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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: So a lot of people think that interest rates have peaked and are set to go down, thus the market reacts positively. I believe that interest rates have peaked BUT will remain higher for longer. I anticipate that the market will initially react negatively to this but eventually will settle down to the new reality and continue to react to such metrics as earnings growth etc..
Recognizing that no one really knows the future, what would be the likely scenario ( short and long term ) for each of the sector ETF’s I am invested in : Canadian banks , American tech, American healthcare, Canadian large cap industrials/ utilities. Thanks. Derek.
Read Answer Asked by Derek on December 18, 2023
Q: I have incorporated these ETF’s into my RRIF with the goal of deferring taking capital from my principal ( mandatory and rising % withdrawal requirements ). They now represent 33% of total portfolio. My TFSA and cash accounts equal my
RRIF and are more growth oriented. The ETF’s give me a high yield, diversified portfolio of solid large cap, primarily low growth companies in Canada and the US. So I ask myself “ Why don’t I have my RRIF be 100% of these 5 ETF’s ? What say you ?

Thanks Derek.
Read Answer Asked by Derek on November 27, 2023
Q: ETF to invest in AI in Canada .
Read Answer Asked by Scott on July 25, 2023
Q: I would like to dip my toe into the AI waters using an ETF several of which you have mentioned. Unfortunately they are all on the NYSE.Am I wrong, as a Canadian, in avoiding the NYSE for fear of endless red tape and possible US taxes? I assume that there are no AI ETFs on the TSX or you would have mentioned them, I may have missed them.Thanks in advance and for all your great work.Rick
Read Answer Asked by Rick on July 24, 2023
Q: Maybe the Globe's listings are simply inaccurate. But it shows HTA as doing much less poorly than HTAE, which basically only invested in HTA and has a higher monthly dividend. The G&M shows HTA is up 33% ytd but HTAE is up almost 44%. I get that HTAE can have various strategies, including leverage - though it's odd that it seems as stable than HTA. What do you think of this ETF and its risk factors? Esp as compares with HTA.
Read Answer Asked by John on July 24, 2023
Q: I wanted to gain some clarity on your answer to Terry indicating that the high dividend returns with these etf's are almost entirely return of capital. So if an investor holds these their yields would not be taxed as dividend income in a cash account but the cost base would diminish accordingly so that when sold the capital gain would be greater. But if a long term hold and if the yield continues to be return of capital then does the investor collect these yields effectively free of tax? Any other similar etf's with high yields that are largely return of capital? Am I missing something? Thank you for providing certainty on this.
Read Answer Asked by Ken on May 23, 2023
Q: I am looking at reconfiguring my newly established RRIF into the above equities with the 3 etf’s being 25% each with the remaining 5 stocks being the remaining 25%. What is your opinion of these stocks and portfolio composition? Am I being too cute ? Thanks. Derek.
Read Answer Asked by Derek on March 23, 2023
Q: Hi, for an income portfolio, I am looking to add either HTA or TXF. Just not sure which one to choose (in a cash account). TXF is a larger fund and has more liquidity, a higher distribution % as well as a lower MER. On the other hand, HTA had double the return of TXF in 2021 and 5% more in return in 2022. Their portfolios is not exactly the same but similar. Can the difference in their respective portfolio explain the outperformance of HTA since 2021? Which one should offer the better total return in the next few years? Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Martin on January 05, 2023
Q: Retired conservative investor whose only tech holding is HTA ( 5% total portfolio). Looking at either CSU or Shopify as next purchase. Which of these would you prefer to “ dip your toe “ further into the tech sector ? Also, is my weighting of HTA appropriate ? Thanks. Derek.
Read Answer Asked by Derek on December 22, 2022
Q: I am considering HTA for my RRIF. I understand the higher than dividend income received is because of their covered call practice.
Is their covered call income impacted by the recent sector decline and how so ? Does this income vary depending upon their practice and if so, how do they maintain their consistent distribution? HTA has been touted as an investment vehicle safer ( less decline) than owning the individual stocks because of the covered call strategy , has this proven to be true ? Thanks Derek
Read Answer Asked by Derek on June 16, 2022
Q: I have invested in both of these ETFs, one being in CAD, the other in USD.
On Thursday, the value of the CAD version was $16.03; the value of the USD version was 16.62.
This difference in value does not adequately address the current exchange rate of about 1.28.
It seems that the US version is underpriced and that the CAD version is much better value. Could you please explain why there is this discrepancy?
Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by Catherine on March 01, 2022
Q: Do Canadian ETFs that track US tech firms underperform? I was looking at these and a few others on the G&W and the Canadian ETFs with the exception of HTA and HTA.B (up 35%ytd) seem to have significantly lower returns. And I think HTA uses covered calls.

XLK is up 32% ytd, IYW 35%, IGN 31%. The most popular Canadian ETFS seem to be ZQQ(ZQN) 26%, XQQ and HQQ 26% and TEC 25%. Some of this is due to currency moves, but the hedging costs of the hedged ETFs surely aren't that large. Is it better to just buy XLK or are HTA/HTA.B a better alternative?
Read Answer Asked by John on December 08, 2021
Q: I am looking at either ( or both) for initial tech position in conservative high income non registered portfolio. HTA, covered call, hedged, equal weight 20 large caps, MER 0.85 ,yield 4.75 , One year return 44%, ROC tax efficient. ZNQ, Nasdaq 100, hedged, cap weighted, MER 0.38, yield 0.34, one year return 39 %, normal tax.
Which would you prefer and why? Thanks
Derek
Read Answer Asked by Derek on April 29, 2021
Q: Hi 5i,
I am looking for the best options for gaining CAD-denominated exposure to the major companies in the chips/semis space. What might be the best ETF options and what would be their proportion of exposure to that sub-sector? If not ETFs, might there be a more effective way of obtaining the desired exposure while staying in CAD? I’ll mention that I already have positions in PHO and STC, although obviously they are not quite the order of companies I’d be targeting with this question. Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Lance on December 09, 2020
Q: please provide your opinion on these two etf's
both etf's are near all time highs, is it to late to invest here?
i am retired and seeking income ...growth is also appreciated
etf choice will enter unregistered accounts
i currently do not have any tech stocks and very little usa exposure
thank you in advance
Read Answer Asked by john on August 14, 2020
Q: Hi there,

I read an article in The Toronto Star this weekend by Gordon Pape. He mentioned a company called Harvest Portfolio Group and referenced the performance of a few of the ETFs they run. I was interested in your take on their Tech Achievers Growth & Income ETF. How would you compare this against something like a ZQQ/XQQ/HXQ and which would you suggest in owning?

Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Michael on March 05, 2018
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