skip to content
  1. Home
  2. >
  3. Investment Q&A
You can view 3 more answers this month. Sign up for a free trial for unlimited access.

Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: In general, what is your advice on covered calls in this market? If favourable, for technology QQQX and BST are on my watch list. There are many others. What do you advice as to most preferred ETF, if any?
As well, there are more complicated ETFs which factor in covered calls - RPAR, SWAN, and NTSK, for example. What is your view of such financial products?
Read Answer Asked by sam on October 15, 2020
Q: Is there a CDN version of this? I'm looking for a CDN ETF that can match the growth of TDIV -15% annually for last five years. Ideally with a dividend. Does not have to be technology based. The closest I've found is VFV. Any better choices?
Read Answer Asked by Graeme on September 17, 2020
Q: please provide your opinion on these two etf's
both etf's are near all time highs, is it to late to invest here?
i am retired and seeking income ...growth is also appreciated
etf choice will enter unregistered accounts
i currently do not have any tech stocks and very little usa exposure
thank you in advance
Read Answer Asked by john on August 14, 2020
Q: Hello 5i
This is a mixed bag inquiry. Looking for some perspectives on the above watch list. I m wanting to increase my overall US & tech sector exposure plus add to my CDN financials. All positions have yield income to weather the storm for the next few quarters
I m considering half positions (2%) in each.

Read Answer Asked by Brant on March 13, 2020
Q: I hold both ZWH and TXF - both "covered calls". I would like to switch out of "covered call". Do you know the equivalent ETF for these two that have no "covered call"?

Carl
Read Answer Asked by Carl on December 27, 2018
Q: Hi Peter:
Season greetings to you and your team.
I would like your opinion on the trade(s) I was thinking about.
1) Sell full positions in POW and NFI.
I've had POW for 5 years and it has done nothing during that time except go down about 20%. However, I also think that at $24.00 it has potentially hit a bottom support number. I would be happy collecting the nice dividend it pays.
I also think based on your recent answers to questions that NFI has potential going forward.
2) If I sold POW and NFI, I would add to the positions that I already have of the other companies that are mentioned.
I'm well diversified and this would not interfere with my sector or geographical weightings or the amount of dividends I am receiving.
I think both scenarios have their positive attributes and would appreciate your thoughts. Do the trade or remain the course.
Thank you very much for your valued opinion.
Read Answer Asked by Dennis on December 20, 2018
Q: Hi Peter and Team,

The Info Tech component of equities in all our accounts is 16.2%. The following stocks and ETFs are held, followed by their weightings:

CSU 7.1%
ENGH 1.4%
KXS 2.2%
OTEX 2.3%
SYZ 1.0 %
TXF 1.9%
XIT 0.3% (used to put small amounts of cash since there's no commission with iTrade)

Would it be prudent to trim CSU, and if so, to what level?
What is your opinion of the other holdings, and are their weightings appropriate?
Are the Info Tech holdings too high a percentage of the overall portfolio?

Thanks in advance for your valuable guidance. Please deduct as many credits as you deem necessary.
Read Answer Asked by Jerry on December 12, 2018
Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team,

Perhaps you could shed some some light on this ETF, as I believe there's a serious pitfall with the product. I sent First Asset an email yesterday, wondering about the so-called "reinvestment" that was "paid" on Dec. 28, 2017. I refer to it as 'so-called' because this $1.63 per share "reinvestment" does not give you cash, nor does it increase your number of shares! In other words, it appears to do nothing for me.

Here's the email I sent First Asset:

Hello,

I purchased 1395 shares of TXF on July 21, 2017. I see that on Dec. 28, 2017, the fund "reinvested" $1.63 per share. This would, in my case, be an amount of 1395 X 1.63 = $2273.85.

My broker, Scotia iTrade, increased the adjusted cost base (book value) of this fund, so I now show a slight loss when not considering the cash distributions received on Oct. 4, 2017, Jan. 4, 2018, and Mar. 29, 2018.

Here are my questions:

Should I see the amount of $2273.85 on the statement from my broker?
If I were to sell my shares of TXF today ($16.69 at this moment), would I receive 1395 X 16.69 = $23282.55?
What happened to the "reinvested" amount of $2273.85?

I look forward to an explanation of the above questions.

Here's the response from First Asset:

Hi Jerry,

The $1.63/unit amount is a non-cash distribution that was reinvested in the fund, which is why you see an increase in the Adjusted Cost Base. To answer your questions:

The amount of the distribution should be reflected on your statement but only as an increase to your Adjusted Cost Base. It wouldn’t increase the amount of units or the market value of your position in TXF.
If you were to sell your shares based on a unit price of $16.69 you would receive approximatively (1,395 x 16.69) – Adjusted Cost Base (including the $2,273.85) minus any other fees your broker my charge you.
The amount of $2,273.85 has been added to your Adjusted Cost Base.

I realize that 5i doesn't really care much for the covered-call aspect of TXF, but I was prepared to live with that. However, I certainly didn't expect the ACB (book value) to increase by the amount of this non-cash distribution! How does this help the investor? Am I correct in my assessment of TXF?

What would you replace TXF with to stay in the same sector, and one where the "reinvestment"is actually paid to the investor?

Thanks in advance for your guidance. I realize that this is a long and detailed question and your answer would be helpful to others. Please deduct as many question credits as you deem necessary.
Read Answer Asked by Jerry on May 04, 2018
Looking for more? Sign up for a FREE 14 day trial! No credit card required

We invite you to sign up for a 14 day free trial of 5i Research!
Experience all the benefits and tools we have to offer; stock research, model portfolios, Q&A with our experts, and so much more. Join a community of like-minded investors today!