Investment Q&A

Q: Hi team!
I am considering a hybrid portfolio of either (A) 80% ETFs and 20% individual stocks or (B) 80% in an All-in-one ETF (VEQT/VGRO) and 20% individual stocks. I understand there may be foreign withholding tax considerations on the Vanguard All-in-one ETFs depending on the account type in which it's held and I'm wondering how significant this actually is.

Questions:

- Which accounts out of RRSP/LIRA, TFSA, RESP, and Non-Registered would US listed ETFs be a better alternative due to this foreign withholding tax drag?

- At what account value would the tax drag from these withholding taxes be material enough to warrant buying individual ETFs (ex. VT, VTI, XUU, XEF) instead of using an all in one fund (VGRO or VEQT)?

Trying to avoid losing 15% or more of any US/foreign dividends due to unrecoverable foreign taxes if possible!

Thanks for your great work!

Q: What specific ETFs suggestions would make a diversified portfolio

Q: Hello,

Please recommend some total market ETFs for the Canadian market, the American Market, for growth, for income, and/or the best overall in your opinion.

Thanks,

Mark

Q: New retiree caught with pants down. Need to sell some stuff in RIF to cover current cash needs. Horrible position to be in with current market. Lesson learnt. Maybe (tough to be on the sidelines in a bull market)
Please help with sell sequence, which I guess should be based on which of these holdings is least likely to see near term growth from here OR which is most susceptible to further declines in near future??

Please list in order starting with the holdings you think should be sold first, ending with the holdings you think should be retained longest, and advise your rationale. All will need to be liquidated by mid 2023

Your crystal ball will be better than mine.

Thanks,

Jim

Q: I hope all is well at 5i and you are enjoying the sunny summer. I wish we had more rain here in Niagara.

Garth asked an interesting question last week which you answered on Friday. He was asking about all-in-one ETFs and specifically such as VGRO, XGRO, ZGRO or HGRO. 5i recommended VGRO over ZGRO with no mention of HGRO.

I did my usual half-baked research (engineer not a financial guy) and found some interesting things using the G&M watchlist plot routines. I just plotted a comparison of ETFs using 1, 2 and 3 year intervals relative to last Friday (July 15th). First, I compared VCNS, VBAL, and VGRO. To my surprise, the worst performer for each relative time interval (1,2 and 3 years) was VCNS and the best by far was VGRO. For 1,2 and 3 years VCNS was -13.4, -7.5 and -3.7% while VGO was -12.7, 2.9 and 5.7% from July 15th). Seems Garth was on to something by asking about GRO ETFs.

Then I compared the 4 GRO ETFs that Garth was asking about. The one year returns relative to July 15th were all essentially the same at about -13%. However, HGRO was hands down the winner for the 2 and 3 year relative time periods from July 15th i.e., 10.6 and 20.5% for HGRO versus 2.9 and 5.7% for VGRO. I realize VGRO has a 2.2% dividend (according to G&M) but not that doesn’t make up the difference. I also realize HGRO is just shy of 3 years history but close enough for me.

Is HGRO doing something with significant increased risk or is something wrong with my research oven?

Maybe an article in your ETF & Mutual Fund Update report would be helpful.

Thanks, as usual.

Q: I'm looking to invest the majority of my money into an all-in-one 80/20 asset allocation ETF, such as VGRO, XGRO, ZGRO or HGRO. Aim is to set-it-and-forget-it.

What does 5iR recommend?

Q: I inherited the following:McKenzie Strategic Income Fund;McKenzie Strategic Income Ser.A;Invesco Strategic Yield Fund;BMO Income ETF Portfolio;BMO Concentrated Global Balanced Fund.Are these suitable investments in the present rising rate,volatile environment and where applicable, are there ETF's
that mimic these funds?Thanks for your assistance in helping me sort these out. Maurice.

Q: What do you suggest using as a benchmark for sector allocations? I have been looking at global market sector exposures using the iShares MSCI World ETF (XWD). I also saw the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT), which I believe has more small-cap exposure than MSCI World. If the global market is a good base to use, do you see any reason to deviate from these exposures at the moment?

I assume I shouldn't look at regional exposures the same way, the global market is heavily weighted toward US (60-70%). Would regional exposure for something like VGRO (equity only - US 43% / Canada 30% / International Developed 20% / Emerging 7%) be a good benchmark?

Q: thinking switching my RBF 592 to a ETF which ETF is similar to it

Q: I have roughly 15% of my entire portfolio within a Taxable account. The rest is diversified within my RRSP, TFSA( Maxed) and LIF. With regards to the taxable account I would like to keep it as simple as possible taking into consideration the tax implications. I am thinking of going with an ETF or ETFs for this account. What would be the best etf's to go with and what % breakdown. The rest of my portfolio is basically 50% fixed income 50% equities,

Q: I have some new money to invest in my TFSA. I am well diversified in my other accounts, and am now wondering what to add to my TFSA. I am a senior so I would say about a 5 year time frame that this would stay in the TFSA, maybe more.
Any suggestions you have would be helpful.
Thanks so much for your help in the past, it has always proved very lucrative.
Shirley

Q: Q.

Would you recommend one ETF for a 12 yr+- time frame for my sons RESP?
One that I can add to over time, growth minded, MER friendly with CDN & US exposure taking into consideration US taxation.

Thanks,
Dan

Q: Can I purchase VGRO commission free? And if not what do you consider a good alternative that would be commission free ?

Q: Hi, Would XTR and VGRO compliment each other in an RSP totaling about thirty percent of the portfolio, thanks?

Q: I'm looking for TFSA investment suggestion.
Possibly and all in one ETV to keep it simple but not necessarily.
Ideally more aggressive as I don't plan on touching it for a long time, possibly to even leave this as inheritance in my estate (I'm 60).
Any guidance you can provide is appreciated.
Thank you

Q: I have historically held my investments in mutual funds through a financial advisor. I subscribed to 5i Research approximately 3 years ago and made my first investments in equities and an ETF based primarily upon information obtained from 5i Research. The returns on VGRO ETF and my equities have been 2 to 4 times the gain for my mutual funds. I recently upgraded my subscription to include Portfolio Analytics. Based upon portfolio analytics, my current portfolio is reasonably well balanced with recommendations to add healthcare and industrials as well as some international exposure. I have cash on hand that I want to invest. I will hold my investments for the next 5 to 10 years. I am looking at purchasing some additional equities and an ETF with good growth potential at moderate risk. Please provide top 10 recommendations with rankings for stocks that I should consider adding to my portfolio. Please provide recommendations for top 5 ETFs with rankings that I should consider adding to my portfolio. What is your current view on VGRO? Would you suggest topping up my investment in VGRO?

Q: In my grandchildren RESP I currently own IWO and VRO. I would like to add a third ETF, which would be better VGG or ZQQ? Money not needed for 12 years. At what $ amount would you start to invest in individual stocks?
Thanks

Q: I would like to exit my brokerage RRSP to a self directed RRSP and I am looking for 4 to 5 Canadian EFT's to provide balanced diversification across sectors, nations, Portfolio Analytics suggests 70 equities/30 fixed income. Other ideas you have to create a balanced diversified ETF RRSP would be appreciated.
Are there any strategies( eg time of year) to make the switch or just do it.
Thank you for your service.

Q: I am looking to finally replace the following mutual funds held in a self admin RSP account, to equivalent ETFs.
FID269 - Fid Monthly Inc;
FID5973 - Fid Global Innovation;
FID207 - Fid Global Concentrated Equity;
RBC460 - Sel Bal Ptf
TDB2760 - Td Retirement Balance
TDB652 - Td Global Entertainment & communication
TDB976 - Td Health Science
TDB2580 Td Tactical Monthly Inc
My goal is to replace these mutual funds with long term, high yielding where possible, low MER, CDN or US $ equivalent ETFs. Please provide 2 or 3 suggestions for each. Please deduct as many credit s as need.
Thank you for all the invaluable investment help you provide.

Q: Hi Peter and Team

I am looking for a growth ETF, 80% stocks and 20% bonds, for my kids RESP, with a 10 year horizon.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Cam