Investment Q&A

Q: Hello 5I team, Currently have an account at Wealth Simple. Considering investing in there Classic portfolio which is a managed holding and I would pay a .35% fee.These funds would be to increase my equity % as suggested by analytics. I would possibly choose the aggressive portfolio.Can not find any performance data. Can you comment and if you could provide a possible better option.Thanks Larry

Q: Thank you for those useful articles on all-in-one ETFs. I plan to gradually invest this way​ to make life easier on myself or whoever may be doing the investments in the future.
The problem (and it's not a big one ​as it just needs a bit of math). To have a position of 50%​/50% ​Equities/Bonds I need to have an 80% position in a 40/60 E​quity/B​ond ETF and a 20% position in a 80/20 E​quity/B​ond ETF.

​Is there an all in one 50/50 ETF with a reasonable MER?
​Alternatively, are there similar diverse all-in-one​ 100% equity and diverse all-in-one ​100% bond ETFs where we could just have one of each then rebalanced every 6 to 12 months back holding 50% of total each​? (Makes the math really simple :)

Though I don't tend to use timing​, is there a time of year long term where that rebalance might offer a​ percent​ or fraction of a percent advantage?​ For example, do bonds trade higher or lower at certain times of the year? Similarly equities?

Q: For a leveraged account could you suggest 1 or 2 additional Canadian dividend stocks to add.
With the ROC distribution on VEQT is it best to re invest in more shares of the ETF with the funds or does it need to be transferred back against the loan to keep it fully tax deductible.

Thank you!

Q: I hold VEQT, QQC, XDIV, QDAY & GIAX. I am selling all stocks and moving to ETF. My goal is to keep it simple and less monitoring.

Do you think there is a need to own SP500 & TSX ETF. If yes which one would you recommend.

Thanks for your excellent advice.

Q: Hi 5I team, With two of these near 52 week high.And ZEQTnear 52week low which would you prefer today? Thanks Larry

Q: I have US stocks and CAD stocks but also want to keep a large portion of my portfolio in indexes. I have VFV and similar for trakcing S&p and have added VEQT in the last few years for world diversification. I have a small amount in XAW, but does it make sense to have more in XAW since i have a bunch of individual canadian stocks? or do you have a preference for canadians to own one of these over the other?

Q: What is your opinion on this ETF

Q: What are your thoughts on the new Vanguard mutual Funds, VIC1000 and VIC8020 compared to VEQT and VGRO? Would you recommend buying those mutual funds in a TFSA account for long term or a Non-Registered account?

Q: Which is better for a long term investment, basically to regularly add to and forget about it? Plan to mainly hold this etf instead of 20 stocks.

Q: What is your opinion of the ETFS, XEQT and VEQT. If only buying one, which one would you pick?


Thanks Valter

Q: Hi,
My 17 year old will be opening a TFSA and has $2400 to invest for her future. There will be no new funds added for some time as she starts University this week. I was thinking either VEQT or a combo of XIC and ZSP. What do you think is the best choice or do you have a better suggestion?
Thanks,
Kerri

Q: I am a 79 years old, retired with a portfolio of stocks (~40%), ETF's (30%) and Cash (30%).
I have good pension income so I don't need monthly income.
I am thinking of moving ~ 15% of my cash back into the market, considering either more VGRO and/or VEQT. Your comment please..

Q: Hi,

Every month, I buy some VEQT as part of a dollar cost averaging strategy. It seems, however, that every month my purchase price is higher than the previous month. It keeps going up and up - and I'm getting leery.

I know you can't provide personal advice but, generally speaking, would you continue to proceed in this manner. Or are there other variations of dollar cost averaging in a rising market? Other strategies to consider?

Presumably, one could make a larger purchase up front. But when the funds come from my monthly salary, that's harder to do.

Thanks,
Robert

Q: Hello, would like to know for total returns of these ETFs (ZWC, ZWU, CNCC, HCAL, ZSP, VCN, VE, XGRO, VEQT, XBAL) which is your favorite in order for each and in which account type is each best suited for. Also please give me your number 1 top pick of all Canadian listed ETFs for each account type.

Thank you

Q: Might buy a house, probably won't buy a house. Prices so high, I've been maxout out the FHSA so far and it's mostly in VEQT, bit of PLTR and CRWD which have done well. What other US or CAD stock would you recommend (shorter term BUT will leave it in there longer if market goes down/ ultimately could convert to RRSP) that is underpriced and or could have huge potential upside. Imagining turning the FHSA $40,000 limit into ... ideally a $200,000 down pmt over the next 3-10 years

Q: Hi

I'm looking to invest $5K/month in an equity fund. You previously sided with VEQT for its history and slightly better long term returns versus ZEQT.

However, I can buy ZEQT for free, whereas I'm charged $10 a trade for VEQT.

Would saving the $120/year in fees be short sighted if VEQT will appreciate more in the long run? Or will the $120/year add up to even it out?

Thanks,
Robert

Q: I have BNS544 mutual fund, would like to know what 3 ETFs in order would you replace this mutual fund with. For a RRSP account.
Much appreciated

Q: Hi there, often times the 4% rule is used as a foundation for retirement planning. I believe the original study used US equities and US bonds as the funds to develop the 4% withdrawal rule. Obviously no one has a crystal ball, but what would be your opinion on using as international equity ETF with the 4% rule rather than a US fund such as VFV? If you were make an educated guess, do you believe using funds such as XEQT/VEXT and VAB/XBB instead of US funds would yield similar results as the 4% study over the longterm going forward?

Q: Hello ,
I was thinking of buying TD technology leaders etf (TEC) instead of XQQ , the nasdaq 100 etf as it has performed the nasdaq and seems to be more diversified. Any comments please?

Also, I looked at the details of VUN and XUU etfs, They both seem to have similar holdings and over 5 year period both have similar performance. However , going over more than 5 years, why has VUN out performed XUU. I am not clear on this..

Regardless of the tariffs situation, the US market seems to do well over time, and hence i thought instead of total Europe exposure, go with VEQT etf. Any comments please..

Also, do you prefer unhedged products like VUN as opposed to VUS? Lastly, i use yahoo to to compare charts. Do you know a better site please? Thanks very much

Q: Hi,

I’m following up on recent questions about taxation of the ETF VEQT (and similar) in an RRSP.

I am a bit confused about what withholding taxes might apply to VEQT. I have three questions please.

1) Would you be so kind at to explain what withholding taxes apply to VEQT in an RRSP?

2) If there are non-recoverable withholding taxes on VEQT in an RRSP, can they be quantified?

3) Finally, if there are withholding taxes applicable to VEQT in an RRSP, is there an ETF setup with the same diversification objective as VEQT that is more tax efficient in an RRSP?

(I tried following this information but I’m still unclear: https://www.vanguard.ca/content/dam/intl/americas/canada/en/documents/WithholdingTax_Guide-final.pdf).

Thank you very much.

Michael