Investment Q&A

Q: You are recommending etfs based on my analytical profile. What is a US HEDGED ETF.
Does it mean if the Canadian dollar goes up agai st the US dollar I would lose money. I am having a hard time buying the etfs at all time highs with small dividends. The one I want to buy is vun or zsp since they hold a lot of US technology, I think.

Q: I have 30% of my money in diversified CDN equities and don't need the money for 20 years.
I am not interested in bonds or REITs. I was considering putting the other 70% in the following ETF's.
45% VFV
18% VUN
18% XQQ
11% XEF
8% VEE
This would put around 57% of the total money in the USA. I am fine with that.
The MER would be around 0.18% based on the blend. I know this breaks your rule of keeping less than 25% in one fund. It also places a lot of money in Vanguard - which has been around since 1975, but nothing is for sure. Wondering what you think of this set up and also maybe I could sub out VUN for XUU. This would make 53% Vanguard and 47% iShares. Trading VUN for XUU would lower the MER a little as VUN is 0.16% and XUU is 0.07%

Q: Hi - looking for recommendation for ETF recommendations within my TFSA. 40% of TFSA will be for this ETF mix and 60% is in your Balanced Equity model. Long term investment horizon for me as in mid 30s. Any recommendations?

Q: Hi

Im planning to invest an etf(VFV) for my wife for a retirement fund(15 yr horizon).I will be doing it for 100/week.Just want to ask your opinion at which acct is better to put it for tax purposes.Also can you recommend other ETF’s that I can pick?

As always your comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Q: Hi 5i: Am considering SCHD .. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (symbol not in your database) for a medium to long term hold in my non-registered account. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 index. Seems to have a good track record and 5 star rating from Morningstar with a low mer of 0.07%. What is your opinion of this ETF ? Would you prefer VUN or VGG ? Any other suggestions appreciated.
Thanks as always for your great advice !
Steve

Q: A while back you stated you preferred a S&P 500 etf over VUN because the s&p 500 etf had more concentrated holdings ie 500 companies vs several thousand holdings. Yet I notice many instances where you recommend / suggest VUN. I hold VUN and am somewhat confused wondering if I should trade VUN for a s&p 500 etf. Thank you.

Q: I would liked to switch the focus of my investments from equities to ETF's. Could you give me some broad parameters for guidance.
Could you suggest 10 ETF's for starters. Mid to long term with medium risk.
Thanks for your help.

Q: Hi 5i,
what can you tell me about the Dynamic Equity Income Fund other than its high MER of 2.15%?
Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Ron

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan and team,
Could you provide me with your top 3 ETF's for the US, listed in Canada as well as the US for an RRSP & LIRA accounts as well as 3 International/World ETF's for the same accounts, taking into consideration any withholding taxes that may apply or not.
Thanks as always for your great service, much appreciated
Ivan

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan & Team
In addition to my current 5i Balanced portfolio I want to build an additional RRSP ETF portfolio.Time horizon 3-5 Years and my risk level is moderate.
I am thinking to invest in the following ETF. Appreciate you advise on the distribution, concentration and risk level.
XMD 30%
VUN 20%
XIU 10%
VEE 10%
VXUS 10%
IXC 10%
IWO 10%

Thanks,

Q: Greetings 5i team,

For people who invest in a US market index ETF, are there significant differences between IVV, VOO and SPY ?

Are there any other similar US market index ETFs?

Thank you.

Milan

Q: Dear 5i
What ETF`s would you recommend for a TFSA account with regards to CD and US equities ( re the TSX ).
Thanks
Bill C

Q: Have $20,000 I would like to allocation outside Canada. Already receiving an average of 6% dividend return on my C$ portfolio. Not really looking for additional income , what do you think of the above or is there other ETFs I should research.
I have a small position in VGG. Maybe etf holding Amazon, PayPal but not a pure internet such as FDN.

Q: I currently hold both VTI and VSP in my RRSP for US exposure.
VTI is my only US holding (i.e. trades on US exchange) in my RRSP, so it is the only holding that forces me to occasional exchange currencies (US dividend).
Which of the following options do you prefer (feel free to suggest an additional option):
1) Do nothing (continue converting the US dividends to CDN$).
2) move VTI to VSP. (CAD hedged.)
3) move VTI to VFV. (not hedged)
4) move VTI to VUN. (not hedged, broader index)
5) move VTI to VUS. (hedged, broader index)
Thanks.

Q: Hi 5I,
I am retired and living off my RIF. With the current volatility and market downturn, I am thinking of getting more defensive. My current holdings of ZWC, VVL, VUN and VEE are each about 8% of my RIF. I am thinking of switching ZWC for ZLB, switching VVL for VVO, switching VUN for VGG and switching VEE for VXC. What do you think of this strategy? Should I hold some and do nothing? Please explain your reasoning.
Thanks for your help and have a happy holiday season.
Dick

Q: Given the current market conditions, would you consider it prudent to invest in the USA market via Canadian ETF'S. If so, what ETF's would you recommend?

Q: If you were going to buy a basket of low cost etfs for long term (20-30 years) to hold in an rrsp what would they be? What weightings would you reccomend? Im looking to take advantage of the 8%+ annual market return for the long haul. Or would you use one of the one stop shop Vanguard ones? Could you also explain any reasoning?
thanks

Q: I have recently paid off a sizable chunk of consumer debt, and now have a few thousand bucks at my disposal each month. I want to invest most of this in my TFSA so that I can catch up to my lifetime limit, and thereafter invest at a monthly amount equivalent to the annual limit. I've been thinking of investing most of this money in ETFs, but am a bit confused about the advice I see online. In your view, what is my best strategy here? Invest in one or two solid ETFs? If so, which do you recommend? Often, the ETFs I see experts recommending don't seem all that appealing. They hover at the same price for years and years and typically don't have much in the way of other types of yield. Anyway, I'm a bit confused and just wanting to have a basic plan for moving forward over the next year or two in my TFSA.

Q: Good afternoon, looking to hold a 20% allocation of the American market through ETFs (CAD dollar preferred). Currently hold VUN, and I am looking to add another ETF to complement it - was thinking ZSP or VGG. Any opinions on either of these or any others? Thanks

Q: I am holding 5% in XSP. VUN AND ZQQ ETF. I am planning to increase to 10% in each. Plus I hold FTEC and SKYY ETF 2% each. Planning to increase to 5%. DO you think there is overlap and is any ETF holding is to high. If it is too high what percentage do you think is appropriate.

Thanks for the great service
Hector