Investment Q&A

Q: Hi 5i Team,

In a recent question by Kyle (July 15), you recommended ZSP. Any reason for choosing ZSP over the usual VFV? MER a drop higher for ZSP although liquidity looks better.

Q: HI Everyone,

My portfolios (Non-Registered, RRIF, TFSA) consist of only 100% Canadian equities and Cash. I am retired and would finally like to add some excitement and diversity to my holdings. Can you please suggest some Global/International or US ETF's and/or other funds that I could consider.

In my current mish-mash of holdings; I presently own: BCE, T, ENB, AP.un,H&R-un,BN, CSU, TOI, LMN, EDV, K, VET, WSP, LSPD, Anergia, Copperleaf, Softchoice, ATD, and WSP, etc.

Thanks very much,

Dean

Q: Hi Your opinion please : US fonds TDB 410.

Fonds Fidelity Situations spéciales Série F
Categorie Fidelity Innovations mondiales Serie F
thanks
Jean Guy

Q: Hi,

I've gone through the questions/answers but I don't see this precise question before.

What would you recommend holding between VFV and VUN?

Thanks,
Robert

Q: I will be providing some funds for my grandson to invest in the market. My grandson is 15 years old and is interested in investing some funds for his retirement years (40+ year time frame). He has indicated that he has a moderate to aggressive investment risk level. Please provide your top 5 large cap ETFs and top 5 small cap ETFs with a comment on each ETF. Please provide your top 5 large cap companies and top 5 small cap companies with a comment on each company. Please include general comments on the anticipated returns for the ETFs and companies. Thank you. We

Q: Hi 5i,

I have a question about currency as it relates to investments made to the TSX or US stock exchanges.

I am embarrassed to ask given this was likely a rookie move; posting publicly in case it helps others.

I have made investments via my TFSA, LIRA, RRSP and self directed investment account in some US equities (above).

What I perceive now to be a "problem" is that all purchases of US stocks (including those with dividends) were made out of my CA account of said RRSP, TFSA, LIRA etc. given I did not hold any USD$ in my investment accounts.

Yesterday there were a few questions around Norbert’s Gambit approach (which I am not familiar with) and I have since realized the error of my ways. Here are my questions - knowing you cannot personalize responses - but if it were YOU :

- 1) As a Canadian, should the purchase of any US equity always be purchased using US funds in said investment account? OR when available - should you purchase on the CA stock exchange?

- 2) What is the best way to transfer CAD from said investment account into the US corresponding account if one wants to be mindful of fees, exchange rates etc. (is that Norbert's approach?)

-3) What would you suggest I do for the US equities I currently own in CA accounts? Is there anything to do?

Please use any credits you see fit.
Thanks a Million.

Q: My daughter has 50 thousand in her TFSA in cash, what would you suggest for a mix of stocks or should I just go to ETF's ?

Q: My son has held VFV and XIC in his RRSP account for a few years now. That was based on your recommendation around starting an ETF portfolio for him at that time.
He will have extra cash to contribute this year, and I'm wondering if he should maybe add some other ETF's at this point, or just continue to stick with these 2.
If he should add, what other ETF's would you recommend?
Also, for the 2 he already has, do you still think VFV and XIC are the best choices, or are there other ETF's you like better right now?
Thank you!

Q: Hi 5i!
Piggy backing off one of my last questions on building a solid portfolio from scratch through diversification et al(THANK YOU!). Knowing you can’t get personal; looking for some mid to long term hold recommendations (either US or CA) in the following sectors with growth upside in mind as I have significant cash (250K+) sitting in my RRSP doing nothing. I am currently quite top heavy in Tech – and own the above in registered and non-registered accounts.

If you have several recos for a sector, can you please rank in order of preference. Additionally, if there is a sector that can be put to the side with the idea of prioritizing others, I would be keen to know. Also open to add ETF's to represent a sector. As always, thanks a million. I love your service.

• Consumer Staples
• Healthcare
• Industrials
• Communications
• Energy
• Real Estate
• Utilities
• Materials

Q: For the average person with a long time horizon and want to invest in stocks in the form of ETFs, what do you think is the optimal distribution of US, Canada Europe China etc? S&P 500 seem to have done better historically than other markets. But does that mean I should only invest in vfv?
And what do you think of the weighting of VEQT?

Q: I have 1.5 million to invest. I need income of $70000 per year before tax for the next 10 years. I hesitate to put it in to a single type of investment.. please suggest a mix I could use to get me close to this goal. A slight growth would be a bonus . Thanks

Q: Good afternoon, Please recommend your 3 favourite international equity ETFs (without US holdings) and your 3 favourite US market ETFs. I already own QQQ which represents approx. 10% of my RRSP (in US dollars). Further, what are your thoughts on investing in the US market in US dollars (converted using Norbert Gambit) vs. Cnd. dollars? Is there an approach which has generated better results? Thank you.

Q: Hi, I was looking for a US Growth ETF sold on the Cdn exchange that is the equivalent of VUG that I can buy with Cdn dollars.

Thx

Q: Good morning
My question is regarding RESPs.. I’m currently holding CSU, LMN and VFV in my RESP. All equal weightings. Would you top up or add ? If adding, please list your top 5 in order. Thanks

Q: Do you prefer HXS or VFV for a FHSA with a timeline of 3-5 years? and what would be your reasoning?

Q: I looked up a statistic from Morningstar called "Annual Portfolio Turnover". For VFV it is 3.47% and for VSP it is 26.1%. The passive index is the same but VSP is hedged to the Canadian dollar. Can you help explain what is included in this statistic? (AUM changes?, stock additions/deletions?, hedging? etc)
Could you please give me an example of situation where one might see 150% for an active ETF or aggressive mutual Fund? Thanks.

Q: VFV vs. VOO:
I understand VFV ETF contains VOO ETF, correct? What would you recommend, buy VFV in CDN $ account, or convert CDN$ cash in US$ cash using Norbit gambit and buy VOO in US account with US$? Any other recommendation for ETF to invest in US S&P500?

Q: My kids opened RRSP's as soon as they were of age and contributed a small about (<$3,000). They make regular contributions.

Until the RRSP has enough funds to start thinking of diversification, what are the "top 3" possible stocks or ETFs you would consider if only having one investment, and if you could explain why its' a sound investment for each that'd be great.

Thanks very much,

Dave

Q: I need to raise funds from my NR account, capital gains are the same. I need to raise funds immediately for an expense. Which would you sell between these 2 right now to raise cash? What I don’t sell is for 15+ year LTBH.

Q: Hello, My wife has recently retired. She has opened a LIRA account with her pension proceeds. We are leaning towards these two ETFs for a long term hold 10 + years. Can we get your thoughts and any recommendations.
Thanks