Investment Q&A

Q: I currently have an in-trust account for my daughter with $5400 distributed between AQN and FSZ. I have another $6000 to put in. I would like to put half in VFV and half into VDU. These funds I am hoping will sit there until she retires (she is currently 13).

I am concerned about taxes with the two ETF’s in this unregistered account. Do you think this is a good approach with the funds or would you advise otherwise?
Thank you for your great site and forum!

Q: Hello folks; Looking to tuck away some silver. Which of these would be better suited and what will the fact that SVR is hedged have if silver and SVR happen to go up? Also, PSLV is on the TSX exchange but is listed in USD. Is there a problem with government hold-backs upon cashing out?

Q: Good morning,
My wife and I wish to put $$$ into our minor (twins 7 yrs old) grandchildren's in- trust accounts to help them get an early start in building an investment portfolio. Moreover, this would allow them to start contributing to their TFSA when they reach 18 years of age and when I am perhaps long gone.
I understand that if I put $$$ in my minor grandchildren's in-trust accounts that ALL INCOME would be taxed in my hands until they reach 18 years of age but that any CAPITAL GAINS would be taxed in the hands of the grandchildren regardless of their age.
Assuming that my understanding is indeed correct, I am looking for a few suitable investment vehicles and more specifically a few good quality ETFs that DO NOT generate any form of INCOME or DISTRIBUTIONS other than CAPITAL GAINS.
I would very much appreciate your thoughts on implementing this strategy along with a few of your best ideas as to which ETFS you would recommend for my purpose.
I thank you in advance and look forward to hearing your response along with your ETF recommendations.

Q: Hi,
I need a bit of help in structuring my Bond component for my RRSP.
I had so far running with PH&N High Yield 5%, ZST 5%, PH&N Total Return Bond 10%, PIMCO Monthly Income Fund 5% and MFT 2.5%, for a total of 27.5%. Given my age (59) and the fact that soon we may enter in a Bear market, I have to increase my Bond allocation. According to some, this should mirror my age, probably close to 60%. My question is: What combination of Funds/ETFs and weight should I use? Is probably not a good idea to invest more than 15% in a fund and probably limit my High Yield exposure to 5%. Thank you.

Q: if one thinks the CDN will fall vrs the USD does it make sence to buy the unhedged
flot.b vrs the hedged flot

Q: I currently have no fixed income. Looking to build this portion using an ETF and GIC's. My thinking is the the ETF could provide a base (liquidity and slightly better yield) with the GIC's providing stability. Considering either HFR or FLOT as the ETF. Which would you prefer or is there are more attractive one in your view? Thanks as always.

Q: Hi there,

i am going into retirement and am looking at reviewing my holdings to generate a bit more income. I currently own XLU in my 401K but the dividend is only 3.1% while the underlying companies often have much higher Dividends. Is there an alternate ETF or would your recommend a basket of utilities and if so can you give me 2 or 3 names - i own BIP, ACQ in my canadian accounts but could hold them in my us as well.

Thanks

Q: Please comment on XTR as an source of income and diversification ie, is it a good retirement holding?
Morningstar classifies it as a high risk ETF-do you agree? Would it move downward say like an XHY if the market declines? Is the distribution safe?
What types of taxation is applied given its a mixed bag of holdings and therefore what account would you favor to hold it in?
Thanks
Jeff

Q: I have a small position in vee and am considering. Adding some rww as a complimentary position for diversification. Your assessment and analysis would be appreciated.

Q: Looks like Horizon swap indexes will have a limited life expectancy.
From budget:
"Improve existing rules meant to prevent taxpayers from using derivative transactions to convert fully taxable ordinary income into capital gains taxed at a lower rate."
Comments?

Q: In this month's MoneySaver magazine, there is an article by Rita Silvan titled "Spin-offs, Ticker Symbols and Other Investment Anomalies". In this article, she states that in the last 15 years, from 2002 to 2017, the Bloomberg US Spun-Off Index returned nearly 1,000% compared to the S&P 500 Index which returned 203.9%.

Are you aware of any ETFs which track this index? What is your view about ETFs which track spin-offs? Is this a strategy which you would recommend? I could only find the Invesco S&P Spin-Off ETF (CSD) and its returns appear to be 2.15% annually over the last 5 years, and is a significant underperformer compared to the S&P500.

Thank you again for your invaluable advice. This service is truly excellent!

Q: I am very fortunate to be a member of 5I,Thanks
I wish you were actively advising on US stocks meanwhile however
for me to start please suggest some US stocks or etf for not very aggressive
stocks with high volatility but something like BNS,SLF,td in Canada Income is not my priority but steady growth is in my mind not stocks like canabis?
I appreciate your sugestion and has always benefited from them
Nizar

Q: I have been looking at investing a small amount of US funds in a non-registered account in Japan.
I was all set to invest in EWJ, when I noticed a newer ETF, with a much lower MER of .15%. It is ishares EWJV, a Japan value ETF.
Would you have a preference between these two ETFS?

Thanks for all you do!

Q: Do you know of an ETF that mimics the S&P/TSX Venture (CDNX) Composite Index?

Q: Could I get your thoughts on how HHL might behave in a recession. I understand Healthcare as a sector would be a Defensive sector however I also understand 5i is not to crazy about the cover call aspect, believing it would not protect again the down side. So how would HHL behave? Would the price fall greater than the average defensive share price, or would investors still consider it a defensive play and hold steady the price. Or would the cover call aspect cease to work and the dividends reduce? If it's more an impact on the dividends, is there a way of telling how much the
cover calling is adding to the dividends and therefore what dividends could be expected in times of a recession. Thanks

Q: I would like to set up a passive portfolio for my mother. Could you please recommend indexes in Canada and the United states that would reflect the market while giving diversification.

Q: I am currently considering the purchase of the ZDH ETF for a non-registered account. I would appreciate your advice about the tax implications, especially given that this ETF has a high yield and is invested primarily in European and Asian equities.

Where can I find out how different ETFs compare for tax in Canada? The Morningstar site offers a "tax analysis" section, but it does not make sense to me. For example, using the site's "since inception" returns, the ratio of "tax-adjusted return" to "pre-tax" return for XIC (Canada) is 86%, and for DGRO (US) is 94%. This would seem to imply that a Canadian investor would pay less in taxes buying a US ETF than a Canadian ETF. The same ratio for ZDH is 76%.

I would like to understand (1) is there a better site other than Morningstar, where I can find out the tax implications of buying ETFs which hold foreign equities; and (2) how much of an impact do the taxes have on the investment returns when one buys ETFs with foreign equities (i.e. if the pretax return for a foreign ETF is 8%, what return would I need from a Canadian ETF to keep the same after-tax amount?).

Thank you.

Q: Hey there guys. Wondering about appropriate allocation for my rrsp for longterm holdings (using etfs). Focused on low cost, and good diversification, geographically especially. Keeping in mind my tfsa will be almost exclusively Canadian stocks and ETFs. So for the rrsp 50% VTI, 40% SPDW, 10% HXT. I know spdw holds a bit of Canada too. Thanks for your amazing work, it is very much appreciated,
Jer in Ottawa

Q: Good day team ,looking for advice on dividend fund or etf for rsp.i have agf series q interpipeline and sentry energy funds for longer timeframe i have 10 g to ad not sure on what ,thanks for all the great help my investments choices are better since joining your team

Q: Other than VFV , can you please recommend a US etf that you like ,that sells in Canada
What are your thoughts on XUS.
Thank you