Investment Q&A

Q: If a full position in a stock portfolio is typically around 5%, the portfolio would contain approx 20 individual holdings. What is the similar tactic for an etf portfolio?

Q: Hello, Would you please provide your comments on EQL as a safety play (reduce MAG7 weight) to VFV? I hold a very oversized position between VFV & VOO and am looking for your recommendation for an equal weight in CA$. Could you also provide a US$ version that you would recommend?
Thank you.

Q: can you tell me 1) if there is any difference in XEF and ZDM in terms of tax efficiency and 2) which accounts are best to hold these ETFs in in terms of tax efficiency (please rank from best to worse) ?
thanks

Q: can you tell me if holding VEE, ZEM, or XEC has any advantage over the other in terms of tax efficiency? Also, can you rank order in terms of which account emerging market etf should be held for tax efficiency (please rank best to worse).
thanks

Q: Hi,

I'm low on healthcare according to the analytics tool. I have held XHC for a few years now and it's showing just a small gain. Is there anything a bit more "growthy" or should I just add to XHC?

Thanks
Robert

Q: These two have me scratching my head. I invested a few months back, believing that lower interest rates were likely ahead in 2024 and longer bonds would do well. After a decent start, they are drifting downwards which doesn't make much sense when no one seems to see higher rates headed our way. Is it de-risking going on, and other investments look better? Am I missing something here or is it just a case of having patience with the plan? Also, Happy New Year to all of you at 5i. al

Q: I am considering making an investment in this ETF. I understand that it basically follows the returns of the S & P 500 and is equally weighted. Any information you may have on this ETF would be appreciated. Do you consider it a good investment. I look forward to your timely comments. Thank You.

Q: Can you recommend any small or medium cap, US dollar denominated ETFs, that don’t have any dividends, phantom dividends, ROC, etc? Only looking for a capital gain/loss.

Q: 3 years ago I divided my pension 50/50 between MFS Global Equity and Schroder Emerging Markets in an effort to increase my international exposure. I had been 100% in the MFS Global Equity Fund and would have been much better off had I stayed there. I have a couple of options as I see it:

1) Move back to 100% MFS Global Equity Fund (portfolio drops to 20-25% international)
2) Stay the course (portfolio stays at 30% international)
3) #1 plus allocate some non-registered funds to an international ETF to get portfolio back to 30% international (suggestions?)

Q: Dear 5i,
Could you please add this new US listed ETF: Cambria's MYLD
Could you also please provide your high level thoughts on it's investing strategy to gain exposure to micro and small caps stocks. AUM is low at 2.5M but it headed by Meb Faber who is fairly well known in the investment community. He uses a similar strategy for Cambria's other shareholder yield products; SYLD, FYLD, EYLD

Q: The last question for this ETF was in August of 2021. What is your latest assessment?

Thanks.

Q: I am thinking of adding some HSUV.U to my cash account to earn interest on some U.S. cash that I hold. Do you think that this is a good time to purchase this fund, or is it selling at a premium now, and would it be better to wait? Also can you confirm that the gains are taxed as capital gains in Canada, and is there U.S. withholding tax on the gains? Also, can you suggest a better option with better tax treatment?

Q: Happy New Year 5i group,

My son setup his FHSA with TD bank, the advisor set up his account and bought "TDB866" mutual fund. Could you please provide comments on this fund's future prosperity? He hopes the money in the account can grow nicely to purchase a property in a few years. thanks.

Q: If an ETF distributes a high proportion of ROC every year ,and if I never sell this ETF,could the adjusted book value become "negative" at some point ? If not,this would mean that the maximum capital gain would always be limited to the NAV if sold ,even if the distributions ,after many years, would exceed the adjusted book value ! there is also a tax advantage as long as it is not sold..

Q: Hello and Happy New Year,

Can you please provide a simple ETF portfolio for the average middle-class Canadian, with no private pension, and who has some time to watch the markets but not a lot, and who just wants to commit to a dollar-cost averaging investing plan for the next 20 years?

Thanks,
Robert

Q: With the pull back do you think this is a good way to play US home builders?

Q: Could you please recommend a couple of equal weight S&P 500 ETF's with low MER's, thank you. Please note if there is any hidden fees outside the MER.

Q: Please suggest some defence spending etfs. Thanks.

Q: Indications are that the market breathe is improving and therefore various analysts are recommending the small cap Russel 2000 index. Would you agree and therefore have a suggestion or suggestions of how to invest in this potential opportunity. My other question is would there be a Russell 2000 ETF that you would recommend and a Russell 2000 high growth ETF that you know of?

Thank you

Kim

Q: SRLN looks unsafe at first glance. the yield at over 8% p.a. looks high. Morningstar gives SRLN a neutral rating (forward looking) and 2 stars looking backward. Morningstar is often out of date, and there is better information at ETF.com. Your Bloomberg is not available to us commoners.

I ask this this question because bank-owned brokers make it difficult and/or expensive to buy bonds. Information and pricing on bonds are not easily searchable. Every time I force myself to look at asset allocation, the robotic tools I use scream at me that I am mad in that I zero fixed income. This brought me to look at bond ETFs and I acquired some USHY which looked decent, but that doesn’t quieten those pesky AI tools that help self-directed investors.

Is SRLN a reasonable enough proxy to add to the fixed income part of one’s portfolio? Or is it risky compared to other available US$ bond ETFs? I’d welcome substance in your response and if you care to add links to materials that pedestrian investors like me should look at, that could help. Many thanks.