Investment Q&A

Q: Greetings 5i,

My question is twofold, so please deduct two credits if you see fit. I have some cash to deploy into the bond portion of my fixed income allocation, and would like your advice about how to proceed. Currently, I have VAB.TO and AGG for broad based bond market exposure, and XRB.TO for inflation linked bonds. To this, I am considering adding an ETF strictly devoted to Canadian government bonds in an attempt to add increased long-term safety (I am becoming a little skittish of corporate bonds).

This addition would be a very long-term hold (likely 20 years or more), and would bring my bond allocation to roughly 15% of my total portfolio (the majority of my fixed income investments are comprised of GIC ladders).

I am 37 years old, debt free, and fairly conservative in my risk tolerance. My investments are solely for the purpose of providing for my retirement, and I will have no need of their funds for the foreseeable future.

My research has led me to either an overarching fund such as XGB.TO or VGV.TO, or to one with laddered maturities like CLF.TO or CLG.TO. Given my situation and style, do you feel as if the addition of a Canadian government bond ETF makes sense for my portfolio (as opposed to simply adding to VAB and AGG)? Moreover, if you do approve of said addition, which of the aforementioned funds would you consider to be the most beneficial?

Thank you.

Q: Just sold mutual funds and want to transition to low fees ETF's for the portion of my portfolio outside of Canada. It is for my RRSP, 15 years from retirement. I was thinking SPY / XEF and VEE for the equities side. Do you have something better to propose? I would need help for the fixed income portion, 1 or 2 ETFs please. Thanks.

Q: Greetings 5i,

I am making an effort to increase my US bond exposure, and am considering adding a full position (5%) in AGG to compliment my current bond holdings TDB and XHY (at roughly 4% each). My reasoning is that the addition of a US aggregate index will not only add multiple levels of diversification (geographical, currency, bond types, etc.), but also a higher degree of stability should the US economy decline; thereby, at least theoretically, putting pressure on XHY's corporate holdings. If I were to add this position, the three aforementioned holdings would make up the entirety of my bond exposure, as the majority of my fixed income investments are GIC ladders.

I am 36 years old, debt-free, conservative, and only invest with a "buy and hold" mindset. My investment portfolio is solely for the purpose of expediting my retirement, and I will have no need of its funds for the foreseeable future.

Based on my situation, does the addition of AGG sound like a reasonable course of action to you?

Thank you.

Q: There have been a number of comments recently on your site concerning Warren Buffet's advice to put 90 per cent in an etf which follows the broad U. S. market and 10 percent in an bond etf. There has also been a considerable amount of concern on the site that the American market may be over valued at the current time and something like emerging markets might be a better bet currently. If that this worry has substance, is there some portion of the US market which might be a good bet at the mement--for instance a small cap etf? What would a US small cap etf be a good one? Also what bond etf might be appropriate. There are probably a lot of questions in here. But, I have just shown my confidencein5i by renewing for a couple of more years. So I have lots of ammunition in my questions bag.\t
thanks

Q: I currently hold significant USD in my RRSP and have no bond exposure in any investments (registered or nonregistered) and am interested in diversifying my portfolio. I also have very low risk tolerance and am happy to sacrifice on what returns I might expect. Thoughts? Thanks.