Investment Q&A

Q: I am looking to invest in what could be broadly described as some 'green' companies. These could be involved in power generation, carbon recapture or post consumer recycling to name a few options.
Would you be able to direct me to any funds, etf's or specific firms that may meet (or partially meet) these requirements?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you

Q: Hi 5i team,
Among the 'actively managed' bond ETFs , what are your top picks and why for Canadian bonds, for US bonds and for Int'l bonds. Would prefer canadian listed if available. Thanks.

Q: Can you recommend a couple of good quality Chinese ETFs, preferably CAD but US okay too. Thank you.

Q: To park my cash, I have been using the TD Investment Savings account TDB8150 (CDN) paying 1.6% and TDB8152 (US) paying 1.45%. I just saw your answer about PSA and PSU High Interest Savings ETFs that pay in the range of 2.25%....I assume these returns are net of fees?. On the surface, it seems a no brainer that I should move into PSA and PSU, however, I wanted to check to see if there was any downside (increased risk, lower liquidity, etc) that I should be considering. Thanks

Q: Hello, in reference to my question yesterday
would you favour exposure to CGL.C directly over exposure to XGD? Which one do you prefer - hedged or unhedged? And why?

Q: Just a follow up on the XEF. Would the 37%(mostly japan) Asia component be adequate for an emerging market exposure or would you want a true ETF like the ZEM you mentioned to go along with XEF?

Q: Hi,

I am looking for a US-dollar equivalent for the Canadian dollar Purpose High Interest Savings ETF (PSA.TO).

Would Purpose US Cash ETF (PSU.U.TO) paying 2.23% fit the bill or is there a better option that you are aware of.

Thank you. Michael

Q: Looking for a decent emerging market tax friendly ( non registered account) ETF to complement ZDI, or can you suggest 1 ETF that has a combination of emerging and developed (international) exposure.
Would the distributions be eligible for the canadian dividend tax credit in ZDI or the one you recommend?
thanks
jeff

Q: I have been investing in ETFs for several years, using a simple 5 ETF portfolio which includes VCN (27%), XUU (27%), XEF (19%), XEC(7%), and ZAB (20%). When I use the portfolio analytics, the suggested ETF portfolio includes about 15 ETFs. Just wondering what if the added complication of the additional funds is worth the effort. I assume that yours has better downside protection as it reduces some of the concentrated sectors and perhaps has better returns? My portfolio has grown in size over the past years so I am ok with the additional work to manage the portfolio, just wanted to better understand why.

Thanks,

Q: I have the following ETF's in the noted ratios and dividend yields %: HDV (3x) 3.32%, ZDV (2x) 5.37%, XTR (1.8x)5.88%, ZWU (1.7x) 6.60%, and CDZ (1x) 4.66%. I'm a dividend investor and good for 3-5 years. If we hit some hard times which of these would be hit the hardest? Any duplication? Should I drop one or more and add to others?

Q: The exchange-traded fund Invesco S&P 500® (Symbol RSP) and SPDR® S&P 500 (Symbol SPY) both track the S&P 500. Their historic charts are nearly identical, as one would expect.

SPY units trade at about $300 while RSP units trade at about a third of that.

Why the difference?

Q: I currently own rid.ca and am looking to replace it with a better performing etf. What would be your suggestion?
Earl

Q: Hello, I have been thinking about having some gold exposure in my RRSP acct.
What are you thoughts on WPM and XGD or can you suggest others you like and why?

Q: Is this a buy now or should I wait for a pullback? Is the MER reasonable?

Q: Tax advantaged ETFs, those that flowed through interest or dividend income as lower taxed capital gains, were supposedly going to be disallowed in new federal tax legislation (Budget proposal). Did this legislation ever pass into law? Do such ETFs still have a life? Thanks in advance, Ron W

Q: I am a retired conservative dividend income investor. I've held Sentry Global REIT for years (love the 6% distribution) and have been monitoring its performance as compared to ZRE and XRE. I didn't mind paying the 2.4% MER as long as it was outperforming. However, on a total return basis, Sentry has lagged significantly and I have sold it today.

With interest rates appearing to be on the decline and, more importantly, for portfolio asset allocation, I still want to have REIT exposure. I am leaning towards ZRE, due to the equal weight nature (as opposed to XRE).

I am normally a long term buy-and-hold investor. ZRE has had a good run recently, but I think the future still looks good, due to the macro environment. Your thoughts?

My target REIT allocation is 7.5%. I also have a position in CSH.

Thanks for your help...Steve

Q: What do you think about XIT in a cash account? It looks like 75% of the holdings are Shopify, CGI Group, and Constellation Software. With a MER of .60 for this ETF would you just buy the 3 stocks in equal weighting or buy the ETF to have the small holdings as well?

Thanks

Q: Where would you put the money portion of your US and Canadian portfolio now?Thanks

Q: Greetings 5i

I continue to focus in on dividend producers that offer security as I enter retirement. At the present time in my TFSA I already have a 20% weighting in VBAL and 5% in XRE. I have another 5% to allocate which will be coming from my sale of BAD as I slowly transition to more security. Which do you suggest as the best alternative? Any other suggestions?

I know VBAL and XRE are very different in context and dividend payout so I need your insight. What I do know is that I’m having a great long ride with Shopify. For that I’m happy not to receive a dividend. Thanks 5i!

Peter

Q: Hi Guys
I have no Healthcare stocks in my portfolio, i was thinking of purchasing the above Mutual fund to cover it. What weighting would you recommend and would you buy 50% now, or take a full weighting. Maybe taking a full weighting is fine as i will not be selling this purchase for years to come. However 2 years out we might see this fund drop maybe 40%..
Your opinion please.