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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: Hi 5i thanks for the great service. I am thinking about a long term play on water and would like you opinion on some ways to play it? Some company suggestions would be nice and what do you think of this iShares etf?

Thanks for the great service
Read Answer Asked by Kolbi on March 16, 2018
Q: I read in a previous post that you favored HPR and ZPR over CPD (Sept 18, 2017) because of the rate reset. I am currently adding to my fixed income and would it be a good strategy to add 50 / 50 ZPR and CPD for the preferred portion ?
(I also own a larger position in CBO).

Also, do you recommend adding a convertible bond etf (CVD or other) for diversification purposes ? Thank you for your comments.

Read Answer Asked by Pierre on March 16, 2018
Q: I'm looking for a place to park cash and have iniated a small position in the Horizon ETF. I like the idea of floating rate bonds because interest rates seem to be on the rise. Just wondering if there might be similar products that I could investigate. I know about FLOT but would prefer the investment be in Canadian dollars. Thanks in advance for your guidance.
Read Answer Asked by Les on March 16, 2018
Q: In my portfolio I selected CLF for a significant amount of the fixed income portion of my accounts (in both RRSP and non reg accounts). A the time (almost 2 years ago) I thought it would be the safest since it is a government bond index. However, am down by almost 6% since purchasing. My priority for fixed income is to not lose capital. Do you have another suggestion? Perhaps GICs make more sense? Are there worries in the market regarding Canadian government debt (i.e considering escalating debt levels at the federal level as well as some provinces - like Ontario and Alberta).
Read Answer Asked by BRYAN on March 16, 2018
Q: Hi,
I am wanting exposure to US financials and I am wondering if there is an ETF in Canada that tracks XLF. Of the three listed names could you give me your opinion on how they rank. XLF is one that has Berkshire stock, which I would like some exposure to.
Thanks,
Gwen
Read Answer Asked by Gwen on March 16, 2018
Q: I have been happily and successfully managing my own investments for 15 years primarily with the help of independent analyst services such as 5i (Thank You). I have always dedicated 5 - 10% of my portfolio to small and micro cap investments and met with great success until recently. The last two years I have seen really poor results from my small/micro cap investments with several big losers and none of the big 2, 3 or 5x winners. IOM is the latest kick in the head for me. I am finding that these sudden big losses stick with me emotionally more than they used too, probably because I am now fully retired and the absence of earned income is pushing me to a more conservative approach. Accordingly I am considering revising my strategy away from individual company investments and simply buying a good small cap and/or micro cap fund or ETF. Could you please comment generally on my strategic thinking here and also suggest some ETF or funds I might want to consider. Low Management expenses preferred of course.
Read Answer Asked by Morgan on March 15, 2018
Q: My question is about how to manage the bond/ fixed income part of a portfolio. I have read that bonds etf are not as effective as stocks etf.
For a 5-10 year time frame, would you either invest in a mix of bond/pref etf (CBO/XBB/CPD) or in a actively managed fund (for example a pimco product) ? I was considering mixing the 3 etf + PIMF (a pimco etf). PIMF seems to expose the portfolio to products that are not available in the other ETF (like mortgage based security). Could you comment on a strategy?

I found bond investment way more complicated to understand than for stocks (yield curve, increasing interest rates, variety of products that are available). I'm also a member of your ETF newsletter. Any other comments or references you could suggest,
Read Answer Asked by Olivier on March 15, 2018
Q: Hello -

I'm interested in buying this ETF, but am unsure which account I should purchase it in. It appears to priced in CAD, so this would eliminate my U.S. accounts as options. The ETF pays a small dividend. Even though this dividend is paid in CAD I'm still assuming there is no preferential tax treatment since this a foreign ETF.

Is all this correct?
If so, would it make the most sense to make the investment in my (CAD) RRSP, or perhaps my (CAD) TFSA ?

Thanks.
Jim
Read Answer Asked by James on March 15, 2018
Q: Hi Peter & Team,
Would this be a good portfolio of Mawer Funds for a time frame of at least 15 years, or is there something I am missing or could be improved upon.
Thanks for your input
Ivan
Read Answer Asked by Ivan on March 14, 2018
Q: I bought some high flyers ... Now that I have made some quick cash on paper , I am concerned that I might lose if the market decides to go south. Do you have any feelings about these , or do you feel it is "safer" to play the ( broader ) Nasdaq rather than the tech sector as I am doing. Any thoughts are appreciated . I already own all of the Tech Giants , and they have done well too ( except for QCOM grrrrr) .
Read Answer Asked by Thomas on March 14, 2018
Q: Hi gents and Happy Friday,
You will see from the list below my exposure to Europe is mainly through ZWE and DRG.UN with PPL Corp being one of my riskier stocks which also has major Britain exposure. All together its a small, around 5%, portion of my portfolio. I belive Europe is offering good value but am having difficult finding other decent ways to invest there- especially given that through TD Waterhouse I cannot invest direclty in Eurpean Exchanges without much hassle.

Can you offer 1) some guidance on other potential equities/dividend stocks I could pick up on the other side of the pond that perhaps you have in your portfolios here that I am just not aware are European?, 2) any other companies you are watching with interest not in your current portfolios? Lastly, are you sensing Europe is looking like a good investing ground especially since US is getting so expensive?

If I asked any questions in the wrong way, please forgive me. I am learning and open to any and all correction.

These are my other positions below in case I am not seeing that I have more European exposure than perhaps I think I do.

Thanks for the work you do. I did search for other threads on Europe and did not find any, hence the ask. If I missed them please direct me to the pages.


ENT AMC US AMC ENTERTAINMENT HLDG-A
FIN ZWE CA BMO EUR HI DIV CC HDG ETF
FIN ZWB CA BMO COVRD CALL CDN BK ETF
ENERG BXE CA BELLATRIX EXPLORATION-NEW
ENERG CPG CA CRESCENT POINT ENGY CORP
FIN RY CA ROYAL BANK OF CANADA
FIN TF CA TIMBERCREEK FINANCIAL CRP
FIN TD CA TORONTO DOMINION BANK
FIN CM US CDN IMPERIAL BK COMMERCE
FIN CIM US CHIMERA INVT CORP-NEW
TECH FB US FACEBOOK INC CL-A
FIN MFA US MFA FINANCIAL INC
REAL NRZ US NEW RESIDENTIAL INVT-NEW
COMM VZ US VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS
ENT BCE CA BCE INC
MINING CCO CA CAMECO CORP
REAL DRG.UN CA DREAM GLB RL EST INVT T/U
MINING PSK CA PRAIRIESKY ROYALTY LTD
Read Answer Asked by Derek on March 13, 2018
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