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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: OK so... no question this Bitcoin rage has a similar look to the dot com bubble based purely on the hype, volatility and the number of cryptocurrency players now involved. Heck, cryptocurrency isn't even a word recognized by spell checker yet. BUT... as we sit back and scoff at it, it appears more and more businesses are starting to offer Bitcoin as a payment option. And now I am reading there are many new innovations coming for 2018 with some prognosticators iterating we could see Bitcoin reaching the $50,000 value. This is a risky and very volatile investment no question, so to bet the farm on it would be ludicrous. And if you do own a hyper wallet, best to make sure you have an excellent firewall. Having said all that, why am I finding this such a tempting investment? And what can you tell me that would dissuade me from starting a 2 or 3% portfolio position in this technology, because I don't think it's going away.

Thanks for all you do

gm
Read Answer Asked by Gord on February 13, 2018
Q: Hi, I am becoming aware of the investment potential in ETFs and that BMO has a number of highly rated ones. When I go onto their site, there is a bewildering array of ETFs and I would just like to ask if there is some sort of preference that you have identified for income generation. Secondly, in respect to the BMO ETFs that are in $US, do they all generate withholding tax? None of them? Some of them and one has to investigate each one to determine if they do or not? Thank you for any suggestions you can make that would point me in a direction for further research.
Read Answer Asked by Gregory on February 12, 2018
Q: Can you help me clarify my thinking about CDZ? I own it as part of a global portfolio of four ETFs in a growth-oriented long-term horizon RRSP. It's the Canadian piece. But looking back at the 5 and 10 year total returns is a bit depressing given that we are/were in a bull run.

Would you recommend a switch to something else to serve this purpose? Whether or not you recommend a switch, could you provide your next best suggestion for a growth-focused long-term RRSP. I have heard that there is some evidence that companies that raise dividends have tended to outperform, but I'm nonetheless suspicious. Perhaps this ETF's strategy is not effectively set up to capture those gains.

Thanks as always.
Read Answer Asked by Chris on February 12, 2018
Q: Dear 5i,
During the past week I had been deploying extra cash to rebalance my lower weighted holdings. I hold most of your BE Porfolio, some growth and a handful of US stocks. I have limited dry powder left to deploy and have significant losses in RRX and AEM (only energy / gold holdings except for ENB). I know you don't recommend buying the tsx index b/c it is weighted in resources and financials. I also have a little USD $ left. I am thinking of selling the loosers above for the capital loss and just buy the TSX index and the S&P 500 index with my remaining USD$. What do you think of this plan? Which index funds do you recommend?
Thanks,
Kerri
Read Answer Asked by KERRI on February 12, 2018
Q: I am rebalancing 5% of USD portfolio with objective of reducing overall Beta to face an increasing volatility patch.
My Question is on IGHG, that has performed well in the current environment. In a well balanced growth tilted portfolio , would you see any objection in increasing this position from 5% to 10%? I realize that trading volumes are sub-optimal. But I like the protection given to rate increase with zero duration in an otherwise benign credit risk environment, especially with ongoing strong growth in US and no sign of yield curve inversion on horizon. It also seem to give me an even safer hedging strategy to rising rates than with TBF, for which your comments were really appreciated.
Read Answer Asked by Daniel on February 12, 2018
Q: Good evening 5i.

I just want to say I have enjoyed this forum lots over the past year and it has helped me stay in the game.

My question is.

I need ideas for a few dividend etfs for my non-registered portfolio. To date I'm holding some large cap Canadian dividend stocks and fixed income. I find it easier to manage with less stocks and a few etf.
I now have 10% CDZ in my RRSP, would it make sense to put CDZ in my non-registered also?
Is CDZ dividend taxed the same as a Canadian stock dividend when held in a non-registered account?


Thanks Steve

Read Answer Asked by Stephen on February 08, 2018
Q: Hello: I currently own ZQQ yield of .52% and ZUE yield of 1.5%. I find that HBF has a much higher yield of 7.1% and will basically mimic the first two etfs, would you agree? Is HBF a reliable etf, if yes should I invest new money into it or use it as a replacement for either one or both of the other two. I’m retired and I am after some growth but mainly income.
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Valdis on February 08, 2018