Investment Q&A

Q: I guess I didnt make myself clear on an earlier question. I am looking for a US ETF that I can buy with canadian dollars, but unhedged. Preferably in the broad market, Technology, Financial and Health or a combination of all. I do not have a US account with my online brokerage.
Thanks again your service is supurb!

Q: Hi 5i. I am just starting an RESP for my 2 yr old granddaughter. I'm thinking long term of course and with only $5,000 available was considering VGG or VFV for a start. Either one or both. What do you think or is there a better alternative ? Thanks for your help. Ron

Q: Hello,
I would like to buy S&P 500 index through ETF. Could you explain the differences among VFV/T, XUS/T and ZSP/T. Which one of them you recommend? Should I convert Canadian dollars to US dollars to buy SPY? Should I buy hedged ETF(S&P 500 index)?
Thanks
Victor

Q: Hi there, I am a balanced equity investor with a tilt towards growth and have about a 20 - 30 year outlook. I currently own all Canadian equities in my portfolio and am thinking to add a 15% position in the broader market. For a balanced, growthy investor, which ETF listed on the TSX would be best? Or is there a better alternative you could suggest? Thank you!

Q: Good morning.... we are 15 years away before we may need to access our RRSP..
We sold all enegy (although would be okay with one "best of class" or ETF)..
I have a solid mix of similar weightings (BCE,BEP.UN,BNS,PBH,ATD.B,FSZ,SJ,GUD SIS). I would like fixed income/US/International exposure...I will be adding XHY..
I am looking for suggestions for either a few ETF you recommend for US/International exposure...keeping in mind we would not need to withdraw for at least 15 years..and if you think should have a minimum of 5% in energy or alternate AI ETF...

Thanks
Matt

Q: Hi guys, I just opened an RESP for my 4 month old and have $5k to invest for his future education. Obviously I have a long term outlook. I'm contemplating buying a single ETF, for example VXC, or a solid dividend paying company, like BNS or ENB. The latter is pretty beaten up so there could be some growth there as well. I hold all 3 mentioned funds/stocks in my RRSP/TFSA mix. Which way would you lean and/or is there a better place to invest right now?
thanks for the great resource guys!
cheers,
Mark

Q: Good evening,

Multi-part question.

Had just finished reading ‘The Little Book of common sense Investing’, decide to make the switch, and am beginning to plan my transition to CPD, ZAG, VFV, XEF, VCN, VEE, and XRE, when I come across the new Vanguard products, of which VBAL to me seems the most interesting.

I see the pros of this ETF as being straightforward and dropping from 7 commission fees (re-balancing myself), vs just one trade a year to add money (portfolio currently around $26,000).

Cons: no preferreds or real estate. Less control (e.g they decide the asset allocations).

Do you have an opinion on this ETF?

Not sure the yield on VBAL but am guessing 2.5-3% maybe? Any idea?

Also, If I go ahead with VBAL would you give it some time to settle down (trading looks a little erratic), or is that volatility purely a product of price changes of its holdings already?

Thanks!

Q: Hi All at 5i! I would like to invest in a broad ETF ( in Canadian dollars) Which covers the US market, and one that covers emerging markets. Could you give me your choices and why. Thank you for all you do especially your hand holding when I am feeling a little unsure of what I am doing. You make my learning curve in the world of investing a little smoother!! Cheers, Tamara

Q: Dear 5i
I own VGG , VFV , and ZWH ETF`s that all trade on the TSX . I bought these ETF`s because they hold all US stocks and i needed some US exposure. It seems however that when the US markets are up big but the TSX is down a bit on the same day the US ETF`s are down . So my question is if one expects the US markets to outperform the the TSX then would it not be best to buy said ETF`s on the US exchanges ? It just seems like i`ve got the US exposure but even on big US market days coinciding with low TSX market days i`ve lately been missing out lately on the current US market rally . Should i stay the course or switch some to the US exchanges ? This is assuming that we believe that the US markets will do better then the TSX this year .
Thanks
Bill C.

Q: Hello,

I have been holding TDB902 Mutual Fund which tracks the S&P500 over the last few years. The approx return for TDB902 from Jan 2014 to Jan 2018 is 77%, XSP has been 52% and VFV 78%. However, the one year return for TDB902 has been 16.21%, VFV 16.42%, but XSP has been 22%. XSP is CAD hedged, and I'm looking for the best investment to track the S&P 500. Is it better to have XSP/CAD Hedged ETF? My understanding is that on average CAD to USD has been approx .80 (outside of the few years when CAD was on par with the USD), I think there may be some fluctuation between .75-.81, but will stay around .80 (or decline). Which ETF would have the best returns and track the S&P500 accurately, and should I consider a CAD hedged ETF?

Q: Your thoughts on ZQQ as a long term (10+ years) RESP hold or would you just buy a low fee S&P 500 (maybe VFV) ?

Q: Hi Peter and 5i staff,
I have a portfolio of Canadian stocks with reasonable sector weightings. If I were to add an ETF like VFV comprising of US Stocks, my weightings would seem quite high in many of the sectors. Do I need to re-balance ?
Thanks for all the great advice.
Ivan

Q: Hello,
I am in the process of taking over my mother's portfolio and getting her out of mutual funds. She likes the idea of ETF's to reduce risk vs: specific stocks. What would your top 4-6 ETF's be for a sleep at night portfolio that is well diversified globally and covers all sectors, time range 20 years? Starting portfolio value $750,000 cash by the end of January. Also how would you intelligently step into these ETF's as the markets could be positioned for a correction sometime this year?
Thank you

Q: I plan to shuffle my RRSP to include your Balanced Equity Portfolio and the three ETFs above. Would you recommend any exposure to bonds through a fourth ETF?

Q: My daughter has approx 10000.00 in cash in her TFSA and no other investments. Could you suggest a carefree long term growth oriented equity ETF(s) as a basis for future investments.
Thanks for your service.
NA

Q: Capital preservation and sustainable growth at reasonable cost is key for us . Not looking for income . Long term timeframe . Don't do momentum . Have portfolio of Canadian large caps that have significant operations outside of Canada . For more diversification , we need exposure to U.S. large caps (not financials or commodities ).U.S. estate taxes major consideration for us. Directly held U.S. equities would be U.S. situs assets . Current U.S. deliberations re Federal Estate Tax will not eliminate this concern in the longer term . We plan to add a portfolio of sustainable U.S. large caps that have significant international operations .Mawer U.S. Equity Fund (MAW 108) is a possibility. The 1.19% MER is a factor, given the amounts involved . Could you identify one or more "Canada-Domiciled " ETF/s that would reasonably align with our objectives ? Could you also identify pertinent sources we could access . Thanks.

Q: Hello, One of kids just turned 18 and I would like to start a TFSA. What would you recommend to invest in as a long term goal so that they can also learn about investing. The money will not be required for next 5 years at least
Thanks
Ravi

Q: I am holding all of these ETFs in fairly equivalent amounts in both TFSA and Cash accounts. I will need to sell some to pay my 2017 tax bill, as the sale of an investment property has me realizing some significant capital gains.

Do you have a recommendation for which ones to sell over others, or would you maintain an equal weighting? These will be long-term investments.

Q: What would you pick as the best handful of etfs to own to build a beginner, well balanced portfolio for building up investment dollars? At what dollar amount would you see it to be more beneficial to split the money among 20-30 individual stocks rather than a few funds?

Q: Good afternoon,

I am looking for exposure to the US market, in my RRSP. According to your previous answers on this type of inquiry, an ETF would be the easiest way to go, since it automatically brings both diversification and exposure.

My time horizon is minimum 10 years and don't mind a medium amount of volatility, as long as the returns are there in the end. My plan is to invest into the chosen ETF each year, so that my exposure to the US market is taken care of.

I have been looking more closely at VGG, VFV and VUN, mostly out of the reputation of Vanguard products. The dividend growth orientation of VGG sure is appealing, but I am not primarly looking for income. Aside from that they all seem pretty similar.

I would like to know your point of view on these ETFs I mentionned and if there are any others that you consider that would fit better in a long term plan.

Thank you very much!