Investment Q&A

Q: Good Morning 5i team,
I have been looking into cleaning up my portfolio. On the US side i was thinking of taking Buffet's advice and just buy VOO. When I look at the top ten holdings of that fund, though, I note that I already hold three of the top ten in the portfolio in at a pretty good percentage: Goog, jnj, jpmorgan. I also own as well another large selection: 3M, mdt, pepsi, and proctor and gamble.

The question arises whether I should just buy two or three of the top ten and run a ETF myself?

Another question; the concentration of teck names in VOO/s top ten is quite low, Apple at 3.5% and Amazon a little less. It seem like these are the main stocks I am missing and the question then becomes, "Should I go for QQQ, which has apple at 11 % and Amazon at 9%? Although all the rest is technology as well, which I don<t want that much of. The problem is that I would like to have more teck but probably not as much as QQQ. Any other choices?
thanks

Q: I'm thinking about increasing my US exposure and buying VOO in my RRSP. I don't need the money for at least 10 years...
When to buy is always a bit perplexing...with the US markets at all time highs one would think that this is not a great time to be buying and it might be smarter to wait for an inevitable correction.
But at the same time, with the tax cuts that have recently gone through down south, as well as the overall improvement in the business environment, I can't see how that isn't going to drive the markets even higher.
Thoughts?

Q: Hi All at 5i! Could you tell me what the difference in holdings are in these broad ETF S ..which would be the better to hold for the best broad exposure ? And a second question ..could you suggest a Us Money Market ETF. Thanks, Tamara

Q: Greetings 5i,

I realize that you do not technically cover American stocks, but would value your opinion on this matter if possible.

I currently hold TPU.TO (slightly more than a half position), as well as a larger position (slightly more than my other "full positions") in BRK.B (held in US dollars). I am 36 years old, conservative, and greatly prefer long term holds.

My question is two-fold, so please deduct two credits if you deem it appropriate. First, given the enormity of BRK, as well as its ability to often outperform the S&P 500, do you feel as if both should be owned for broad American exposure, or would a single, consolidated position in BRK be more appropriate (I essentially look at BRK as a very low cost mutual fund)?

Second, if you feel that owning both BRK and an S&P 500 ETF is beneficial, would you recommend holding the ETF in Canadian or American dollars? If the latter, could you suggest a suitable US dollar replacement for TPU?

At present, these two holdings are my only direct exposure to US Equity (I also have XHY for US bond exposure), although I am planning to add a few single positions over the next year or so.

Thank you.

Q: Hello,

Over the past several years I have put together an adhoc portfolio with the following allocation:

ZEO (oil) %4
GIB.A %36
GILD %11
VOO %27
VSP %9
VIG %13

My goal overall is to build a long term growth portfolio (25-30 years) with some stocks mixed in. Any recommendations on how or if I should re-balance this? In your opinion is there anything I should move away from or that may be missing from this portfolio that I should add for long term growth? (ex. emerging markets or a global equity market index ETF).

If so, you could please provide a couple I should consider? I have a lump sum that I plan to contribute to the portfolio over the next 60 days.

Thank-you very much in advance!
Ryan