Investment Q&A

Q: I hold both XBB and ZFH in my RRSP. Is there an advantage to holding both or should I consolidate in ZFH? ... or to another fund which you can suggest?

I need to add a greater bond exposure and want to ensure I'm not simply doubling up.

Thanks,
Ron

Q: Your thoughts on SOXX currently.

Q: My daughter has been sold this fund (agf elements bal portfolio fe,483) by her advisor a few years ago. She seems to feel she is locked in, although I doubt that. I suggested a switch to maw 104 since she seems apprehensive about VBAL with it's shorter history. I would appreciate your wisdom. Thanks

Q: Are these etf's better to be held in registered accounts for tax purposes. Since there will be ROC when sold, how difficult is it to calculate or are tax forms supplied with that info upon sale. I'd like yo add it to my non registered account to collect the nice dividends but worried about how to handle after a sale. Thanks

Q: Now that Marijuana is legal in Canada, would you still recommend HMMJ as the best, safest way to invest in it, thanks?

Q: Good Morning
Technicals on XBM would indicate that we are entering a growth period for base metals, however, "Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) on Monday said concerns over Donald Trump's trade war with China is likely to dominate the outlook for commodities in the fourth quarter, predicting the issue could be a drag on markets until the 2020 U.S. election. The bank said that while a new North American trade agreement may decrease uncertainty, the U.S. trade war with China is likely to cut commodity prices for most metals."
What is your stance on base metals for the upcoming period?

Carl

Q: Hi All at 5i! A quick question on taxation of CBO.... are the monthly distributions taxed as dividends or interest ? Thank you

Q: Does this ETF have a CAD hedged cousin? or an ETF that does hedge CAD for another US index ?
Ernie

Q: I wanted to chime in on Johns question about bond etf’s. I completely agree with Johns concerns and feel that generally speaking the possibility of capital losses on a bond etf is under appreciated, under reported and glossed over by too many people. I have held VSB and VSC for well over 3 years and my yield to date isn’t even remotely close to covering the capital losses. I see absolutely no reversal in site. That they are more liquid and diversified to me is pointless. I would have been significantly better off in cash, GICs or an individual ST bond that matured and gave me my capital back.

Q: ..thinking American midterm elections may be a catalyst if Dems win and dampen the economic momentum (and associated rate increases) going forward...under that scenario do you think utilities would be a good place for relative safety, yield and a possible rebound? thanks.

Q: Please comment on my perspective below. Am I wrong?

A bond matures and you get a known amount of principal back (on top of the distributions paid out along the way). As such it provides a safety component in your portfolio. The safety comes from NOT being at the mercy of the market (all you have to do is wait till it matures).

A bond ETF does not do this. The principal you put into it is eternally at the mercy of the current market price of that ETF. Even when any bond matures, the ETF just goes out and buys more bonds at current market prices. Therefore it does not return a known amount of principal as a bond would. The whole concept of "maturity" or "yield to maturity" disappears. So these ETFs are a lot more like equities than bonds. If people are following advice about the percentage to allocate between bonds and equities, in my opinion it is a mistake to treat the bond ETFs as in the bond category.

(The exception to the above being "target date bond etfs which do mature and return your principal").

Q: Is this a good time to invest in Biotechnology?
What do think about the IBB ETF?
Thank you.

Q: How do I buy bonds? Can I achieve the same goal through ETFs?

Q: Hi All at 5i! I am working at establishing a more stable portion to my portfolio in the form of bond and preferred ETFs. I require four that pay me a dividend and have so far chosen CPD, XHY and CBO and would welcome a fourth ( or more) suggestion. Could you please help me with this. Cheers, Tamara

Q: I am considering holding VFV and XQQ in my personal unregistered accounts because they produce dividends. I could borrow money to invest in them and write off the interest. On the other hand, would it make sense to put HXS and HXQ in my passive corporation (no active income) as these two produce only capital gains and no distributions? Is there a big difference in dividends earned in a passive corp vs
personally? Also all of these will not count towards the T1135 limit. Any thoughts?

Q: I am considering adding these two to my non-registered account. This would be in CDN $ and no tax T1135 forms. My question is what year end tax paperwork do these products have? such as ROC, T3, T5. I'm guessing they have T5's which is fine, but I sold my REITS in my non-registered accounts due to the late paperwork. I do not want to repeat this mess.

Q: I'm retired and have no fixed income in my portfolio.
I would like to switch about 15% of my investments into fixed income. I have read all the questions regarding MFT but am looking for a few more ideas with as much return as is prudently possible.
I spend time in the U.S., so an idea or two there would be a great help, as well.
Thank you, in advance.

Q: Best Cdn oil company to own if oil increases over $100?

Q: Hi,

I've got about 6k in my kids' RESP and would like to take advantage of the current market conditions to deploy the cash.

The RESP currently holds BAM (@13%), Sentry US Growth Mutual fund (@ 38%), Invesco Global fund (@30%) with cash making up the difference (@ 20%).

I'd like to add a tech position and would like your opinion on whether to buy a hedged ETF or un-hedged - specifically XQQ or QQQ, or other? This account is a buy and hold with a long term (10 yr +) horizon.

Thx.

Q: Hello 5i Team,

For international emerging market exposure, I hold some funds in the Ishares India Index ETF, which has been brutalized of late, (along with other emerging market equities). I'm slightly above water on this holding at the moment, but the trend line is down. Do you think there is decent chance of recovery in the medium term, or is it time to bail. Thanks.

Brad