Investment Q&A

Q: My son, 25, recently married and working in USA, has just begun contributing to ROTH IRA matched by employer and looking for advice on on initiating investment in top 4-6 etf's to achieve long term gains with appropriate market diversification. Also, could you please suggest weightings for each considering moderate to high risk tolerance? Thanks so much. Tony

Q: There is a ( very) new ETF, coming out from Horizon with ticker QQCL being a covered call Nasdaq 100 with anticipated yield of 14.10 %.
This seems to be attractive for my TFSA for higher growth (with volatility which I can handle), along with a high yield.

I have bought several of these products, HTA, HHL, UMAX for both my registered and non registered accounts. They seem “ too good to be true “ and am wondering if that’s true. I have seen many of these enhanced products ( remember flow through shares ?) and hope these do not repeat.
Your thoughts on QQCL and on these ETF’s in general would be appreciated.
Thanks. Derek

Q: I am close to retiring and have all registered accounts maxed out, but have $200K of non-registered funds to invest, and wondering what recommendation would be. I am leaning for simplicity to spread across a few ETFs to get some balance of growth and dividends. Thoughts/recommendations.

Q: This is about the question asked by Paul regarding tax consequences. I am not sure I understand your answer, you say that "one can even sell in late December (as long as the sell settles in 2023) and then in January and shift the tax burden a full year". In a case like this I would have thought of selling very early in January 2024 instead. Could you comment? Thank you

Q: Awhile ago a G & M columnist wrote a reply to a question and gave advice and details about selling a U.S. listed stock. He recommended not doing it all at once for tax reasons and I am wondering what your thoughts would be. I bought 300 shares of QQQ in the 1990's at about $43/share. It has grown to be a significant portion of my non registered account. I was thinking of selling 100 shares each of the next three years to lessen the tax consequences. (I am a buy and holder). Thoughts and consequences?
Cheers
Paul

Q: My son is starting an FHSA account at Wealthsimple. With the goal of contributing monthly and maximizing the limit over 5 to 7 years before needing funds. What combination of ETF's and blue chip stocks would you recommend that combines steady/increasing dividends, capital appreciation and minimal downside risk. Looking for a manageable # and combination of stock/Etf

Thank you

Q: Just a follow up to a previously answered question regarding which ETFs you would choose. What would be your weighting in a portfolio containing SPY, QQQ, IJH, AGG and VYM?

If you were to remove bonds (AGG) altogether, where would you allocate weighting?

Q: There have been a number of questions recently asking how to construct the best etf portfolio. I thought you did an amazing job in answering these. I had a couple of questions, though, to which I like your response.

You recommend SPY. I believe you also answered QQQ in some place. Would one need QQQ if one already owned SPY? I am speaking here as an average retired investor willing to take a little risk. The concern is that the top ten holdings of the two funds is quite similar. The other concern relates to thèse top ten holdings. A lot of both funds is invested in high flying technology stocks. You often mention that the danger in investing in a Canadian index fund is that they are heavily weighted to three industry sectors. Wouldn’t the same fear hold true for SPY? And if so, would a good work around be a combination of a market weighted fund, such as RSP and an appropriate balance of SPY and QQQ?
Thanks

Q: If you were to build a portfolio of just ETFs, what 6-8 would you select? Maybe ignore Canada for this scenario as I have plenty of individual positions I'm quite happy with.

Q: Hi 5i Team - What would your top 5 ETF's be as I'd like to purchase the best ETF's that you will recommend.
Thx - Doug

Q: Am looking at adding some QQQ (or similar) in my TFSA but am wondering if now is the best time. Also, I am not as familiar with Invesco and usually go with iShares. They have XQQ but it is in Canadian dollars and hedged. Would IYW be similar to QQQ? Are you quite comfortable with QQQ? Would you be able to suggest an entry price for whichever one you recommend? Thank you.

Q: So here's my predicament. Over the past many years my portfolio largely reflects NASDAQ returns but has much more volatility. I'm thinking of just buying a bunch of QQQ (or XQQ) so I worry less about the volatility while still getting similar returns. I still like picking stocks and was thinking of holding most of my tech in QQQ while trying to pick a few tech stocks to 'juice' returns. If you were to pick 5 NASDAQ stocks that might outperform the NASDAQ over a mid-long timeframe, what would they be? Note these can include large caps (MSFT, NVDA) or anything else.

Q: What are your top 4-5 picks (stocks or ETFs) for an RRSP with a 15-20 year horizon?

Thanks,

Q: Hi Team,
For an 18 year old who just opened their TFSA and starting with $6500, what stocks or ETFs (CDN and/or US) would you start with? There are no trading fees so there is no worry to buy 10 names if that is the best way forward.
Thanks

Q: Have a small position in ZQQ and an almost full in HXQ. For an RRSP which would be your choice of those 2? or another?

Q: From a global perspective would you favor European, US or international stocks/EFTs to invest at this time ? I would like to diversify my portfolio a little better and therefore sell some Canadian ETFs and purchase European, US and international ETFs .
Thank you . Miroslaw

Q: For a non registered account which etfs would your recommend for broad US and for tech exposure and what max weighting would you recommend allocating to these 2 etfs? Would these 2 etfs be the best for US exposure for the TFSA also or would you suggest different ones?
Thanks for your help.
Victoria

Q: I do not have a representation in my portfolio of the top 7 stocks that driven the markets higher this past year. What would be the best ETF to buy to represent these magnificent 7 as they are called?

Q: Thoughts on the valuation of QQQ right now? It's had a nice run YTD. Is HXQ a good Canadian listed choice?

Q: I am looking to transfer money from my sons RESP into a TFSA. He is working a lot with ample overtime and likely won't require the money to cover tuition etc.. Could you please suggest some Canadian and/or U.S. etfs that would provide a well rounded portfolio to start him on his investing journey.