Investment Q&A

Q: If you had to pick 5 ETFs to fill an RRSP, for an investor with a 20+ year timeframe, which would you choose? To add a little context, mid 30's with a TFSA geared towards growth and I am comfortable with risk in that account. I also have a business account where I hold blue chip dividend paying stocks. Comfortable with risk in the RRSP as well but trying to find the sweet spot in between these two accounts.

Q: I have a target allocation of 40-45% for total portfolio US exposure. Which ETFs would you suggest (either currency) to form the core of this allocation? Could you also please provide a handful of individual US picks to supplement. Aiming for long term growth with 20+ yr time horizon. Thanks!

Q: I want to hold IWO and SPY etf's, I am a canadian resident.
Are there any tax, exchange rate implications for me in holding these ( or any other US stocks )?

If yes, then suggest a equivalent Canadian ETF.

Q: First a big thank you for the terrific returns we received in 2020 thanks to your stellar guidance (our largest holdings we first discovered through 5i -hello LSPD,XBC and WELL!). We gifted our kids memberships in December and praise your service to everyone. This is truly an invaluable service.
Now to the question, my brother is tired of paying high fees for his CIBC pension holdings. When I looked into this for him last year, some pools had MER in the 2% range! He’s moved the following into cash and is looking for lower fee/higher return alternatives in the following areas of his pension account:
-Imperial Canadian Dividend Income Pool
-Imperial Canadian Equity High Income Pool
-Imperial US Equity Pool
-Imperial International Equity Pool
-Imperial Short Term Bond Pool
-Imperial Long Term Bond Pool
Please charge as many questions as required.

Q: Hello,
Is there any material difference between SPY or VOO? Which would you prefer?
I'm considering selling covered calls and will buy one of these to start the process.
Thank you

Q: Hi, I presently have the above U.S ETF's in a non reg corporate account. Total portfolio weighting is SPY - .45 / DVY - 4.03 / IWD - .84
I am overweight in financials.
What are your thoughts? Minimum of 5 year hold. Thanks so much.

Q: For US exposure which would you recommend for a long term hold? Or is a combination preferred?
Thanks for all your help

Q: Can you please recommend a couple of ETFs for an RESP with a six year time frame? Thank you!

Q: My US exposer is very low and I would like to buy an ETF to cover that sector I presently have VEE ZEQ FPXI which other ETF would fit in this
Thanks

Q: I need to increase my us exposure, any suggestions for etf in non-registered, 5-10 horizon?

Q: I would like to purchase a US broad market ETF similar to SPY in US dollars. The purchase would be for my TFSA so there would be a withholding tax on dividends. I know that there are some ETFs structured in a way so rather than paying out any dividends the fund would instead see a gain in capital. Can you recommend such a fund (in US dollars) that tracks the S&P 500? Does this strategy make sense for a TFSA or would such a fund incur higher costs or fees that would negate the savings from avoiding the 15% dividend withholding tax?

Q: Could you please suggest a replacement for these mutual funds. I have been told these funds have a high MER and I should investigate other options. A switch to ETF's may be an option too.

Q: As part of my shift from managed products to ETFs I need to top up all or a combination of ve, spy and xef. This will be a rather large transaction so I am leaning towards 25% of the amount in each ETF and keeping 25% in cash counting on covid related market dips over the next few months.

Q: Regarding VFV and SPY, yesterday there was a large disparity between these two around 1%. Today VFV is -0.31% and SPY is +0.30%. I know there is currency involved, but this seems like quite a difference on a higher volume ETF. Any thoughts?

Also, VUN seems to outperform VFV over the longer term. It is not much more in MER - would you choose VUN over VFV for a 10 year hold?

Q: Hi team
I have about 40,000 in US dollars to invest
aim is to put 30% in US equity (SPY which I have a current position)
and put 70% to generate dividends and some growth (VIG which I have a current position)

it is going to be in a non-registered account, so I know that tax withholding taxes
is going to lessen the return (no intention of filing a US return)
can you give me 2 Cdn ETF (investing in US div stocks and
general market) equivalent to VIG and SPY ?
of similar returns and risks

Many thanks
Michael

Q: Can you comment on these ETF's I presently hold in a corporate unregistered acct. I have a large amount in DVY.US - not sure why (previously with a FI ) Looking to update this portfolio based on present times. In At least a 5 year hold. Please take as many credits as needed.
Thanks so much.

Q: IF and that is a big IF we have all missed the bottom on American larger caps should I be now focusing on US small caps and International markets? When I look at SPY and VIG all th money has jumped into American large caps and more or less erased the huge loss and pairs back some of my gains from 2019...so huge collapse gone...for now. I've topped up some VIG but missed on SPY. When I look at US small caps they are lagging and I assume this is due to the higher risk and lower volume, Same story for Europe, International and emerging markets. So my question is should I be shifting to adding IWO, XEF, and VE. I need to add some international content to my portfolio anyways as I am a bit light at 12% international ( developed) and 10% emerging markets. If you agree or don't strongly disagree what ETFs do you recommend right now ( I already hold the one mentioned). I am leaning toward a bit of IWO and larger positions in VE and XEF.

5 year window, high but slowly lowering risk tolerance, Balanced portfolio follower ( shifting slowly to income follower), overweight canada (40%) and US(40%) ,

Q: Hello,
I am currently waiting out this deep downturn in the market. At some point the market will start recovering. I have followed your recommendations in the Portfolio Tracking and Analysis tool.

If you had $500,000 sitting in cash which you want to deploy once the market turns around, which sectors would you look towards investing in for the eventual upward trend? Would you be able to provide your favourite stocks /ETFS which you would use to cover the sectors you think will be first to recover?

Thanks for all your help.

Q: Looks like the markets are liking the financial aid packages approved in the last day or two but do you think that this bounce is warranted? Would you start deploying cash here in both the Canadian and US markets or wait for less volatility? What does your experience tell you? Thanks.

Q: Thank You for continuing to be the voice of reason for the amateur like me!!

What ETF's are best for 5-10 year hold for the following markets
US S&P, UK, Germany, China, Russia, Asia (general), South America (general), Africa (general). Looking to take advantage of weakness and average in.