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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: I am 70 years old, retired, with a small company pension (not indexed), and rely on investment income for expenses. I am also a conservative investor with 85% of my portfolio in laddered GIC's. For the remaining 15%, I would like a balance of income and growth, combined with maximum geographic diversification. What do you think of this remaining 15% being divided into 30% FIE (which I already hold), 30% XIN, and 40% XAW? I have been with 5i since your inception and greatly appreciate the advice you offer. Thank you.

Paul W
Read Answer Asked by Paul W on January 17, 2018
Q: Two ETF questions:
1. I invested in ZPW primarily for income and it has been fulfilling this purpose. However its price performance has been less than stellar and I am wondering whether you can suggest an alternative that would provide excellent income but offer some possible small market upside as well;
2. Is there a Canadian dollar equivalent to VOE?
Thank you for your assistance.
Read Answer Asked by Peter on January 17, 2018
Q: I am having a hard time deciding if I should add to my financials with individual stocks or buy an ETF. XLF and MTUM have holdings that I already own and am ok with adding to these via the ETF and they also hold BAC and JPM which I do not own. Can you please give me your opinion. Sectors and weightings are fine. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Gayle on January 17, 2018
Q: Hello Peter and team,
I want to pick a manageable number of fixed income ETFs that will mke up 25% of my portfolio in the fixed income portion. I note that Ishares has many bond etfs, many of them designed for a rising interest rate environment, but I am not clear on the differences between the products.

What ETFs would you recommend and in what weightings?
Read Answer Asked by Pamela on January 17, 2018
Q: Dear 5i
I own VGG , VFV , and ZWH ETF`s that all trade on the TSX . I bought these ETF`s because they hold all US stocks and i needed some US exposure. It seems however that when the US markets are up big but the TSX is down a bit on the same day the US ETF`s are down . So my question is if one expects the US markets to outperform the the TSX then would it not be best to buy said ETF`s on the US exchanges ? It just seems like i`ve got the US exposure but even on big US market days coinciding with low TSX market days i`ve lately been missing out lately on the current US market rally . Should i stay the course or switch some to the US exchanges ? This is assuming that we believe that the US markets will do better then the TSX this year .
Thanks
Bill C.
Read Answer Asked by Bill on January 17, 2018
Q: I am looking for an ETF for RESPs for my three grandchildren. The eldest is 8 yrs old, so the money will not be needed for some time. I would like conservative growth, if there is such a thing. I am thinking of XIC or CDZ. Or maybe you could suggest something else. The amounts are about $5K so one ETF is probably best, for now. Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Gordon on January 16, 2018
Q: Happy Monday !
I am looking to play a little defense, with the current high valuations of stock market, without getting out entirely. Thinking about consumer staples, in an etf basket. Which do you prefer, better valuation, liquidity, other metrics ?
KXI.. a global etf, XLP ...U.S stocks, or XST ...Cdn stocks, ..(not my fav)
Read Answer Asked by Bernie on January 16, 2018
Q: Hello,

I have been holding TDB902 Mutual Fund which tracks the S&P500 over the last few years. The approx return for TDB902 from Jan 2014 to Jan 2018 is 77%, XSP has been 52% and VFV 78%. However, the one year return for TDB902 has been 16.21%, VFV 16.42%, but XSP has been 22%. XSP is CAD hedged, and I'm looking for the best investment to track the S&P 500. Is it better to have XSP/CAD Hedged ETF? My understanding is that on average CAD to USD has been approx .80 (outside of the few years when CAD was on par with the USD), I think there may be some fluctuation between .75-.81, but will stay around .80 (or decline). Which ETF would have the best returns and track the S&P500 accurately, and should I consider a CAD hedged ETF?
Read Answer Asked by Neeraj on January 16, 2018
Q: Dear 5i
I`m anticipating retiring in a little over a year so as such have a portfolio with 50% fixed income (35% clf , 35%cbo , 15% xhy and 15% cpd )
I'm thinking of following your Outcome Oriented Fixed Income portfolio and thought i would reduce clf and cbo down to 20% then add vsc and zef at 15% each .. I just feel i need a bit more diversification within the fixed portion of my portfolio.
Does this plan seem reasonable or do these changes make the fixed portion too aggressive ?
Thanks
Bill C.
Read Answer Asked by Bill on January 16, 2018
Q: I have never held bonds only equities. About a month ago bought xbb and xhy, now 15% of my holdings in my portfolio. I'm down about 2.12 % in XHY and about 0.7% in XBB in a very short time. Please tell me why I'm holding these bonds. When I can typically expect them to gain or lose; What sort of insurance/protection they offer me if that is the right word.
Read Answer Asked by Neil on January 16, 2018
Q: Dear 5i team: would you rate any other products out there etf's or mutual funds that you may find as a better option as a monthly payer or a total return type product for a retired investment? Or are these as good as any except of course a group of individual stocks.thanks Larry
Read Answer Asked by Larry on January 15, 2018
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