Investment Q&A

Q: Could you give me three Canadian and three US
ETFs for international exposure.

Q: I am thinking of selling my bonds for an an international (ex-North-America) ETF that is fairly non-volatile (defensive, consumer cyclical, industrial).

I heard this as a strategy in the Canadian Financial Summit and it made sense because the bonds I've held for stability offer less in returns and in stability than the diversification does.

I'd like to hear your opinion on this strategy. Can you also recommend 4-5 ETFs that would play well into this strategy.

Thanks as always.

Q: I'm looking to increase international exposure inside a TFSA account focused on long term growth. Is there enough difference between these two to own both ? If only one, which one would you add?

thanks

Q: Good morning, I currently use ETFs for foreign investments and I now have a large position in ZDI. I like it's growth and dividend. I have been looking at VIDY recently for diversification. I like it's growth rate of the last 5 years (does not have 10 year history). Can I have your thoughts on both these etf's and any other growth oriented ex-north-america etf's. Thank you.

Q: Are any of these above companies worth investing in? Also if so, at what price would be a good buy.

Thank You
John G.

Q: I am retired but with a small consulting business that has cash sitting in an investment account. I have some concern about the valuation of the current markets and looking to invest with some tilt towards safety realizing nothing is guaranteed. I think ETFs may add a small amount of safety. With that in mind, I am looking at the following ETFs: XUT, XSU, XST, VIDY, TECH, TEC, JXI:US, FEQT with a slightly higher position in FEQT.

I would greatly appreciate your comments/thoughts and suggestions for improvements.

Thanks for this super service!

Q: I'm looking for an ETF that complements my VDY. In particular I'd like yield with some growth, and fairly defensive. I don't mind which is greater, yield or growth. I've spotted VIDY, and it looks good, and might complement my VDY in that it is similar but EX North America. I suppose the yield is not Div Tax Credit, so if there is a Canadian ETF that complements VDY, in the sense of holdings, I'd consider that too. But the Tax Credit is not essential, so a US complement (sold in Canada) might work also. So complementary to VDY in terms of geography or holdings would be good.

Q: Hi Peter and 5i Team,

I need to raise some cash and plan to sell/reduce in a non-registered account to accomplish this. Of the stocks and ETFs addressed in this question, please rank them in the order that YOU would sell/reduce, starting with the ones to sell/reduce first. If any holdings are an outright sell, please indicate. For example, we've held BYD for a long time and have a decent gain, but it's short-term performance has faltered somewhat.

As always, thanks for your insight.

Q: Hello 5i...what would be your current favorite ETFs in the following criteria:

International ex N.America in $USD and $CDN overall market

International ex NA with Growth tilt and with Dividend tilt. $USD and $CDN

Perferance in RRIF vs TFSA..

Holding period > 5 yrs....

thanks/ Art

Q: Hi Peter and team,
European ETFs such as the ones listed above have a relatively high concentration of pharmaceuticals. With Trump's plans to curb such imports to the US, do you believe that this will be a headwind for these ETFs?
Your insight is greatly appreciated.

Q: Which one do you prefer for international exposure?

Q: What other ex north america etf's would be good?

Thanks

Q: If you were adding a dividend producing ETF to a pipeline, insurance and bank-focused portfolio (North American bias), which ETF would you use for:
a) dividend/total return
b) diversification?

Q: I would like to invest using only 4 ETFs. One for short bonds, one for all Canadian stocks, one for emerging markets, one for the whole US market, and one for the developed world (as wide as possible) excluding Canada and the US.

Which ETFs should I use?

Thanks

Q: Hey guys,

We already own DXG, would you recommend any others instead of DXG for international exposure? Also, a full position on individual stocks is between 4 to 5% (hopefully letting them grow to 7 to 8%, ), what about etfs?
Thanks

Q: Last year, I purchased ZDH in my mother's retirement account. She is close to 80. It has been a very poor performer, significantly underperforming the international indexes. Performance seemed to be reasonable prior to the market drop in the last few months. Morningstar now rates both ZDI (unhedged) and ZDH (hedged) as two stars, and it now falls to the 4th quartile for most time periods.

I would appreciate your views about ZDH. Would you continue to hold this ETF expecting that it will start to outperform the market, or would you sell it? Do you feel that it has dropped a lot since January due to its sector composition, and will bounce back? If you would sell it, what would you recommend? Dividends are not a priority, but looking for low to medium risk.

Thanks for your excellent advice.

Q: Please provide your suggestions for non US investments of above 3.5% yield and some growth and somewhat protected from volatility in Canada and internationally. Thanks.

Q: Hello,
I recently asked a question regarding a substitution for vea. You mentionned that a high dividend might be a good approach currently, and you suggested vidy.ca. I was wnting to do this in US dollars, however, and i cannot seem to find the US vanguard equivalent of this etf? Is there one?
Thanks

Q: Good morning 5i
In a recent question asking what regions you might underweight you mentionned that you were agnostic on Europe. I have been concerned about Europe myself. But, i need to increase the foreign content in my portfolio and this is where it is lacking. How would you approach this under current conditions. Thanks fort he great service, as always

Q: I currently own ZDI. I would appreciate your views on this ETF as a long-term hold. I am considering replacing ZDI because it has a higher MER, and it is overweight both financials and energy.

What ETFs do you recommend which hold international equities and focus on a dividend growth strategy? Preference is for Canadian currency ETFs, but would appreciate recommendations on US currency ETFs if you feel there is sufficient additional value-added to warrant the currency conversion fee.

Thanks again for this excellent service.