Investment Q&A

Q: For portfolio type mutual funds such as the Mawer 104 balanced fund or the BMO select trust balanced portfolio is it possible to track down the MERs for the underlying holdings to better understand the overall fee structure? For the Mawer fund I can't find any information on the MER for the series O funds held in the portfolio as compared to their regular series A funds.

I haven't started to dig into the BMO fund yet, but it too is of interest as it has been recommended to family members by the local bank branch 'advisor' and already has a high MER on the portfolio fund.

Q: Hi,
Would like to start an RESP for my grandson. I am looking at the new TD series of EFTs which started in March 2016. Specifically THU and TPU (TD S&P 500 CAD Hedged Index ETF and TD S&P 500 Index EFT). The cost of these EFTs are only $15. Similar hedged and unhedged ETFs at Vanguard,BMO and I-Shares are trading at about $30-$40. Please advise if these TD ETFs will be just as good or should I stick with the tried and true ones mentioned above.
Thanks

Q: I have a small amount in gold and silver and much not else in the materials sector, please give me help by providing a couple of names in this area that would be most suitable for a conservative portfolio.
I would also like your opinion on these two ETFs; ZWU and ZWE.
Thank you again.
Audrey

Q: We plan to gradually tweak our (equity) holdings over 2016 to further optimize fees and diversification. Your thoughts on optimum geographic mix and how best to achieve that will be appreciated. (For context: Conservative, income-oriented portfolio, 1/3 equities, currently 90/10 Cdn/US currency and 80/20 Cdn/US stocks.) Thank you.

Q: Hi Peter and Team

Medtronic had some interesting price action yesterday and moved up to an all time. What do you think of this stock now? Also, what would be your picks in the health care sector right now?

Thanks so much!

Q: Peter and team:
In my kid's RESP, I am trying to transition away from individual equities into ETF's as we approach the time that it will be required.They currently hold ZWB, ZRE, ZLB & ZLU. I was thinking of adding ZDV to this. Would this be redundant, or help in diversity along with increased yield.

Thank you as always.

Phil

Q: My son is in his mid-thirties and has very limited time available to actively follow/trade the markets. He is looking for a simple, passive investment portfolio with very broad exposure, a modest dividend focus, and that is rebalanced, ideally, once a year. Can you comment on the following proposed portfolio and allocations, assuming about $100k? Are there any alternatives he should consider? Should he modify his approach in a TSFA/RRSP? Thanks.

VAB - 20% (Canadian bonds)
VCN - 15% (Canadian equity)
VDY - 15% (Canadian dividend)
VXC - 50% (Global equity excluding Canada)

Q: Bought a small portion of ZWU(covered call utilities with 0.72% mer) @ $15.04 in mid 2013(now$13.33) & loss is covered by the 0.08pm distribution.Please advise if I should switch to T,BCE.FTS, CDZ(0.67% mer) or Zlb(.39% mer)In 2013,I did not know what stock in the sector to buy.Since I joined 5I,I learn a lot & now tend to prefer a stock that is suggested by You.Thanks for your usual great advices & services.

Q: Hi 5i:

I have a set percentage of my portfolio dedicated to fixed income, with a primary focus on safety, but also with the hope of some return. I have focused on short term bond ladder ETFs, corporate and gov't. Over the last few years I have seen the reported distributions drop, slowly but steadily, and also the price of the ETFs drop steadily. For example, CBO now shows a dividend of about 3.6% wile I'm down about 3.3% on the market value of the ETF. I would have been much better off over the last few years in a GIC. I have some of the latter and like the ETFs because I can redeem them at will. Is there any other alternative to these bond ETFs (most that I have looked behave similarly)? What about RBC's Target Bond ETFs? These are held to maturity, though it seems to me that this might not help if the main problem is that the bonds included in the ETFs are bought at a premium. Your advice would be much appreciated.

Q: Is this a good entry point for Stn today

Q: I was recently told that if I sell my investment in AGF Fixed Income Plus fund, there was a penalty to be paid. I could not get much more info from the broker or the AGF web site.Is this a portion of their MER or can you enlighten me.
Thanks

Q: What's troubling KBL?

Q: Hi Peter & team
This stock has been going up on heavy volume for the past week or more. Can you find any news that may be responsible. Would you buy a small position in this stock?
Thanks, Gerry

Q: Hi Peter and team,

I know the company release the earnings and the company has been sold off. What was the news so big that it drop so much in the last couple of day. Was there any changes about their strategy. Thank you.

Norwood

Q: Now Progressive Waste Solution is trading under the symbol WCN, will you be changing the company database symbol from "BIN" to "WCN" in the future? Or should we continue to search under "BIN" and "WCN"? As a side note, would you add WCN to the company database. Thank you.

Q: peter; Would OSB be tainted with the lumber stocks if the talks fail, as usual? Thanks. Rod

Q: Please provide your insight n this company. Results came out last evening, strong and increased dividend for 9 % but the share price continues to decline. What is happening? Thanks.

Q: "Constellation Software Inc. Announces Possible Cash Offer for Bond International Software plc


What will be total purchase price, Constellation needs to pay @105 pence for remaining Bond International shares, if a formal offer is made? Also, do you believe, this acquisition will add good value to Constellation Software ? Thanks

Q: I hold this REIT and was most please at the jump when the sale was announced. The sale price is 7.25. The price went up to 7.03 and I assumed that since the deal probably has little risk and it closes relatively quickly, I decided to wait since I saw NO real downside risk. The price then dropped. Is there a risk that I am not seeing?
Thanks

Q: With the upcoming new classification of Real Estate being formed out of the Financials under the GICS is there a best way to play this? A single REIT or just pick up an ETF? I've read numbers as high as 100 billion could pour into REITs as a result - what kind of spike in valuations will this cause or is some of this already priced in?