Investment Q&A

Q: Thank you for your article on Canadian stocks that pay US dividends. A substantial portion of my investments are in US dollar stocks and a US money market fund. Would ZUS.u provide a good alternative to a portion of the money market fund. It pays over 3% but it does seem very large and is relatively new. Can you suggest any other US$ fixed income alternatives?

Q: Hello 5i, I currently own the BMO Monthly Income Fund (25% of porfolio) and some xtr(2%). I wish to liquidate the fund and get another etf or 2 to replace it and am considering the above dividend etfs. I would like the best of both worlds high yield/low fees and some growth with low volatility Which of the 4 would you consider adding to my xtr etf and why? Should I also increase my xtr holding. I have some GIC and am trying to be on the conservative side with this account but do hold some reits and utility etfs.
Thanks

Q: What are your thoughts on emerging markets. In the last two weeks I’ve read: Money Sense (John De Goey) that investors should own 10-15% of their portfolio in emerging markets; and Morningstar (John Rekenthaler) that emerging markets are a bust and not worth diversification. Why such opposing views? Are they biased opinions?

Q: I'm looking for a 'reasonable' way to approach the 5G world as it rolls out over the next few years. With so much being said about this technology, is there a way to approach this with Canadian companies? While the companies I note are not really comparable I mention them only as potential candidates to look at. Would you see an investor better off to be in a large cap such as BCE or lean towards a small cap such as BYL? Would the cable companies be worth a look? What other companies are likely to benefit from the 5G rollout that you would suggest looking at? I am comfortable with risk so small cap and volatility is ok.

I'm more interested in what companies I should be researching and potentially adding to my portfolio.
Thanks

Q: what would be your best suggestions for healthcare exposure to US$ inside a RRIF??
Thanks

Q: Can you suggest what to buy if starting an FRESP with about $40,000

Q: What is the best etf for marijuana stocks

Q: Hello 5i team,

I have 500k in US $'s to invest and my RSP and TFSA are both maxed out. My plan is to use this money to primarily generate income through US ETF's and US dividend stocks. With my RSP maxed out is there another strategy to avoid the 15% withholding tax, besides using the US $'s to buy CDN income producing investments. And could you please provide a few ETF's in US $'s that have a focus on income/high yielding.

Thank you,

Glen

Q: I have the above international ETF's in my RIF at a total allocation of 39%. I am interested in your assessment of my choices. Any duplication? Should I delete any? What should I add in it's place? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for adding analytics. It's a great assist.

Q: Hi

Any opinion on VWOB EM gov bond etf ? I already own some CVD and XHY. Would you consider this a good investment (high yield) for bond exposure outside Canada/US and considering slowing global growth and very high equity valuations.

Regards

Daniel

Q: Just following up on Alex's followup to my question on the XGRO etf.
XGRO is an old fund that was revamped to compete with VGRO. The Morningstar number is incorrect. The .84 MER listed is for the OLD fund.
XGRO couldn't possibly compete with VGRO's .25 MER or ZGRO's .18 MER with a MER of .84. It's listed management fee is .18. After regulatory fees and taxes and such the final MER may go up to a couple of basis points.

Q: 55 years old,will work at least to age 60 and will have a large pension.Have about $100,000 to invest long term with no need to use any of it in the foreseeable future,
Please recommend an ETF for Canadian market (moderate risk,and tilted more to growth than to income) and an ETF for US markets (moderate risk and tilted more to growth than to income).
If you think two ETFs for each of Canada and US would be better than one for each,please elaborate.

Q: Thank you for for answer yesterday about setting up my parent's investments. To summarize, they are very conservative, above 80 years old, and looking for safety and income.

I would now like to ask you about the distribution of the equity component of the investments (composing only 17% of the total, the rest being in bonds, preferred, and GICs). Those below are all in equal weight. What do you thing?

BEP.UN, BCE, BNS, CM, CU, ENB, TRP
XHC for healthcare exposure
IWO for US growth
VGG for US exposure
XEF (in a half position) for international exposure
VEE (in a half position) for emerging market exposure

Could you please suggest some more to round things out? I need another 5 or 6 stocks.


Also, do you have any objection to using ZAG and HYGH as bond substitutes for their conservative portfolio? I am buying individual preferred shares for that component.

Thank you once again,

Fed

Q: What is the difference between these two companies from an investors point of view besides the operating country’s ?
Would either be solid enough long term as a core holding?
Thank you

Q: Good morning,
This is a follow up to my previous question re: Horizons Total Return Index ETFs and more specifically HXT:CA and HXS:CA that I intended to purchase as long term core investments in my grandchildrens' in trust accounts prior to recent proposed changes in the recent federal budget affecting the favourable tax treatment of Horizons Total Return ETFs (No distributions).
I'm still searching for a few great investment ideas that would be suitable as a long term hold in my grand children in trust accounts. IWO and QQQ were mentioned as potential candidates given their relatively low distributions but given that the in trust accounts are already set up to hold investments in CDN $$$ and to offset currency risk, could you please recommend three or four ETFs, stocks or combination thereof that distribute little or no distributions and that you believe would be suitable as a long term hold in my grandchildren in trust accounts. My intention is to invest approximately $50K in each in trust account. I thank you in advance and look forward to your specific recommendations.

Q: Could you confirm that if I buy bonds in an ETF, they pay dividends rather than interest and are therefore taxed at a preferential rate. If I buy bonds, they pay interest which is taxed at a higher rate.
Are all management fees for investments held with a financial advisor tax deductible or only those held in non registered accounts (margin accounts).
Would management fees for RRIFs, RRSPs and TFSAs qualify for a tax deduction?

Could you confirm that if I hold securities in foreign securities such as Berkshire and have bank deposits in foreign currencies one is required to declare any amounts exceeding $100,000. Is this amount at cost or retail value of the security. Is this calculated in Canadian currency? Are foreign investments held in registered accounts (RRIFs, RRSPs and TFSAs exempt of this declaration. Could this be avoided by holding Canadian securities that have foreign investments such as TD, Brookfield (BEP.UN, BPY.UN, BIP.UN, BAM.A)? How does one calculate the value considering the volatility of the exchange rate if it is to be converted to Canadian currency?
I assume it is calculated on the cost of the security to avoid the volatility of the security.

Q: I hold both VEE and VEF in a Cdn dollar trading account,; given that we are unlikely to see any substantial appreciation in the Cdn $$ for a while, is that a duplication, and if so, would it make more sense to just keep the unhedged version?

Q: Hi 5i team,

For non registered accounts, when I buy ETFs that invested in US or international stocks, or in US or international bonds, would I have to include the cost of these purchases as foreign properties to be reported on T1135 to CRA?
Thanks.

Q: Like a lot of investors I am looking at increasing my U S holdings. Is targeting the medical sector advisable given the politics that could come into play in the U S? If advisable would you put 2% (sector weight) in each one or prefer 4% in a single ETF?

Q: I am looking for a US dollar Emerging Market ETF that I can purchase for my portfolio