Investment Q&A

Q: In a recent question concerning VFV held in a RRSP, you replied VFV is subject to Level 1 holding tax because it owns units in a US ETF. With regards to ZSP in a RRSP there is no Level 1 tax because ZSP holds individual US stocks & no US ETFs. Is this correct. Thanks … Cal

Q: please confirm that Owning VFV in an RRSP there withholding tax is not applied? If it is do you have a suggestion on an S&P eft that would be exempt this hold back

Q: You recently recommended US/CA equities at 65%/35%. With US ETFs and CDRs I am only at 20% US. I am considering significantly increasing my holdings of HXS, VFV, and HXQ to make up the shortfall of 45% US. Do you see any downside to this approach?

Q: I have a RESP for 3 grandchildren under the age of 11.
Would you please suggest 3 or 4 stocks to add or swap with any in the above group. Would prefer a bit more growth. Thank you

Q: I have over 8000 shares of VFV in my NR, up about 50%. I am looking to hold for 20 years and not touch them. Unbeknownst to me when I bought them, I now realize there is a tax disadvantage compared to HXS. How much performance drag will occur from the tax disadvantage, and would it be worth the capital gains tax to sell and switch?

I could sell and incur huge capital gains on these shares, but I am not sure if it would be worth paying the capital gains to sell them and buy HXS.

My alternate plan going forward was to buy HXS with my dividends, instead of VFV.

Q: I recently retired and looking to place some of my savings into the market with a 5 year horizon at which time I will re-evaluate. Will tolerate a moderate to light risk. Could you please recommend 3 or 4 stocks or etf’s for my TFSA and 5-6 stocks for growth. Appreciate all your efforts. Thank you. Brian

Q: Hi All At 5i!
I would like to substitute XIC or XIN with VFV in hopes of more growth. Which would you suggest??
Cheers,
Tamara

Q: Good morning,

I am looking for the best ETF to hold in my TFSA account that follows the S&P 500 index along with the reasons for your particular preference?

I understand that since HXS does have any distributions, there is no withholding tax to be concerned with which is an advantage. On the other hand, due to the distinct tax efficient structure of HXS, the MER on the HXS is higher than VFV and other similar ETFs that track the same index.

Given that both ETFs track the same index is there a clear winner for a TFSA account?

Thank you and I'll await your sage advice.

Q: Hi, I’m retired and have a $75,000 rrsp that I’m looking to invest. Would like two ETF’s one Canadian one U.S that complement one another, or four to five stocks.
Would like the suggestions to be fairly conservative with possibly 3-4% dividend. ( don’t really need the money). I’m slightly favouring the etf’s as I want a buy and hold portfolio with a sleep at night possibility. I do have lots of financial and energy stocks already, ( fyi) I know there is always risk that I’m willing to accept.
Thanks for your suggestion

Q: Hi I have my RRSP distributed at around 8% or 12% on these stocks, would you change anything , I'm heading to retirement in 7 months from now and like to know if you would recommend any modification. I can sustain drops of 10% , which I handle by doing nothing.
Thank you 5i, you have been good to me!!!

Q: How much overlap is there between VFV and VGRO. This is for a RESP and would you owned both or just one? If only one which one you prefer? Funds not needed for at least 10 years. I own IWO and VGG already.

Thanks

Q: I read somewhere that if you had just maxed out your TFSA contribution each year with an S&P 500 ETF, such as ZSP, then you would have well over $200K in your account by now.

Is there a website where you can input a security on a given date, and it will show you the value of that security today as if you had bought it on that given date?

Thanks,
Robert

Q: In a recent answer your wrote HXS we like but many investors do not understand the swap/derivatives so we often mention it after other ETFs. I agree, I did an internet search to try to understand the swap/derivatives procedure, but am still confused. I understand the tax advantages of HXS held in a non-registered account, but if VFV was held in a RRSP is it not better to receive VFV capital gains PLUS dividends then just HXS capital gains & No dividends. For both VFV & HXS track the same S&P 500 Index, so their performance should be the same, less different MER charges. Thanks … Cal

Q: I'm curious as to why you recommend VFV as it is my understanding that it is a Canadian ETF invested in a US S&P 500 ETF which has double taxation in a RRSP and doesn't seemed to be taxed favorably in a TFSA or non registered account either. Wouldn't be better to buy ZSP which invests directly in the S&P stocks or HXS which has a higher fee but no dividend to trigger withholding tax?

Q: In a recent answer comparing the 2 ETFs, VFV & HXS, you said HXS does not pay any distribution. Does that mean it is like DRIP, instead of a dividend payment, your share holdings increase every quarter. Thanks … Cal

Q: What would be your top 4 CAD ETF picks for longer term growth?

Q: HXS has has a management fee of .10 but as they state this does not include a swap fee of approximately 30 bps. Is the actual management fee .40? Is the swap fee related to the total return nature of this ETF? I’m looking for an S&P ETF to hold in my TFSA and HXS seems like a great option as I wouldn’t be subject to withholding taxes. Do you feel HXS is a better choice then VFV for a 10+ year hold inside a TFSA due to the savings on withholding taxes?

Q: If one was to anchor their RRSP portfolio with VBAL which is a 60 equity/40 fixed income split, but would like to be more 70/30. Would you add another ETF or two to achieve the desired weightings? Does this strategy make sense? What would be Five i's thoughts and suggestions.

Thank you

Q: Good morning,

I own a substantial amount of MAW 108 in my Non Registered, TFSA and RRSP accounts.

After reviewing the numerous questions relating to VFV ETF and closely examining the annual performance of MAW 108 over the last 15 years, it is clear to me that VFV ETF has performed much better on the whole over a long period and that VFV or HXS would have been a better choice .

Given that there would be substantial capital gains tax incurred by replacing MAW 108 with VFV ETF or HXS ETF in my Non Registered account and therefore not an appealing option, what are your thoughts on:

Q1. Replacing MAW 108 with VFV or HXS in my TFSA and RRSP accounts;

Q2. Are there any withholding tax considerations in holding VFV or HXS in my TFSA and RRSP accounts?

Q3, Is VFV your preferred recommendation over HXS ETF, ZSP ETF, XUS ETF for holdings in a TFSA and RRSP account?

Thank you and I will await your usual sage and valuable advice.

Q: I have a friend who wants to start investing at a regular frequency (every weeks or months) to avoid bad trading decisions but he is a bit reluctant to start investing in the S&P 500 since it is almost at all time high.

What are your advices in this case?