase holdings in under represented sectors.

The three ETFs noted all have good profits. No commissions will have to be paid with these transactions.

Thanks as always for your insight.

Q: Hi Peter and 5i Team,

How would you rank these ETFs, XEI, XEQT, VFV, QDTE, for a 10 year hold?

Q: Good Morning

I would like to increase my US position in my RRSP. I currently cover this US exposure through VBAL(core position) VFV approx 4.5%, Legacy positions of ZLU and ZWH approx, 3%, totaling approx. 31% US. My thoughts were to replace ZLU/ZWH and increase VFV and add EQL to gain broader exposure to US market. Would this give me a good exposure without over duplication? I am retired and 65 and would like a balanced plus approach. Your thoughts or other ideas would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Mike

Q: In the last 12 months, the canadian dollar has fallen on average about 72 cents to now under 70 cents approximately, therefore if I understood the hedge vs unhedged issue correctly, VSP should have outperformed VFV. it looks like the complete opposite in 1 year returns. Why is that ?

Q: I currently own the above ETFs in my unregistered account and they have performed well. I have funds to be invested in my LIF account and am considering purchasing one or more ETFs. How would you rank these ETFs for a LIF account? Would you suggest equal contributions to these ETFs? Are there other ETFs that you would recommend for a LIF account? Thank you.

Q: I hold these ETF's in a RESP account and just wonder if all these ETF are different enough to own? Also would be be good to own XAW in the RESP account. Money is not needed for 10 years.

Thanks

Q: If the canadian dollar is presently low against the us dollar AND I want to buy the S and P 500 (with the expectation that the dollar will revert to historical values in the future), AM I BETTER TO BUY THE S and P in US dollars or hedged ?

thanks

Ernie

Q: Hi Peter and 5i Team,

Recently, Noah Solomon has had several articles in the Financial Post in which he describes the inherent dangers of the S&P 500 due to its high valuation, warning signals from the CAPE ratio, etc. (I’m using VFV as a typical ETF).

What is your assessment of his views? What strategies might a retail investor employ if there’s validity to his thesis?

Thanks as always for your insight.

Q: I currently own a full weigh of the above listed ETFs and in light of President Trump's economic policies that are likely to benefit the financial sector, I'm looking at possibly adding XLF: US ETF to my US$ Non Registered account.


Q1. What would be your best idea for US$ ETF to add to a US$ Non Registered account at this time along with your rational for this choice?

Q2.What are your thoughts on XLF:US in terms of potential return for 2025 and the remainder of the Trump presidency?

Thank you and I look forward to your response.
Francesco

Q: With all the noise around Mr. Trump I’m thinking your
Canadain dollar could take a beating.
How could someone hedge against this possibility,I
Have been buying two etf’s zmid and vfv thinking that if the cad goes down these two etf’s will go up ?
Thank for the help
Sam

Q: Is there a "Best" S&P500 Index ETF, or are all the same? Which has performed the best last year?

Thanks!