Investment Q&A

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.

Q: Hello 5i,
What do you think about CSD lately? I couldn't help but the notice the large amount of redemptions with their last report.

Thanks in advance.

Q: PHYS.U is traded in TSX in USD and PHY.US is traded in NYSE. Are they basically the same? What are the differences between them? Is the one traded in NYSE considered as US situs property for estate tax purposes of being domiciled in the USA? Thanks. Have a good day guys!

Q: Follow your balanced portfolio and hold the above etfs for american exposure.. Vgg has performed better over the last 18 months. Thinking of selling vun, vfv and buying vgg. What do you think? T steve

Q: Greetings 5i,

Looking for global Reit exposure. Thoughts on REET:US would be appreciated as I am attracted to the higher yield. Any other suggestions or perhaps a CDN denominated global reit you also feel comfortable suggesting.

Cheers!

Q: Greetings,
I currently own ZWH, XQQ, and VUN as part of my US focus in my portfolio. I am looking to add another name or two. Time frame 5+ years. I prefer to remain with Canadian ETFs investing in the US. First of all, do you see too much overlap here? I have room to add to all 3. Can you provide 3 stable dividend ETFs you might suggest to add and a couple of growth ETFs that might complement my current holdings? Thanks in advance. KEN

Q: Peter,

What do you think of the low volatility ETF's especially in our current environment? Do recommend them as part of a balanced portfolio?
Thanks for your valuable service.

GM

Q: YOUR THOUGHTS ON ZZZD ETF THANKS

Q: Gentlemen, good morning
From G&M “Purpose Investments Inc. launched the first corporate-class series of ETFs in Canada in 2013, and today about half of its funds use this structure, including its flagship equity fund, Purpose Core Dividend Fund.”
Can you please named the others tax efficient ETF from Purpose ?
Thanks Regards

Q: I could use your guidance. A good friend has recently inherited $800,000. He and his wife are in their 60's, retired with a small pension. They are conservative people who have no investing experience and would like to invest the funds in "safe", dividend paying stocks/ETF's to augment their pension. They currently have no money in the market, with all their net worth (excluding the pension) in real estate. They have reached out to investment advisors who want to charge them a flat 2% to invest their funds and have asked me if this is reasonable. They need these funds to live off and the thought of paying someone $16,000/yr to invest the funds seems ridiculous to me. I would like to help them and was hoping you could suggest a balanced income generating portfolio.........perhaps a mix of a few blue chip stocks and ETF's.
Many Thanks
Scott