Investment Q&A

Q: It appears that this ETF has changed recently as required by the Liberals. Is this a taxable conversion or is there an option to treat this otherwise?

Q: Is ZFH a reasonably safe holding for the income part of a portfolio? What sort of factors will impact its price? and its distributions?
thanks for your good service.

Q: I have some dollars I wish to invest in the US market via a hedged etf. Question: do you prefer I go down to a mid-cap etf or use a total market etf. Thank you. Bill

Q: Would it be a good time to invest in American banks and financial institutions for a 2 to 3 year hold? If so,can you recommend a Canadian etf that you like and hedged or unhedged? Thank you.

Q: I am trying to quantify the new political risk owning this name. With the transaction for GBT being in Brazilian Reals I expect most of its revenue is in Brazil, however your report mentions Argentina and Chile as potentially unstable and there is a total of 10 Latin countries it operates in.
Can you break down the revenue sources for GBT by country please?

Q: Hello,could you recommend some ETFs that hold US financials(banks) ?
Thanks

Q: Good Afternoon,
Any thoughts on the pros and cons of owning a physical Gold Trust (PHYS) to hold in your brokerage account or actual gold bars stored in a secure vault somewhere? I suppose the obvious would be you can easily see and track the PHYS daily in your account and provide instant liquidity if one chooses to sell. I know you have to be careful with some Gold ETf's and products out there that don't really have the gold to back the paper but that is not the case for PHYS. Do you see any benefit in purchasing actual gold bars? Insurance & storage costs, illiquid and not easy access would be strikes against holding the physical metal.
Any thoughts on this?
Thank-you

Q: I am wondering if u would clarify an article I read about the refiners benefitting from a new 2020 ruling about ships having to use what is called gasoil stating in January with the implication being the refiners should benefit nicely over the next two years. Beside psx there is also the etf to consider, which would u prefer. Thank you

Q: Hi 5i

I bought ZPR (9.60) a few years ago below $10, sold a year or so later for 11.70. With it sub 10 again I am looking to repeat. Do you think div will stay close to current amount? And am I correct that it has moved down in step with interest rates due to the rate resets? Will this lead to it moving up again when we are in a rising rate environment?

Thanks, Greg

Q: Hello Peter and colleagues
I am trying to develop a simple but effective portfolio. What would be your opinion and recommended percentages on a simple portfolio including these ETFs: XIC, VFV, VXUS
Would you recommend adding more ETFs while keeping it simple? and if so, what would be the percentage of each. Do you recommend replacing VFV with VTI? and why?
Please deduct as many points as needed.
Thanks

Q: May I please have your opinion of FDD - First Trust Dow Jones Stoxx European Select Dividend Index Fund for European Exposure. Thanks in advance.

Q: Hello Peter,
I was thinking of investing in a us small cap etf. I was leaning towards Schwab US small cap etf ,SCHA. Any comments or can you suggest one? Also, if you have a us small cap trading on tsx, would appreciate it. Thank you.

Q: Hello Crew
I'm looking for a Canadian domiciled etf similar to IGRO or VIGI.
thank you. gary

Q: Adding to a TSX comp index fund I tried to pick stocks from the balanced portfolio and others you have reports on. I'm struggling to put in the time I think required to manage 20 Canadian stocks. I'm considering buying WXM and reducing down to about 10 stocks. Anything faulty in this plan? Do you like WXM and are there other similar ETFs you can recommend i should consider?

Q: Looking to increase my fixed income exposure. Currently hold CBO, XBB, and CPD (preferreds). Thinking of adding XHY in addition to these, would you recommend additional ETF's in this space to help diversify?

Q: Hello Crew
I am nearly retired and I like a total growth approach (dividends plus capital appreciation). During a down market however I don't wish to sell my capital appreciation funds for living expenses. Therefore, my question is what ETF's can I pair -dividends vs capital appreciation that that might serve that end. Examples ZLB/ZDV, XMI/VIGI/ZWE, VGG/XMU/ZWH..your suggestions are appreciated
regards gary

Q: 1.opinion please on hgy make any sense on a way to play gold with good monthly income? 2.cgl hedged or non hedged? TKS.Larry

Q: What ETF is best for unhedged global dividends I am currently looking at HAZ. I want to invest here, but not sure if it is my best option. Suggestion please.

Q: Hello 5i,


I am wanting to move more into US and rest of world, as the analytics program directs me.
Due to a sale in my tfsa, i will have US dollars that i can then put in my non registered account. ( i will fill the tfsa once afain from that same non registered account). I was wondering what to buy with these US dollars, though. I dont want to lose too much of. The divident break we have for US stocks in the Rif, so i was looking for low or no dividend yield candidates. One problem encountered is that in my non Canadian portfolio, i am moving away from individual stocks and towards etf's. Harder to find low or no dividend payers.

VEA was one I was looking at.

In the 5i portfolio tracking and analysis it says that vea has a yield of 1.89, which although not ideal, maybe something we could live with. When i go on the bmo site, though, it seems to indicate a yield of 2.99, which is becoming less livable.

I imagine you are riht about the dividend. But, would like to be sure. Also, do you see the 1.89 yield as being too high for a non registered account? Thanks once again

Q: If the U.S. dollar takes a big hit in the next couple of years, maybe a 20% drop can you explain what would happen to the value of say ZTL. the CDN dollar version of the u.s. long term treasury bond. TLT has been the place to be ever since rates started falling over the last 20 years. On a currency devaluation i would think people would head for the exits pretty quickly?
thanks Gord