Investment Q&A

Q: My husband and I are in our early 60’s. We do not have a company income. The bulk of our assets are in my RRSP and LIRA accounts.
We are converting his RRSP to a RRIF and my LIRA to a LIF this year and waiting until I am 65 to convert my RRSP so we can take advantage of pension splitting.
We are conservative investors and just want to keep up with inflation.
Would you please suggest a few ETF’s for diversification and a few income ETF’s for our LIF, RRIF and my RRSP accounts. If there are stocks you would would like to include that would be appreciated. Thank you.

Q: Hello,
I am opening a RESP account for my 6month old son. In your opinion, is it better to invest in Stocks or ETFS? Can you please also provide me a top 3 stocks or ETFS in your mind?

Thanks!
Kelly

Q: Good morning. I was wondering if you could recommend an ETF that is conservative with some growth and also having a world wide focus.

Thank you for all your outstanding investment information. I couldn't invest without you.

Q: Greetings once again and my continued thanks for your steady hand. Can you please suggest an array of balanced fund or high grade dividend fund etfs which can give me exposure to Canada, USA and the rest of the world, in roughly equal portions. KIndest regards, Al

Q: What might you suggest for the following situation?

There is $27,000 held in registered accounts with an expectation to augment those savings at a rate of about $1,100 per month to address two prime objectives. The first is to accumulate sufficient funds for a down payment on a condo within five years. The second is to adequately augment savings for retirement, hopefully, 16 years from now.

A financial advisor is suggesting investing in a low risk, balanced fund with a MER of 1.9%. The management fee seems high and the expected return from the investment not particularly exciting. We have a relatively low threshold for risk, especially for those funds earmarked for retirement, but are willing to try something other than a balanced fund to improve returns. Taking on additional risk is especially palatable for that portion of the savings earmarked for the condo purchase, likely about 50% of the overall savings.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Q: Is there any advantage to using ETFs rather than mutual funds in our fixed income portfolio? Presently, we have 35% in fixed income with DFA231, DFA 603, PM0 205 & LYS801F.

Q: would this be a good fund to invest in for a young adult first investment

Q: What do you think of VBINX as a US balanced fund? I would replace my VTI with it so that I had a mix of US equity and bond exposure.

Q: Hi 5i, I can see all these institutions have a all-in-one ETFs, for an RRSP account, is it the way to go for someone who is looking for stability.
Place 45% BAL, 45% GRO, and 10% Stocks (LSPD, SHOP, GOOGL, AMZN, etc).
Thank you!

Q: Do you prefer VBAL or XBAl for an RESP? Looks like XBAL has had better performance and has a slightly higher dividend 1.8 vs 2. However XBAL has 515M assest vs VBAL which has 1.4B assets. Does this make XBAL riskier? Which would you choose?

Q: Hi, I’am retired,(65) looking for a global dividend ETF . I have no U.S. or International exposure no bonds, only Canadian stock, so thinking to spread out a little. Do you have a go to all in one etf that pays 2%+ while you wait ( 6-8) years+.
I was looking at XDG ,good mer, good div. 3.4%, global holdings 56% U.S. etc. But not sure if it’s a good long term hold?
Would like your opinion on an etf that you like
Thanks

Q: Hi: My daughter is self employed and puts excess profits into her TFSA, to pay herself forward. In other words she pays herself so much per month. As another big commission cheque arrives she puts that toward her future monthly income, so that no matter what happens, ie slow sales, then she is prepaying herself into the future. She has accumulated over 50K now with the $$ just sitting in a very low interest savings account and not making much in interest.
Do you have any suggestions towards putting this into a low risk ETF or Blue Chip Stock or other suggestions? If so, what percentage in each? A portion could also go into a slightly higher interest fund. Any other suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks. Ken ...

Q: Are the following ETFs sufficiently diversified to form a balanced-growth portfolio of $100K - ZAG 25%, QEF 15%, WXM 20% and XAW 40 %. If not, what would you recommend?

Q: Hello,

Can I get a couple of your recommendations for the best balanced growth ETF and/or mutual fund as well as a pure growth recommendation. Sector & Geographic allocation not a huge concern.

Thanks.

Q: Hi,
I have 10k that was invested with my banks GICs .. now looking for something different , any suggestions where I can put the funds for 2-3 years . .. safe money with a reasonable return ..
Thanks.

Q: Good Morning
In my wife,s riff she has the following etf,s VCNS VBAL VGRO all a small position. What would your opinion be to sell all 3 and buy XAW to make a more significant position and also to help increase her international exposure?

Thks
Marcel

Q: What ETF would you suggest for a non-registered account for a higher risk tolerance with emphasis on growth and a 10 year minimum timeline ? VGRO/XGRO sound good but the dividend yields seem low to really take advantage of the dividend tax credit.

Q: Hello,
I have some holdings in the Sun Life Granite Balanced Growth Portfolio class F as a "steady" fund for a blend of growth and safety. Thoughts on this fund please and any funds in your view that could be better in the space.

Thanks.

Q: Only two holdings in my parents portfolio that both include a significant portion of bonds. Concerned if interest rates rise more than expected in a short period and bond prices decline. Wondering about putting a hedge in place , would a financial services etf accomplish this? Better ideas or thoughts on the bond portions of the holdings I referenced?

Q: Good Day,

My fiancé has recently begun investing. Currently she has:
254 shares of VBAL
16 shares in Royal Bank
27 shares of BCE

She has $1300 available to invest in her TFSA and $500.00 to invest in her RRSP. She is a conservative investor.

We are wondering:
What would you suggest for next steps in terms of shares/etf to purchase in this small portfolio? Or should we just buy more VBAL?

In addition, would it be best to wait a little to see if there is a ‘better deal’ in a few months?

Please take as many of my questions as you see fit.

Regards,

Ryan