Investment Q&A

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

Q: We are thinking of moving our US holdings to etf's rather than individual companies. Currently we own some VOO but notice that you recommend SPY often because of its volume and liquidity, i think.

The first question is whether there is a lot of differnece between the two and whether it is worth getting SPY as well as VOO?

Secondly, we notice that the top ten holdings for both etf's contain a lot of FANG stocks. So we were wondering if we needed other etf's to balance this weighting?
Do you think a total market etf like this is enough to cover the US market?
thanks again for great advice

Q: Please correct me where I am wrong, but these two ETF's track the same index (un-hedged US total market), but in spite of XUU having a lower MER, VUN seems to be the more popular choice, as well as seems to have a higher amount of daily trading volume. Any idea why?

Q: Hi 5i - I have some new money to put to work and would like to round out my Canadian portfolio with some US and International ETFs. Currently I have some XSP and nothing else outside Canada. Can you provide some suggestions and an example weighting for an investor looking 20 years out with tolerance for risk? Thanks, Neil

Q: Hi guys,
I hold one ETF and a mix of equities (selected from your portfolios) in my TFSA, with the following weightings:
COV 5.48
CSU 6.70
GSY 5.42
KXS 4.93
PBH 4.26
PHO 4.50
SHOP 7.57
SIS 6.59
TOY 6.05
TSGI 5.63
VUN 30.35
WEED 12.51
Everything is up from initial purchase (many thanks) but some have grown much faster than others. I am considering rebalancing and/or adding a new position. Is there a notable position that you would add/remove (e.g, VUN in exchange for equities)? I have VXC and VCN in my RRSP so maybe VUN is better located in there.
Thanks for the amazing service and knowledge base that 5i provides.
Mark

Q: HI Team
After 2-3 years in the making (getting a root canal would have been more pleasant), I finally convinced my daughters to start contributing to
their RRSP and TFSA accounts held at RBC Direct Investing. Aged 23 and 25 they really don't have much., just around 10 000 in RRSP. I was thinking equally splitting the money into XIC and VFV or VUN. RBC has started their own Robo Adviser service.Would that be a good idea for them since they can contribute monthly to those plans and have a more diversified portfolio? Do i stick to the original plan with the above mentioned ETFs and repurchase yearly to keep costs down? Thank you in advance. Sam

Q: I'd like to add some U.S. and emerging markets exposure into my TSFA. Could you please recommend a couple of ETF's (or other investment options) that would help me accomplish this. Thanks

Dave

Q: I very much appreciate 5i along with your ETF site. From your ETF site, I have been playing with the ETF sector balancer and have found it quite useful to see the % of the sectors my postions occupy .
My questions
1. I am considering a 1/2 position of XHC, XGI, and XCD and a 1/4 postion of VUN and XQQ. Is now the time to buy these or should I sit on my cash for a while or should I be considering some alternatives to these within their sectors?
2. If I execute #1 above, my overall holdings will be 57% CDA, 29% USA, 14% INTL and my portfolio will consist of 2% materials, 13% consumer cyclical, 5% financial, 3% communication, 10% energy, 10% industrials, 6% technology, 17% consumer defensive, 13% healthcare and 18% utilities.
I would very much appreciate your critique and observations.

John

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: Hello, you answered to a member today: "You might want to consider VUN, which covers the whole world for just 0.16% MER". Did you really mean the whole world Market? According to the Vanguard website, VUN covers the US Total Market. Thanks, Gervais

Q: What are you thoughts on buying these 2 stocks and can you recommend a good US divident paying ETF purchased with CAD - VUN ?

Q: I have very little invested outside of Canada and would like to increase foreign investments. What are the tax ramifications if any, of investing in index funds such as Vanguard or Ishares in a taxable account? I suspect that there may be a withholding tax.

What would your 3 favourites be for investing outside of North America?

Thanks
Ron

Q: In order to build some exposure to the U.S. Market I am considering investing 30% in VUN, 30% in VGG and the rest in VGG. Would you consider any changes to the above selections and allocations?

Thanks to the team
Merry Christmas to all.

Q: I have a 40% US weighting in all my portfolios combined, with the above four holdings comprising 75% of the 40%.
VGT 4.6%, VUN 7.7%, CIB590 10.1%, CIB595 7.1%- equalling 30% of total equity portfolio.

Could I have your comments wrt the overlap in these four holdings. Is there enough diversity to continue to hold all four or would you collapse and combine?
Thanks

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!

Q: I am considering using ETF's to widen my coverage beyond Canada. Could you recommend three or four ETF's that would cover Europe, Developing markets and perhaps a US based ETF as well?
I continue to turn to your site for good ideas.
Thanks,
Bruce

Q: Thinking of switching to VUN from VUS for long term hold at this time...With the CAD at pretty high levels.Your thoughts.

Q: My portfolio is in need of US and global exposure. Currently I only own two US stocks FB(3%) and BAC (2.8%) I also own VEE(2.4%). Can you recommend how I can add to my US and Global exposure. Also what percentage of a portfolio would you make them? I'm 38 and a rather aggressive investor.

Q: Two questions: Can you recommend a simple/small set of low-fee ETFs for a young, long-term investor for a TFSA, and one for an RRSP? (If not the same.)

Thanks very much.

Q: Have over 20 years until retirement. VVL has been a disappointment , seems to be holding too many stocks that underperform and has substantially low dividend yield compared to VCN/VUN.

RRSP Account
ZUH 10%
VVL 7%
ZGI 8%
COW 10%
XWD 6%
ZLU 7%
ZLB 7%
VXC 5%
ZID 2%
VUN 7%
CWW 9%
XGD 6%
XIT 8%
Cash 8%

What would be your top 5 etfs for a long term hold?