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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: With a 20 year time frame, my daughter has some money to invest in her portfolio which consists of:
Canada: PDC (25%) ZAG (30%), Money Market (10%).
US: XUS (20%), ZQQ (5%),
Europe: XEU (10%)
If the US and China reach a trade deal she might move 5% from Money Market to ZEM.
Given that the bull market is long in the tooth, would it make sense to move XUS to VGG? The composition of VGG appears more defensive and the reduction in technology stocks is compensated by her position in ZQQ. Growth has been similar, the dividends and BETA are about the same, and VGG's MER is lower (.08 vs. .11). Your advice would be appreciated.
Read Answer Asked by Ken on February 25, 2019
Q: Any suggestions on the best approach to separating out China from emerging markets exposure? I own XCH in both my RRSP and RESP accounts, but want some control over how much emerging markets international exposure is in China vs elsewhere.
There are US ex-China ETFs but haven't found anything comparable in Canada. Canadian ETFs seem to have 20%+ of Chinese exposure, which I'd like to avoid holding XCH already.

Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Yasin on February 25, 2019
Q: ..given growing expectations of a Canadian recession, i'm thinking of moving away from utilities into fixed income. how do you expect XBB, XSB and HFR to perform in comparison to ZWU if a recession occurs. thanks, great service.
Read Answer Asked by Curtis on February 25, 2019
Q: When the "XTR" etf is part of a non-registered account (not RRSP nor TFSA ) : 1) Are the dividends from any US ETFs included in XTR submitted to a taxation within XTR (so before any payment of dividends by XTR) ? 2) Is it the same for Canadian dividends included in ETFs within XTR? 3) In such case, for US dividends, can this be considered like a “double taxation” at the end? 4) What is the percentage of taxation of dividends from a US ETF included in XTR , if taxed before XTR distributions ? Regards Jean-Yves
Read Answer Asked by Jean-Yves on February 22, 2019
Q: Hi 5i team,
Canadian financials account for 24% of our portfolio and 2% of this is in MFC in my TFSA account. I've held it for a number of years and I am up 50%. Presently, our total holdings are 60% Canada; 30% US and 10% International. I am thinking of selling MFC and replacing it with a US ETF or a fairly safe growth stock. I only have 1% in healthcare (split evenly between VHT and UNH in TFSA account) and am considering topping up based on MFC sale. Would appreciate your thoughts on this move. Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Martha on February 22, 2019
Q: I'm interested in REITs in general (looking for income as a new retiree), but would rather invest in an ETF than try to pick winners and losers myself. RIT appears to have a good track record and yield of 4.68%, yet net assets are just under $400M. Is this relatively small asset base cause for concern? Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Maureen on February 22, 2019
Q: Hi Guys

I am about to receive about 500k inheritance . I would like to invest it for income. I was thinking of just buying CDZ or would you recommend a basket of equities. My wife and I are both in our early 60s.I have a self directed account with Action direct. Thanks in advance

Mike
Read Answer Asked by Michael on February 22, 2019
Q: In response to a question this morning regarding ZQQ, XQQ, and HXQ, you stated that the fees for HXQ are lower than the other two. Are the swap fees included in the overall fees? Do the swap fees cause a drag on the return of HXQ?
Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Dennis on February 22, 2019
Q: which of the 3 ETF listed do you like the best? I am looking at buying the HXQ as it is not hedge but notice from reading the liquidity is not very good so if there was a problem would it hard to get out of this ETF if needed?
Thanks
Read Answer Asked on February 22, 2019
Q: What are your views on each of these relatively new ETFs.
Their returns since inception appear to be impressive 19.9%,19.4%,10.8%,& 9.8 respectfully.
Possibly, investable in my wife's RIF?
Read Answer Asked by Henry on February 21, 2019
Q: I manage a portfolio for my mother and I am looking for an investment which will NOT generate any income (Interest or Dividends). This will be about 20% of her portfolio and reside in a non Registered account. I have come up with the two ETF's above to provide diversification in both CA and US. Would there be better alternatives I could consider in individual stocks or other ETF's. All other investment's are in TFSA and RRIF accounts and she will never need the capital. So this is a long term investment.
Read Answer Asked by Terry on February 21, 2019
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