Investment Q&A

Q: This is a follow up to a previous question about USD ETFs where you suggested IWO for the long term small cap portion of a USD TFSA or USD RRSP. I'm curious why you suggest IWO in particular, as it seems to be a recurring suggestion. I'm partiuclarly interested in a comparison of IWO to IWM, VTWO, VBK and SLYG, how you would distinguish them, and in what situations these others might be preferred over IWO. These others all seem to have lower fees and slightly different composition features. Please take as many question credits as needed - thanks as always for helpful answers.

Q: Good Day, I am wondering if you can recommend any global shipping ETF's or individual stocks

Thanks

Q: Hello folks:

Trying to understand the fees and performances for these ETFs. How come the fees for HXE is so low?! 0.27 as opposed to 0.61 for XEG? and ZEO and of course 1.50 for Ninepoints.(Understandable as it is active mgmt ETF and has a lot of turnover) On fees alone HXE ought to be a winner, no? Yet the results according to the websites don't reflect this...HXE only marginally better compared to XEG. ZEO lags so much. Am I missing something here?

Q: Hi, I'm looking to save and invest $X every week into the market. I could either:

1) Buy etf's as there is really no commission on the purchases
2) Buy individual stocks as the funds accumulate. Commission is only ~$5, what would be the minimum $ amount to invest so that it's worth it?

If I were to choose option 1, what would be your two or three ETF choices for either dividend growth or pure capital gains growth. Same for option 2, what two or three individual dividend growth or growth stocks would you choose to allocate capital to every week or two?

Thanks!

Q: I would like to invest in a silver ETF that holds silver bullion not the miners I have usf to invest.

Could you recommend two ETFs that hold physical silver and trade in USF

Thank you
Paul W

Q: Looking at adding the 3 equities (HMMJ:CA; UL:US; XUSR:CA) to a TFSA. Some questions re: these 3 securities:
(a) is HMMJ:CA a reasonable security for exposure to marijuana sector, or is there another security (preferably, trading in CAD$) that you would recommend?
(b) is UL:US a U.K.-associated security, and hence there would be no tax withholding if held within a TFSA?
(c) is XUSR:CA a reasonable security for ESG exposure (in Canadian dollars) for TFSA, or is there another similar type of security that you would prefer for a TFSA?

Ted

Q: would you recommend a high tec Cdn ETF for TFSA? Would appreciate your reasons. If not high tec ETF, alternative ETF would be appreciated. thank you. Fooklin

Q: Hi 5i,
For the equity part of my portfolio I'm looking to diversify internationally. As a percentage of my total equity portfolio I'm thinking 4%VXUS 2%DLS and 2%DIM. Is 8% international stocks a reasonable number for a conservative investor and is there maybe a better way to adjust the percentages? The equity portfolio will be rebalanced yearly. The bonds and cash part of the portfolio have not been included this is strictly equity.
Thanks

Q: Could I please have your comments on this BMO ETF, it fairly new and states a 6.66 dividend payout, what risks are there , is the income sustainable, I am thinking about using it for income in a RRIF, would my principle be maintained?

Thank-you
Rob C.

Q: Hi team, I presently hold ZWA @t 8.63%, ZWE @ 4.74% and ZDI@ 2.89% of my portfolio. I am very happy with ZWA (up 46%), happy with ZWE (up 5%), and not impressed with ZDI (under water about 5%).
I'm thinking of selling ZDI and either redistributing funds into ZWA or ZWE or into something better at your recommendation. Conversely, would like your thoughts on ZDI? is better performance just waiting for the international economies to rebound after COVID? I'm looking for distribution with growth. As well, I fully understand that portfolio % holdings are individual risks. Convoluted question here but would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. Cheers, Bill

Q: This Nationwide Risk-Managed Income ETF (NUSI) is kind of like a QQQ with downside protection and income from options. Do you think I can use it to protect my investment while the market is in volatility? Or at least I can use it to park some cash while waiting for marketing pullback? Thanks for your excellent service!

Q: I opened an RESP account for my newborn son this year, my goal is to have ~10% annual return and not have to actively manage and rebalance the portfolio. So I plan to just buy and hold VEQT with available funds for the next 10-15 years, then slowly transition to a more balanced VBAL as it gets closer to withdrawal. What are your thoughts on this strategy, and would you recommend another ETF/stocks as a better alternative for the purpose? Thanks!

Q: Hello 5i Team. As a dividend income investor, regarding covered call etf's, what percentage of the overall portfolio would be reasonable weighting to this category? Best Regards gary

Q: There seem to be a number of CAD Hedged NASDAQ 100 ETF options. Which one(s) would you recommend for a couple of young investors, both of whom will be making regular, small contributions - one to an unregistered account and one to an RRSP? Was thinking of pairing with XEQT as both are looking for 100% equity exposure (in CAD). Your thoughts on this or other suggestions to pair with the NASDAQ 100 that may be more suitable would be appreciated. Thanks.

Q: May I please get your thoughts on this ETF? Are there other similar ETFs that have been around longer?

Q: Could you please give us your opinion of this ETF. It would seem to be a good choice for some exposure to the" Metaverse".

Q: Am looking to invest in a Canadian Dividend ETF.
I have researched the above ETF's, they all have pros & cons.
Am leaning slightly towards VDY at this point.
Criteria: Will be in a non-registered account, am after monthly dividend income with
some moderate growth potential. Am not overly concerned with a high weighting in financials, ideally would have a lower MER but am after solid 3-5 year growth.
If forced to choose one only, which ETF would you recommend?
Thanks for the great service,
Steve

Q: Hi 5i Research. I have all the above ETFs in my RRIF. Does it make sense to combine all of these ETFs into one. If so, would XSB be a suitable choice? Thanks very much. Ron

Q: I presently have QQQ and VIG in a USD TFSA, in roughly equal weightings. I'm looking to add one or possibly two more USD ETFs to this TFSA account to diversify a bit more, resulting in rougly 33% or 25% equal weightings depending on whether I end up with three or four in total. If adding just one I would be willing to sacrifice some growth opportunity in favour of some stability and yield in the roughly 3-4% (+/-) range, if possible. If adding two I would prefer something just as described, plus something growth oriented with little or no yield. I'm hoping to minimize duplication or overlap with the existing QQQ and VIG combination, to the extent possible. These would all be securities purchased in USD for long term term holds, and I am not too concerned about the withholding tax on US dividends in a USD TFSA. Can you offer some suggestions? Thanks.

Q: I'm looking at XAW and VEQT as global index funds that (other than Canada in VEQT) have similar exposure. What puzzles me is that XAW has an average P/E ratio of 24, and VEQT has a ratio of 14. I don't see how the Canada exposure at 25% in VEQT can make this much difference. Can you help me understand this apparent anomaly?