Investment Q&A

Q: I am concerned that the next few months will be as volatile as the past month as the US continues its tariff agenda. Do you think it is a good strategy to invest in other currencies. If so what is your opinion of these two ETF's. (Swiss Franc & Japanese Yen)

Thanks Stew

Q: With inflation in Canada edging up, and concerns that tarriffs are inflationary, is it a good time to move to shorter duration bonds? The counter is that if a recession hits interst rates may decrease. What is your take on the timing of all this, and how best to position a bond portfolio?

Q: Canadian HISA accounts do not have such good yields anymore. And the income is taxed as interest. I was looking at my 2022, 2023 tax returns and the revenue from canadian ETF like ZAG, XSB, XLB was mostly ROC. If I’m not wrong, thus, much more tax efficient? Wouldn’t be a good idea to switch from HISA to XSB, XBB, etc to park money in the next few months?

Do you know if high-Yield ETFs are taxed the same way (ROC) ?
USD-HISA are more generous so the logic might be different.
Thanks.

Q: Hello, looking at UMAX, the price went from 16$ to 14$ in less than 2 years. Is it because the NAV is going down because of the dynamics of covered calls? Sould we expect a steady price erosion for the foreseeable future? It’s nice to have 13+% annual distribution but if we have a corresponding capital loss, I am not sure it makes sense. Can this ever be a long term hold? Thanks.

Q: Hi Peter,
For non registered accounts, please advise your best picks for European Equity ETFs that have ample room for growth and can withstand this volatile market. Dividends are not important. I also look for Asia ETFs that have a high percentage of holdings in China and to a lesser degree in South Korea. Please advise of your best picks. Brief explanation of reasoning for these picks is appreciated.

Q: Hello 5i, I am looking at Global X DAX ETF and Vanguard FTSE Europe all cap index VE to diversify my portfolio? Could provide an analysis and recommendations for both? Thank you in advance!

Q: For some diversity on the US side of my portfolio, I added both ZLU and ZVU. It has now been roughly three years since I bought them and ZLU has averaged 12% including distributions while ZVU has averaged 1.5%. What do you think selling ZVU and adding to ZLU, or buying ZDY? The goal is to offset some of the volatility from my growthier US stocks which include many of the top names in the S&P 500 Index. Thank you.

Q: A friend is several years from retirement and is in this (quite good) finanical situation: a teacher who will get an Ontario Teachers' indexed DB pension, CPP and OAS. Owns a modest home in Toronto with no mortgage. No dependents. No debt. Can supplement income after retirement by continuing to teach at about a 20% course load. These income sources would more than cover her living expenses.
She also has an RSP that is currently managed by a financial advisor and holds mutual funds. Friend is asking if she should leave the advisor due to fees and his very conservative management. The RSP has underperformed the markets for an extended period. He sold her holdings at COVID bottom "to avoid further losses" and has said that "at her age" (about 60) she should stay away from equities and hold money market funds or bonds. Since my friend is not financially sophisticated, but is interested in learning, I am thinking a self-directed RSP holding several ETFs might be an alternative for her. Could you suggest three to five ETFs that would provide more growth potential in the 8 to 10 years before mandatory RIF conversion.

Q: Peter; What would be a French large cap ETF to cover their major corps? Thanks .
Rod

Q: Which are presently your top picks for Canadian and US ETF's for each sectors ? Which ones would you consider buying now ? Entry prices ?
Please take as many credits to answer this as required.

Gratefully,

Jacques IDS

Q: What do you think of these two etfs looking at the charts hdif has done better then xei and pays double the dividend. With a dividend over 10% is it safe which one would you prefer for a dividend investor.

Q: What are your thoughts on HMAX (Hamilton Etf) and Petroleo Brasileiro NYSE: PBR
Thanks,
Carlos

Q: I am interested on your view of these two types of investments in this period of volatile markets: one being preferred shares of FFH, the other relating to treasuries.
Would either be suitable at this time?
Would one be preferred over the other?
Would you have preferred suggestions?

Q: I right now have 100,000 in cash (Canadian Dollars) that I want to keep in Money Market ETFs for the Short Term.

I have been trying to find the yield for all of the above and it is not easy because most of them show me the annualized yield. Interest rates have come down several times in the last year so the annual yield is not the best way to compare the above funds.

Which of the two funds above do you recommend, the reasons why and what is the current yield on it.

My brokerage account is with Questrade and they do not offer any of their own High Interest Savings Accounts like TD Direct Investing.

Thank You.

Q: For long term investment what would be a neutral proportion of bonds in terms of distribution among these 4 or are there better options? Currently sitting on 17% cash which I intend to redeploy in stocks when we have better clarity, 36% XBB, 26% XLB, 12% XHY and 9$ XSB for 100% of my bond/cash portfolio.
Thank you.
Yves

Q: I've recently sold partial positions of NA companies and am interested in shifting some funds to the EU, specifically the industrial/defense sector. Would you please comment on the above symbols and any other suggestions. And please...everyone...buy Canadian.

Q: Peter; Yesterday you mentioned a European ETF( VE) . Can you tell me how much of it is invested in Germany -and is there a German ETF that covers their main big cap companies?
Thanks,
Rod

Q: Hi, I enquired earlier about the double whammy of withholding taxes on some Chinese etf like FXI. Are there any CHINA broad etfs that don't have to pay this double tax?

If not, are there any other options? Are there CDN etfs that dont pay the double tax?

Q: A follow up to my recent question on buffer ETFs. You referred me to the CIBC website on CDRs. I am sure this was not your intended answer. Thank you

Q: I am holding some cash on the sides. I was wondering if there was a way to put some of it into an ETF, perhaps a money market fund that holds foreign (non US) currency. Either a basket of stable currencies or something like the Euro or Swiss Franc. The idea is risk avoidance against a sudden sharp drop in the CDN dollar (and perhaps US$ too) given the current situation. I already hold several ETFs that hold Euro stocks but would like lower risk.