Investment Q&A

Q: My RRSP - I was comparing Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF VOOG to Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO.
Warren Buffett is suggesting the index - so VOO, but VOOG Growth has performed better since inception with the same risk of 4 out of 5 - as defined by Vanguard.
VOOG has a higher turnover rate of it's stocks -at 17.6% vs 3% and it still outperformed after taxes on the higher turnover. It has 294 of the 508 stocks that VOO has.
Wondering your thoughts on one over the other. Since it is in an RRSP and I don't need the money for 25 years.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/vanguard/compare?navigatingFrom=4

Q: I am looking for a balanced source of income on my USD. Is there some US equivalent to the likes of ZMI or XTR that you know of?

Q: Please suggest an S&P 500 ETF and U.S. Dividend ETF that would be best served as a long term hold in a TFSA.
Thanks

Q: Hi, Could you tell me if XTR and MFT would compliment each other, or is there some or too much overlap between the two, or in other words is there much correlation, thanks?

Q: Hi 5i team,
I'm thinking of buying VGRO Vanguard Growth. I like the fact that it is one balanced ETF for global diversification and rebalancing by itself. However, I've read comments that the funds are not optimized for tax efficiency. What does this mean? Is it appropriate to be held inside TFSA? Any better ETFs suggestions? Thanks.

Q: hgm etf was a top pick on bnn! what do you think of this etf?

Q: Should I buy a 2 year GIC at 2.8% or a bond fund say XBB.?
Can you also explain your reasoning.

Q: ETF tax advantage question again.
Could you expound on the different types of taxes on XEC which is an Canadian listed ETF holding emerging markets via IEMG vs holding the IEMG directly which you recommend, to be a better holding for tax purposes in an RRSP account and a non registered account?
In both my RRSP and non registered accounts there doesn't appear to be any taxes withheld when looking at the transaction history, just the dividends. Is it taxed before dividends are paid? You say it would save a layer of tax. Is there more then one?
Other then the articles recently read in you Money Saver Magazine and on the ETF newsletter is there anyway of knowing or finding out which ETF's are better suited for each accounts, tax wise? When will Mr. Mahrezs' part 2 of favorite ETFs for individual accounts be published?
Thanks
Jeff

Q: Can you please recommend an emerging market etf
Thank you

Q: Hi, I'm a dividend/ income investor new to 5i and have a question on portfolio allocation % with regards to geographical location. ie - I have ETF's ZWA (USA) at 8.6% and ZWE (Europe) at 5%, (13.6% total ) of my overall portfolio. I have a general rule that no one position should be over 10% and no one sector more than 25% of my portfolio. What is 5i's perspective on this and would your recommendations be higher when you're talking ETF's that hold a basket of stocks?

Q: Hi
I'm trying to reduce the risk in my TSFA with the intent of using ~$60K towards a down-payment for a new home in mid-2020. My plan is to sell most of the current investments and invest the money instead in a much safer income generating ETF, though I'm open minded to where I could invest instead. I've done pretty well on (some) of these investments, but am prepared to sell the winners and losers and cut my losses to move forward and decrease my risk. I'm most concerned about having to sell at an even greater loss when we are ready to buy next year. I've listed my current investments.

Are any of current investments worth holding into for the next 16 months instead of selling now and which ETFs you would consider buying?
I'm planning to sell:
BBU.UN (no loss/gain), CM (up 3%), EMA (up8%) IAN (up200%), XEC (down 5%), LB (no loss/gain)

I'm planning to buy instead XTR.

Please take as many credits as you think fair.

Q: Regarding Jean-Yves XTR question on 22Feb2019, which account should XTR be "best" held in, Non-registered, TFSA or RRSP/RESP, USD non registered, or USD TFSA account? The holder would be 67 year old retiree receiving a DB pension, CPP and a pittance of OAS supplemented with the casual odd bit of cash but reportable income?

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.

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!

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.

Q: Which Canadian based US small cap ETF do you favour for broad based exposure, low fee and decent returns?

Q: Hi Peter
I am looking for a stock or ETF in the "Cyber protection space". What can you recommend. I an ETF less volatile?
Margita

Q: Good Day 5i Team,

I have 1500. to put into Vanguard and have allocated as follows:
30% into VCN
40% into VUS
25% into VI
5% into VEE
I am a recent retiree and have a 5-10 year horizon for this amount.
What do you think of the breakdown and the percentages, or do you have a better recommendation?

Thank you so much,
John

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

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.