Investment Q&A

Q: I have most sectors covered thanks to your Portfolio Analytics. Thanks so much. However I have a very large and growing allocation in Vanguard Dividend Appreciate (VIG:US). My international investments (non-US) are small and need a boost. What would you suggest I do to diversify internationally using ETFs?

Q: I am continuing to try and "perfect" my portfolio allocations. Your Portfolio Analytics program has been a huge asset, and has caused me to really re-think things. I am close to retirement, and can accept some risk but not looking to create an above-average risk portfolio.

For equity investments, I am aiming for about 35% US, and 35% international. I would like safety and growth, and am willing to have some risk. Once I am happy with the final portfolio, I hope to be able to "walk away" for the next few years and let it grow. I have a preference for the "dividend growers" strategy.

Does this allocation make sense to you, for both international and US equities? Are there any changes you would recommend?:

US Dividend growers (e.g. DGRO, VIG): 20% of equity portfolio
US Quality: 10% (e.g. VOO)
US SME: 5% (e.g. IWO)

International dividend growers (e.g. VIGI, iGRO, ZDI): 20% of equity portfolio
International Quality: 10% (e.g. XEF)
Emerging markets: 5% (e.g. VEE, ZEM)

Thank you so much for this amazing service!

Q: Which one would 5i prefer, VIG vs DGRO?
Thanks!

lil

Q: I would appreciate your recommendations for the most tax-efficient ETF's for US equities in non-registered , RSP & TFSA accounts .
Thank you.

Q: Which would you prefer to beef up US exposer in an RRSP

Q: these 4 holdings are held in equal weight in a RRSP account and have some US cash and wonder what you think the best ETF would be to complement what is currently owned?
Thanks

Q: In my registered accounts I have a full position in VGG. Doing very well.
In my US account I hold WMT. Gone from $98 to $112 over a relatively short period of time.Thinking of cashing in and buying VIG.
Ignore sector allocation. Purely for performance ,dividend growth and a little more diversification .WMT seems to have done well in its competition with Amazon. Has it run out of steam.

Q: We have( for me) a quite large sum of money invested in managed products. Any new money is going into Canadian equities ( 30%) following your portfolios and a mix of ETF roughly
30% USA at 10% SPY, 10% VIG, 10%IWO
30% International currently VE
10% emerging currently VEE
( I know "where is your fixed income" you ask, my spouse has a federal government pension which I count as our fixed income)
To date these sums are relatively small. As I start to shift large sums from our managed products to my self managed portfolio ( following the above ratios) I am ok with the mix in the USA spread to 3 etfs run by 3 different companies. With the international and emerging I am a bit concerned about putting all that cash with one fund (and company). Is this concern silly or should I have some diversification within my ETF holdings ( both in terms of funds and companies). For example instead of having 30% of my holdings in VE I would split it 15% VE and 15% XEF. So I guess the short questions are:

1. What is the max an investor should have in any one ETF( %)
2. What is the max an investor should have with any one company ( $ or %)

Q: For the purpose of simplicity I would like your opinion on these 3 ETF portfolios.
My idea is to rebalance 1 / year.
non registered: VFV 30% VDU 30% VAB 40%
TFSA: VFV 50% VDU 50%
RRSP: VOO 30% VIG 30% IWO 30% VAB 10%
Any suggestions as to changing the etf's used for better tax purposes ?
Are there better etf's that you would recommend using?
Thanks for your help .
Victoria

Q: Hi,

Would you prefer one of these over the other for US dividend exposure?

Q: Total portfolio $632000: 2 RRIF’s, 2 TFSA’s , 1 non registered C$ account and 1 non registered U$ account.
In registered accounts 4.3% of total portfolio In VGG.
In non registered U$ account WMT with BV of
U$ 9294.55.
If sold at today’s MV would return 10.3% in a little less than 6 months.
What is your opinion on selling WMT and using funds plus additional cash of 6000U$ to buy
VIG.
This would make approx 7% in US.
I also own , what I consider quasi US, AQN in TFSA and ENB in several of the accounts.
Appreciate your input.
Thanks

Q: I'm overweight financials and thinking of selling my US holding BAC and ORI and switching to a US dividend ETF such as DGRO. Any other suggestions?

Q: I currently hold WMT in my us non registered account. I like WMT as a defensive stock . Do you think selling WMT and buy VIG would reduce risk and still be defensive. At the same time WMT provides more leverage. Your thoughts.

Q: Good day team ,looking for advice on dividend fund or etf for rsp.i have agf series q interpipeline and sentry energy funds for longer timeframe i have 10 g to ad not sure on what ,thanks for all the great help my investments choices are better since joining your team

Q: Good morning. My daughter is working in the US and is looking for low to moderate risk, low fee, ETF funds or fund families in which to invest her 401k monies. What would you recommend. Thanks.

Q: I am wondering about the appropriateness of your Balanced ETF fund being held in either RRSP or TFSA from a tax perspective.

Q: Could I get your opinion on the potential for VIGI. I am looking for safety with modest growth in my RIF. Is it dependent on Brexit or mainly just the European economy? I also hold MAW102 and VIG which have both performed better than VIGI. I have considered selling VIGI and investing the proceeds 50/50 in the other two. Comment and suggestions appreciated

Q: Hello Peter and Team
my question pertains to my US trading account invested in all stocks. I have done well so far. Now I want to switch to all ETFs portfolio for more stability and less maintenance in the medium and long terms. I intend to buy the above for 20% each.
Please let me know if my strategy and choices make sens and do not hesitate to provide suggestions and adjustments.
I value your opinion as always.
Raouf

Q: Hi,
I want to increase my US and International equity exposure by using $US ETFs (VIG and VXUS respectively) but the Canadian dollar is pretty weak right now (improving slightly lately). Does it make sense to convert to $US for this investment (long-term horizon) when there could well be significant headwinds if the Canadian dollar continues to strengthen. Also, valuations are higher in the US than in Canada, but International looks to be relatively cheap. Thoughts on how to proceed?
Regards, Michael

Q: Could you give me your top picks for US dividend ETF's?

Thanks,

Joe