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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: I am building an ETF portfolio with 10 below ETF. I know there are overlap stocks. Am I overweight in any given sector? I will be planning to buy below ETF over the next few months. Can you please advise if my asset allocation is ok. Do you think I need to own all below ETF or just increase Allocation and own few ETFs. This will be my Total Portfolio.

FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap Index ETF 7.19%
iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF (CAD-Hedged) 18.16%
iShares Core S&P U.S. Total Market Index ETF 21.25%
Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap ex Canada Index ETF 11.76%
BMO NASDAQ 100 EQUITY HEDGED CAD IDX CAD 11.43%
First Trust Cloud Computing ETF
3.04%
FDELITY MSCI INFO TECH 3.08%
iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF 3.57%
ISHARES NASDAQ BIOTECHNOLGY ETF 2.39%
iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF 2.10%

Thanks for the great service
Hector
Read Answer Asked by Hector on March 14, 2019
Q: I'm interested in this ETF for the international portion of our portfolio because I like the dividend yield as well as the countries it is invested in. But it is very small and only recently opened by Vanguard in August with very low trade volumes. What happens to investors money if an ETF folds? What are your thoughts on this ETF? Are there other ETF's with similar yield and country diversification?
Read Answer Asked by Lisa on March 14, 2019
Q: I have a very good gain this year and my technical are telling me we will be probably in a sideways or slightly down market until the fall and I am looking at a combination of zwh and zlu to put the harvested gains. my question is where they fit in my portfolio either in a registered account or non registered acct. if you could help me with this small problem it would be appreciated. thanks for the great service...gene-
Read Answer Asked by gene on March 13, 2019
Q: I hold HBF in a non registered account 5%. Based on total return I’m barely above water. It’s good for income , 7%, . I’ve been investing mainly in quality dividend stocks and have done quite well on dividend income and growth. Mainly investing in CO’s that have a history of increasing dividends, aristocratic family. This is the only etf in the portfolio. Any suggestions as to a replacement?
Read Answer Asked by Roy on March 13, 2019
Q: I know 5i has been cautious on levered ETF's. That said, what are the most liquid levered gold ETF's with the lowest fees (long and short, respectively)?
Read Answer Asked by CAMERON on March 13, 2019
Q: Hi Team,
I am putting a note on my personal file for my wife in case I ever become unable to manage our household portfolio. Inspired by Buffet, I thought having 3 years of cash and the rest of the portfolio in something like VCNS, re-balancing annually, would offer a diversified and conservative portfolio that would be very easy to manage and meet ongoing needs.

One of your recent answers suggested not exceeding, I believe, 25% in any one ETF or fund. If I were to follow that rule, I would need to come up with the equivalent of VCNS in a few funds.

Would it make sense to simply tell my wife that instead of buying only VCNS, buy all the constituent ETFs held by VCNS, in the same proportions held by VCNS, and rebalancing annually?

That would mean holding the following:
AB.TO Vanguard Canadian Aggregate Bond ETF 35.74%
VUN.TO Vanguard US Total Market ETF 15.45%
VBG.TO Vanguard Global ex-US Aggt Bd ETF CAD-H 14.00%
VCN.TO Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap ETF 11.91%
VBU.TO Vanguard US Aggregate Bond ETF CAD-H 10.94%
VIU.TO Vanguard FTSE Dev AC ex Nrth Amer ETF 9.08%
VEE.TO Vanguard FTSE Emerging Mkts All Cap ETF 2.87%

Can you think of a simpler way to go here?

Thank you very much. Michael
Read Answer Asked by Michael on March 12, 2019
Q: Have a limited amount to spend and wondered how you view ATCO considering the Kitimat deal. I currently hold ZEF and have noticed that you like VEE. Would I be best off changing to VEE?
Read Answer Asked by Bonnie on March 12, 2019
Q: My 14 month total return for this preferred share etf is - 7.53%. It should provide better downside protection than HAZ , so maybe having a ten year time horizon would be better, and just look at it as part of a diversified income portfolio. Would you step into HAZ at this time if you needed Dividend income?
Thanks Gord
Read Answer Asked by Gordon on March 12, 2019
Q: I've just started contributing to an RRSP this year. I would like to implement an indexing strategy for the most part since I wont be using the money for 30+ years. I've only looked at vanguard so far: VOO, VFV, VSP and maybe VOOG. My question is, would it be better to use a canadian fund etf that tracks the s&p 500 like vfv, or would it be better to use one in american dollars like voo. If I do go with Canadian, should I go with a hedged one such as VSP? Or perhaps a mixture?

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Danielle on March 12, 2019
Q: Could you please suggest one or two currency hedged bond ETFs to compliment ZAG. This would be for a long term core position. I am trying to slowly increase my bond exposure and my only other holding is ZAG. I prefer to ex out currency fluctuations for my bond allocations, hence looking for hedged position. My initial thought was VBU. Your thoughts are always appreciated.
Read Answer Asked by Aaron on March 12, 2019
Q: Hi there,

My questions is about xlre and SRET and the degree of risk associated with these 2 stocks. I currently have xlre and was thinking taking 20% of my position and investing in SRET - 1. for the higher dividend and 2. for the international exposure. Both would be held in a 401K and i only pay 2.95 a trade so taxes and trading fees aren't really a consideration.

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by kelly on March 12, 2019
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