Investment Q&A

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

Q: Hi guys! Asking for my parents, hope that's okay, your service has been very beneficial for me. They are currently living off their pension and have $60k in a TFSA that they would like to do something with for the next two-three years. Both roughly 65yrs old. They are looking for both a very safe, and also relatively safe recommendation please. Ideally, they are looking for a fairly hands off approach, where the risk of coming out at the end of it with less than they have is low. They are open to equity investing through a low fee brokerage, or looking at a service like one of the roboinvestor platforms, or anything else you'd recommend. Thanks I really appreciate it!

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

Q: Hi,
What is your general opinion of investing in segregated funds? I understand that there are some great benefits for estate planning purposes as you get older, i.e. bypassing probate/estate fees, quick transfer of funds to beneficiaries, guaranteed death benefit, etc... but are the high MER fees (>2%) really worth it? I was helping my mom who is retired look into some of her investments in her TFSA and her advisor has her in invested in these two Manulife products, MPS4959 and MPS4980. Thoughts on these two funds? Do these two funds pay dividends or have a distribution yield? Could not find it.
Aside from the benefits I mentioned above where you only get with Seg funds, and looking at just the pure investment return/structure of the funds, could you suggest 4-5 other attractive ETF's that she could invest in that would outperform these over the next 10-20 years? I would like to switch her into some low cost ETF's or an all in one fund that are either comparable(balanced fund) or better than these two expensive products. She is close to 70, won't need to draw any of this money to live on (she has other sources of income) and looking for some steady and stable growth assuming life expectancy for another 15-25 years. Thanks!

Q: Hi,

Does Vanguard or Blackrock offer US listed ETFs similar to VGRO, VBAL etc?

Tks.

Q: Hi
A quick question.
I know BMO/ishares have equivalent ETFs to VBAL/VEQT/VGRO.
Are there any equivalents to these all in one ETFs offered US ETF companies?.
Vanguard's US site doesn't show any.
Any one else in the States offering all in one ETFs?
I am hoping if they do offer, their fees will be lower than the Vanguard's here in Canada.
Thanks.

Q: My 89 year old Mother-in-law has a couple hundred K, half in TFSA and half non registered. She is not in need of use of this money for regular everyday expenses. We are looking for recommendations of an investment in stocks or ETF's that would pay better than any financial institution will offer. Understanding low to medium risk.
Greatly appreciated as always.

Regards,

Q: Could you please recommend a low cost etf for an resp for 3 or 4 years to introduce someone safely to markets. For example a dividend growth, tsx or your ideas. What are the cost for the etfs? Thank you for your assistance.