Investment Q&A

Q: I hold vgg in in TFSA and RRIF accounts , 5 % of my total portfolio. VIG in non registered US account 5% of total portfolio. I’m gradually moving from individual stocks to ETFs to reduce the time required to monitor my investments. Getting up in years .As an aside I’m an experienced investor, previously worked in the investment business. Right now I’m looking at reducing my position in vet and investing in vfv or convert C$ to US$ and buy VOO.
Your thoughts Peter on this or should I look elsewhere?

Q: Good morning and Happy New Year to all at 5i,

Portfolio Analytics tells me to increase my US and international exposure. Please suggest some ETFs that would accomplish this goal, and at the same time provide a dividend (even a small one) and have growth prospects. This would be for this year's TFSA investments. Thanks in advance for your valued advice.

Q: My adult son (Canadian citizen/resident) is in his early 30's, has maxed out his RSP and TFSA (he holds high-quality individual securities within these accounts, which have done well over the years), and he is lucky to have a high-paying job in which he has surplus funds (Canadian dollars) that he can invest, within a non-registered account, approx. $20k to $25k per month. The goal is long-term growth, aggressive (80% equities), with the possibility that he may need some of the funds within the next 3-5 years, to join a group practice (capital contribution toward partnership). My advice to him is that he purchase each month among the five following ETFs (% as indicated below), rebalancing as he makes new monthly contributions:
20% VAB = Vanguard Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF;
20% ZCN = BMO S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF;
25% VFV = Vanguard S&P 500;
25% TPE = TD International Equity Index ETF;
10% ZEM = BMO MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF.
What do you think of these 5 particular funds and the overall allocation? For his situation, are there different ETFs you might suggest we look at that would be better-suited for his situation? Thank you.

Q: Hi there,

Just a follow up to my previous question, where do you see the USD going in 2020 against the CAD? In the answer you had provided to me, you had suggested VSP for S&P500 exposure (as opposed to VFV). Does this imply you see the CAD strengthening against the USD in 2020?

Thanks!

Q: For eft’s. v f v and v g g , what are the advantages/disadvantages of holding in a
r r s p , t f s a , or a non registered account?

Thank you for your help,
Michael

Q: Greetings 5i - I am helping my 29-year old daughter with her TFSA. She has $9,500 to invest and we're thinking about putting it into VFV:CA so she has some US exposure. She currently holds BNS, FTS, PPL and PBH. Alternatively, we were thinking of dividing it between AQN and ATD.B or BAM. Would appreciate your thoughts on what's best for a long term hold. Happy New Year to you all.

Q: Hello Peter and colleagues
I am trying to develop a simple but effective portfolio. What would be your opinion and recommended percentages on a simple portfolio including these ETFs: XIC, VFV, VXUS
Would you recommend adding more ETFs while keeping it simple? and if so, what would be the percentage of each. Do you recommend replacing VFV with VTI? and why?
Please deduct as many points as needed.
Thanks

Q: I have 10k to invest in a TFSA that will be in place for 10 years or so. I am looking for 3-4 ETF's for this portfolio. Any advice on where I should start looking. Thanks

Q: Hello,

10+ years until money will be required. Thinking of moving a chunk of cash into VFV for our kids RESP. Would you be ok with this move? We are buy and hold investors. Thank You.

Q: Hi there, is the John Bogle Vanguard approach to investing a good one? I believe Buffett has a similar approach. Is a 2 US ETF equity portfolio good enough to get growth and global exposure, since many US companies operate on a global scale? Would a 50/50 split between ZQQ and VUN or a split between ZQQ and VFV be better? Can I go 100% into VUN/VFV? Are there better ETFs or is there a better approach to this? Thank you!

Q: It has been suggested to me that over the long term, the the average investor like myself is better off buying the indexes VFV with a dividend of 1.64% and XIU with a dividend of 3.61% rather than buying a portfolio of individual stocks. Would appreciate 5I's observation of this comment. Thanks, Bill

Q: Hi Peter & 5i team, is there any overlap in these ETF's, if so any alternatives that you could suggest.
Thanks kindly,
Ivan

Q: Most of my information is supplied by your insightful replies in this form but now require a little more direction.
Need to convert about 105000 from rrsp to rrif .
Am looking for 4 or 5 ETFs that are dividend payers as all our needs are covered with
oas and cpp plus company pension.
We also have tfsa, US and Canadian trading accounts so this would be for discretionary spending.
Thank you
Barry

Q: Follow your balanced portfolio and hold the above etfs for american exposure.. Vgg has performed better over the last 18 months. Thinking of selling vun, vfv and buying vgg. What do you think? T steve

Q: I currently have $115 K saved in my children's RESP with the chikdren’s ages almost 14 (grade 9) and 12 (grade 7).

Currently I have $46,600 in 1-2 year GICs
$9K in Fortis
$25k in VDY
$35k in VFV

Considering cashing in Fortis or $10K of gains out of VFV for another GICs as I am concerned about markets and will need this money in the next 4-6 years for both children. Should I stay at 60/40 or reduce to 50/50 at this point?

Q: Have all of these and so far all performing fairly well---they all around 2%
Want to top 2 of them up to 5%----or maybe you have a better choice.
Please advise your thoughts
Peter

Q: What is a good S&P 500 Index Fund to invest in and tuck away for 20 years? S&P 500 is already up 16.5 % this year and historically has performed about 10% per year. Seems like a good long term investment.
Thanks.

Q: If you could only buy one of these in the current market, which would you prefer and why. Is there an argument for holding both of them.
Thanks as always.

Q: Hi,
I'm looking for advice to build a TFSA portfolio. It can be all stock, all ETFs or a combination of both. Probably, no more than 8-10 securities. I am more of an income oriented investor with a time horizon of 4-5 years.
Thank you

Q: I was surprised to see that BAM outperformed VFV over 5 years and longer, especially noticeable over the past 5 years. Which was less volatile over these periods and how do you measure volatility?