Investment Q&A

Q: I've been a member of 5i for about two years and your help has been substantial. Thank-you. I currently own a portfolio that closely mirrors your balanced portfolio.

My question today relates to one asked recently about Warren Buffet's wishes regarding his investments should he die. I believe it was somethink like 10% to short term bonds and 90% to the S&P 500. I'm seeking advice regarding what a kind of portfolio a Canadian should develop in a similar situation. My wife has no interest in day to day stock analysis. Should she inherit our portfolio, I'd like to construct a 'buy and hold' ETF portfolio, in addition to our current portfolio, with exposure to Canada, the United States and the rest of the world. This would comprise the equity part of a more complete portfolio. Hopefully, it would have the potential to show resonable gains with little attention by the owner. My question is: which 3 ETF's would you choose to gain exposure to the 3 markets for a Canadian who simply wants to buy and hold? What % would you put into each ETF?
All the best to you and your families for the holiday season.

Q: May I please have your opinion on taking a new position in gold? I am an ultra conservative investor, retired for 14 years, who covers all my daily living expenses through company and government pensions, and use investment income primarily for holidays and extra pursuits. Most of my investments are in fixed income such as GIC's, preferred ETF's, and bond ETF's. Would you recommend a gold ETF or a specific equity? Thanks!

Q: Good morning,
It 'appears' GE's downward trend will continue. That would soon take our current US$23k investment below our book value. I prefer holding, but don't like the notion of underwater for years waiting for this ship to turn around. So I'm 'inclined' to move on, in which case probably by adding that to SPY which most of our US$ are in. Your thoughts will be appreciated.

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: Your portfolio review was helpful and appreciated. Am gradually tweaking our savings re diversification. Presently no healthcare. Am mulling a 3 - 5% (of equity) stake. We can do this in either Cdn or US$. The US healthcare sector is our preference. If we use our Cdn$, it appears you favour ZUH? Can you recommend an equivalent etf if we use our US$? I'm also hoping for your thoughts on whether now even the time to take a position in healthcare (given the current confusion down south) or would we be better off just to add this cash to our SPY or XSP. Thanks for your help.

Q: Great article on equal sector weighting in the blog! I wonder if the same theory is applicable in the US stock market as well? If so you definitely have a solid case! Thanks.

Shyam

Q: Greetings Peter and company,

Having been a do it yourself investor for over 50 years and a committed index ETF investor for the last 10, I am very impressed with what you are doing.

Assume that investors put half their money into a US index ETF (say SPY) and the other half into a US money market fund. They re-balance when the ratio changes by 10% in either direction and withdraw 1% quarterly to cover living expenses. Will this no-brainer portfolio grow over the next decade? Will it equal or even outperform the i5 Growth Model Portfolio? (Projected 12% annualized long term return. Since the bottom of 2008, the S&P 500 has had a 14.5% annualized return.)

I would appreciate your views on this. Your responses, as far as I have seen, have been uniformly thoughtful.

Thank you.

Milan

Q: I would like to add VIG and SPY to my RRSP account for both a 5% weight. Would you recommend both for a 5% weight? The only US stock that I own is RSG.

Thanks

Q: Hello.
I need some advice on ETF, one Canadian and one US. I was thinking Spy for US but not sure for Canadian ETF. I own 27 equities 65% CDN & 35% US. I have two accounts that I would like each one to contain an ETF. I would then twice a year take all my dividends and repurchase shares in the same ETF. Seeing that the ETF holds many equities in different sectors to my way of thinking I would not have to think of asset allocation nor the size of my position.? Or should I? Right now all my positions are below 5%. Good Strategy?

Regards.

Q: Hi 5i, I'm moving money from my broker (40+ stocks, 500K) to a few ETFs (Equal Weight) , I'm considering the following ETFs: XIC, IWO, CDZ, SPY, FDN, and FIE; would you please help me choose four or five ETFs from the list, I'm looking for moderate growth, and of course preservation if capital.
Thanks

Q: Gentlemen,
If I want to buy puts to protect $1.5 million in S&P500 Index fund against a 10% decline in the market in the next 6 months how many SPY options do I need and how much do I have to fork out. Does it matter where your broker is? That is do the options listed on TD have the same price as those listed on Scotia.

Let’s say the expiration date is September 15, 2017.

I appreciate it if you detail the math and where you are getting your price from.

Thank you for taking the time to teach me and my fellow 5I members regularly.

Q: Hi Guys,

How worried will the market be when or "if" Warren Buffet steps away from the company. Will the stock be hit hard? Should I move my funds from BRK.B to either QQQ or SPY. How would you rank the 3 of them.

thanks,

Jim

Q: I have a well diversified Canadian portfolio. I would like to have coverage of the US market with one or two etf's. Can you suggest any that would give me a broad selection of US stocks.
Many thanks Dorothy

Q: I do not have much experience in investing in US stocks. I would like to add some US exposure as it does seem that Trump's pro business approach might turn into a reality. Is there an ETF you could suggest that would track the US market?

Thank you, Peter

Q: I am thinking of investing in U.S. large cap companies more specifically an ETF. Are you better off to invest in a fund like SPY (U.S. dollars) or in the other canadian fund base companies like HXS,VUN or XUS. I noticed that the ytd. return is approx. 14% for SPY versus the others at %7% for this current year.

Q: Do the added Mer fees charged on smart or factored ETFs result in superior performance when compared to regular passive Etfs?

Q: I have topped up my TFSA to the full allotted amount (since 2009) and am now ready to invest it in a simple way. What are your thoughts about an equal weighting in xiu, spy, vgk, vpl, vwo and xlu?
Thanks
Jan