Investment Q&A

Q: Hello 5i Team. I'm thinking of starting a small position (1-2%) in LIFE.B (unhedged) in global healthcare for both capital appreciation and yield. Fund would be held in my taxable account for long term hold. Given that holdings are geographically; 55% US and remainder European what will taxation look like? I assume that the 15% withholding tax would be apply to the dividend even with geographic distribution of holdings? Any other tax implications that I need to be aware of? Your recent comments on the fund on May 228/28, 2020 were also very helpful. Thx Steve.

Q: You mentioned VCN as an 'all Canada' approach, but I can't help but comment that it hasn't done very well since 2013 or am I missing something?

Q: Regarding VFV and SPY, yesterday there was a large disparity between these two around 1%. Today VFV is -0.31% and SPY is +0.30%. I know there is currency involved, but this seems like quite a difference on a higher volume ETF. Any thoughts?

Also, VUN seems to outperform VFV over the longer term. It is not much more in MER - would you choose VUN over VFV for a 10 year hold?

Q: For Canada, US and international exposure, is there just one, or do I need a few?

Q: Hey 5i,

As a follow up. What are your top picks US/CDN REIT ETF's
You'd recommend for a longterm hold.

Thank you for all the great advice!

Q: Hi there,
I'm looking for complete coverage in Canada from small cap to large. No fixed income please. Any ideas?

Q: Thank you verymuch for your answer to my rather meandering question the ther day. I suppose the gist of the question was whether, given the dangers of these two etf's in the present context, whether i should move away from indexing and pick individual stocks. You say that if i pick a good selection of ten individual stocks, i should have good diversificatin and might not benefit that much from an etf. The big fear i have of individual stocks, though, is of one of them blowing up or being severely disabled. That is in my view the main thing that an etf would help me with. Now, i know that no one else can make these decisions for someone else. It helps me to clarify the problem by running it by knowledgable people like yourselves. Thanks

Q: HI TEAM
XHY IS APPROX 10% AND THE OTHER 3 ARE 30% EACH OF THE BOND PORTION OF MY PORTFOLIO, WHER WOULD YOU ADD FUNDS AS I NEED TO TOP UP MY BONDS

Q: I found your article regarding the difference between the Fang stocks and a small cap stock index very informative and interesting. Perhaps an even more interesting comparison, at least for me, is the difference in performance between VOO and RSP. One a market weighted US etf and the other an equal weighted. There is quite a large divergence between these two in the past while. VOO has the top five holdings as Fang stocks--over 20% of the total portfolio. RSP has no fang stocks in the top ten.
It has me thinking. But, what conclusion to draw? I have been wanting to move away from individual stocks to etf's, especially in my US holdings. But, this makes me wonder whether I wouldn't be a lot better with individual stocks, say the top ten that you mentionned in response to a question today. In that way I wouldn't be burdened down with a group of non performers, as in RSP, nor too heavily invested in Fang stocks, as in VOO, in the event of a future crash.
I know that it is not too good to change strategies often but I am quite perturbed by this. I don't know if you can offer a comment on this or not. But, I appreciate 5i as a sounding board and any comments you have are always helpful and useful
thanks

Q: Hi team,

What do you think of UFO for space play? It think the space should do well in the coming years with the USA now depending on homemade solutions. If you agree, is there any company or ETF you would suggestion in place of this UFO?

P.S: I, as one of your early members, must say that I wish you would have allowed questions on US stocks much earlier. And I am relieved to hear that you are going to continue with this added value service. I keep coming to this site indeed because I want to learn from your answering questions about the US stocks. It is not a secret that Canadian Markets have hugely under-performed their US counterparts.

Thanks for all you do for us!

Q: I have just $10,000 U.S. to purchase something with. I heard Brookshire Hathaway is sitting on a whack of money and that the valuation was pretty good. This will be my only US holding currently and wondered if an ETF would be better? Not worried about risk and could get 100 Roku, if you think that might be rewarding? Thank you so much for making the stock market fun and interesting for an amateur.

Q: Follow up question from a few weeks ago. I am planning on combining XUU (20% of my portfolio), VIU (15%), VEE (5%) in to just XAW, but was wondering if there is any concern of having 40% of my portfolio in just one ETF (as large and diversified as it is.....). Thanks for your opinion.

Q: I hold a 5.9% position in ZWU in a registered account. I have surplus US cash in a non-registered account to put to work and was thinking of XLU which yields approx 3.4%. I realize this distribution will be treated as income by CRA [I am retired - low tax bracket] but it seems better than letting the funds just sit. If you could offer other suggestions I'd appreciate them. Thanks.....

Q: Hi
Would it be a wise to replace the 4 mentioned above with ITOT in my RRSP.

Thank you Mike.

Q: I am considering Investing in a couple of Uranium ETFs (US or Canadian), one for producers and one that is more speculative. I would appreciate your suggestions.
With appreciatiopn,
Ed

Q: Hi Gentleman,
I'm looking to simplify my portfolio on both the Canadian and US side.
Looking for your suggestions on your top 1-4 ETF's that trade on the TSX that would provide diversification by sector and globally as well as a dividend that would be safe? The same question for your top 1-4 ETF's on the US side. Long term holds 10-15 years. portfolio size is $500,000.
Thanks,
SF

Q: Hi 5i team,
I am looking for your opinion on which of these would be your choice to play the crypto market? What are the +/- of each in your opinion? This would be a mad money investment. Thank you

Q: I am looking for safety with essentially no downside but a return greater than a 6 month GIC (hoping for better in 2021). A Dynamic Alpha Performance II Fund Series A - FE has been recommended (not sure which series actually). I am skeptical given the high MER. I would very much appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.

Q: I'm looking to convert a RESP invested in mutual fund (chorus II agressive growth) to lower fees and menage it more actively. Kids are 5 and 2 years old.

I was thinking to diversify with 3 or 4 ETF for 70% of this portfolio. What are your thoughts about a combinaison of VFV, XIC, XIT, ZQQ and DXG for long term? Do you have better suggestions?

Althought, is investing in XIT and ZQQ and DXG a good idea on short term since tech valuation is already high at this moment compared to other sectors?

For the rest of portfolio (30%), i would go with stocks. What would be your top 4 on short term (next 6-12 months) and on long term?

Q: Morning, 5iTeam,

I am thinking taking a position in XLB and XSB. Would this move make a good pair trade in your opinion?
Cheers,