Investment Q&A

Q: Hi - I have no REIT exposure and am considering adding either VRE or XRE. They are both promoted as tracking the TSX/S&P capped REIT index. When I overlay a graph of their 2 year price performance sure enough they are virtually identical. At first glance it would seem a no brainer to go with VRE since the MER is 1/2 that of XRE (.35% vs. 61%). However, it also appears XRE pays a substantially higher dividend ( ~ 4.7% vs. ~ 3% depending on the source I check). Can you shed any light on why the difference in the dividend when they are both tracking the same index? Do you have a preference for one over the other? Thank You

Q: Can you please coment on the proposed tax efficientiancy promoted by horizon.ie total return distribution yearly if any.does it mean you only have capital gains to be reported? Great service and tks

Q: On my US portfolio I have: VGG @ 33%, HXQ @ 25%, HXS @ 25% and a combination of IWO,XSU, XMH @ 17%. I am trying to minimize taxes (dividends & form 1135) while maintaining US exposure/growth. Would you comment on this set up? Thank you for your service.

Q: Hi,
I wish to help fight climate change via investing in low-carbon companies - (renewable energy sources, EVs, batteries, materials from recycled sources, straw bale construction, vegan foods, etc) and also stop investing in fossil fuels, animal agriculture, etc as much as possible. Could you easily adjust your portfolios to make this possible? Are there ETFs that I could invest in as an alternative? I currently use both your income and balanced portfolios.
Thanks,
Helen

Q: Total Return ETFs... Do you have an opinion on this type of vehicle? I am setting aside monies for a niece with special needs> I do not expect to use the funds for many years - it is for her years as an adult. I do not want dividend income.

Q: Why have bank rate-reset preferred come off so much in the past two months after holding up well with rising rates prior to October? I hold HPR which is off about 15% since the beginning of October and holds mostly bank rate-reset preferred which I would have thought would hold up much better in the current environment.

Q: I AM FED UP WITH BONDS. DURING THE LAST 5 YEARS I HAVE LOST IN ALL OF THEM .I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY ALL ADVISER SUGGEST BOND FUNDS AS A PART OF INVESTMENT. ONE HAS BEEN LOOSING MONEY .I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENT AND ADVISE RE ABOVE STOCKS.EBRAHIM

Q: Thanks so much for your reply to my earlier question. You suggested the following ETFs and I was wondering what a good portfolio allocation would be for each (I was thinking 50% allocated toward your BE portfolio however if a lesser/more percentage makes sense then please advise):

XWD (global expoure), VFV (S&P 500), VGG (US dividend growth), HXQ (US technology), XSU (US small-cap)

Thanks!

Q: Could you tell me why HBB & HTB are trading close to their 52 week highs, whereas similar eft's are closer to their 52 week lows?
Thanks for your service

Q: Hi,

Do you have a preferred ETF and/or mutual fund for gaining exposure to European Equities?

Thanks

Q: These ETFs are described on their websites as active floating rates bonds with very similar timeframes. HFR has more US focus thought. However, their yields are drastically different; FLOT~5% and HFR~2.3%. Can you explain why the big difference. Which would you recommend?

Q: In the past I have had very good results from investing in Mawer Equity Funds. In world markets, I have found that they typically outperform the comparative benchmark. I have virtually no exposure to emerging markets so thought that I would invest a small percentage of my assets in the Mawer Emerging Markets Equity Fund. Currently, because it is a small fund, the MER, all in, is in excess of 1.9% and at mid year they were underperforming the emerging markets index; however, I believe they have outperformed since that time. I understand it can be a very volatile area of the world to invest in but thought I should be there so hopefully have picked the fund that will perform best over a 10 year or so period of time. I recognise that this fund has a much higher MER than an ETF but thought that this may have value in this area of investment. I appreciate very much your comments. Thank you.

Q: I've been comparing these two funds and while they appear to be essentially taking the same approach. HFR has Canadian & US holdings and FLOT has exclusively US holdings. Yet their is a substantial difference in their yields. But FLOT yield is 4.3% and HFR 2.3%. I don't get it.
Yield is nice to have but I'm more concerned with capital preservation through the end of this business cycle. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Q: Hi there, going into 2019 I'd like to re-balance my portfolio to start the new year. I'd like to use your BE Portfolio as the Canadian exposure of my portfolio and add ETFs to add diversity. I'm in my mid 30's and have a 15/20 year outlook with a private DB plan at work. In terms of risk and volatility tolerance, I am okay with the profile growthier names in the BE Port (ie: SIS, KXS, TOY, CSU, PBH etc) but usually stay away from the Growth Portfolio names, as the volatility is usually too much for me. At first glance I was thinking of the following but am not very experienced and am completely open to your advice and expertise:

50% BE Portfolio
40% HXS/VFV
10% HXQ

Could you suggest a 1) TSX ETF only listed portfolio make up and 2) TSX and/or US listed ETF make up? Please remove as many question credits as required.

Thanks for your advice and guidance!

Q: I would like to add some income stocks or ETF's for the US side of my RIF that pay the income in US dollars. Income is the primary focus and growth is secondary. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks you.

Q: Can you suggest both a Canadian and Global Dividend Growth ETF?

Q: A Canadian Investor with over 40 % a portfolio in US securities and additional Canadian companies either doing business in the US or reporting in US dollars. A lot of talk about 2019 being a down year for US dollar against the Canadian dollar.
How does one hedge this risk.

Q: If I were to buy this ETF, which account would be best. U.S cash account or a RRSP (CDN) account. Is there a tax advantage.
Thanks

Q: Hello there,
Any thoughts on the Convertible Bond fund ETF ( CXF) offered by First Asset Management ?
Thanks

Q: hi folks

is this a good (given higher risk vs large cap) way to play the eventual recovery in energy?

if not what do you suggest

thanks