Investment Q&A

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!

Q: I am considering ETF’s VFV & VSP.

Could you give me your assessment of these two ETF’s.

Would you prefer U.S. or CDN hedge versions? Would there be any tax considerations for either of them?

Would there be other ETF’s that you prefer other than VFV and VSP?

Thank you

Q: Happy New Year to everyone at 5i

I recently read a recent article in the Financial Post:
“The S&P 500’s performance in 2024 made investing look easy. Why bother with strategy?”

Since the ‘Magnificent 7’ stocks dominate ETFs such as VFV, I’m concerned that the S&P 500 represents a very lop-sided weighting of its constituent stocks. We do hold VFV in several of our combined accounts, but am considering selling 25% of VFV and using the proceeds to purchase some EQL.U, an ETF that has never had a question on 5i. I’m aware that an equal weighting strategy results in a tilt towards mid-cap stocks (a good thing?), has a higher expense ratio (not so good) and has higher volatility (again, not so good).

Do the benefits of equal weighting in the S&P 500 outweigh the disadvantages? What is your take on this strategy? Are there similar ETFs to EQL.U that we could consider? Would RSP be one of them?

Thanks as always for your insight.

Q: I have these five ETFs in RESPs for my grandchildren: VCN, VFV, VMO, XAW, XIT.
This seems excessive, so I would like to consolidate: can you tell where there is overlap, and which three I should focus on for the future. Or should I sell 3 and add a new one? Or should I just keep all 5 and top up one of them? They have all done fairly well, but I feel more of a US focus going forward might be appropriate. If I'm gong to have a technology ETF, it should probably be USA? Thank you very much for all you have done for me over the years, much appreciated, and Happy 2025 to all at 5i.

Q: Recently you answered my question regarding US dividend WHT on Canadian domiciled ETF issues (Vanguard Canada, RBC Ishares etc) and noted that withholding taxes are owing on distributions since the Canadian ETF is simply holding the US ETF and the taxes would be levied when distributions are paid by the US ETF to the Canadian ETF.

Some follow up questions:
- I am assuming that the WHT would apply even if the Canadian ETF is held within a registered account?
- Does the WHT explain part of the difference in yield when comparing the US ETF and the Canadian ETF? For example - VIG yields 1.69% while VGG yields 1.17%. Assuming also that the higher MER on VGG also explains part of the yield difference??
- Given these factors - the WHT and higher MER - why would anyone choose the Canadian version of the same ETF. Further to this - In another question posed by Jacques - you point out that the Canadian ETF ZSP would be preferable to VFV since it holds the stocks directly and not thru the US ETF VOO....thereby avoiding WHT's for registered accounts. However - when you look at VOO - the yield is about 26 bp's higher than either VFV and ZSP....again why would you not just buy VOO.

Many thanks

Q: I currently hold the above investments in my non-registered account and will invest some additional funds before the end of the year. My plan is to top up my investments in approximately 8 stocks and 1 ETF. The investments will be a 5 to 10 year hold. Please provide a ranking for the top 10 stocks in my non-registered account. Which ETF fund do you suggest topping up for a 5 to 10 year hold? Thank you 5i

Q: Good morning,

Q1. With this year's high performance of US Large Cap ETFs such as VFV, would switching a portion of VFV into a best in class US Mid Cap ETF make sense at this point in time?

Q2. if so, I'm considering ZMID and XMC as potential candidates. Which of these two US Mid Cap ETFs would you recommend switching into and is there another US Mid Cap that you would consider preferable as the best in class?

Thank you and I'll await your sage advice.