Investment Q&A

Q: Without regard for sector diversification and/or weight - If I needed to raise some cash in my portfolio, and wanted to sell some of my losers...which of these names would you sell in order of priority. Could you kindly provide rationale for why you might sell vs. hold. Thanks

Q: what would be your suggestion building a balanced portfolio using only us etf's portfolio size about a million, time horizon 10-20 years

Q: Does Royal bank have a etf energy.. Would you recommend it and would now be a good time two buy? She has to invest some cash. Thanx for everything. CLIFF

Q: During the Spring I liquidated my CDN Equity portfolio. I wanted to move away from managing indidual positions and move to a more passive approach. Then I read Ryan's excellent article, Why it's almost impossible to be a passive investor in Canada. I looked at HEW; but it is very small with only about $12m invested. Are there other ETFs that do an equal weight S&P 60? I also am considering VCN and CDZ. I also looked at Two mutual funds, Mawer Canadian Equity and Lester CDN Equity Fund. There are High Conviction funds available; but with very high MER's.
Would you please recommend a portfolio structure that would meet my needs, I am a conservative senior. Please have the suggestions add to 100%.
Thanks Guys for keeping us thinking outside the box.

Q: I have 2 questions. I am down 20% on clr and I would like your outlook for the next 6 months to a year. Time to sell or do you see upside? Would you look under the hood of xsi and comment on this etf as fixed income for a 1 to 2 year hold and what the influence of higher interest rates might be on the components? Thanx.

Q: CLF is often recommended as a good, safe place for money but it only moves down. While meager interest is paid that really only kicks in tax which further reduces, or most likely eliminates any gain...where is the benefit? What conditions would have to occur for it to move up?

Q: ZWA yield is 4.6%; ZWH yield is 5.8%. Is the risk higher in owing ZWH? Which one would you recommend? Thanks.

Q: Can you name a few Consumer Staple companies US or CDA, mid or large market cap, that have some revenue (top-line) growth.

Many of the old school favorites now seem to have decreasing revenue year after year.

Thank you
Stephane

Q: I Would like to buy a canadian ETF that has all us banks, preferably the large banks. Either hedged or unhedged, depending on your decision as to which is better. Do you think this is a good idea?
Thank you for all your great help.

Q: what is your favourite ETF or growth stock that is outside Canada. Is it a good time to buy it now?

Q: Hello again. I’m interested to know how to consider currency when deciding between hedged, unhedged, and US dollar ETFs. In your answer to my last question, you mentioned that you prefer VPL over VAH; how was currency a factor in your judgment? Also wondering if you would approach European ETFs similarly, with respect to fluctuations between the Euro, USD and CAD (e.g. VEH, VE, VGK). Are there separate currency considerations I should take into account for each region, including EM? (e.g. VEE vs VWO)

When I hear professionals recommend CAD-hedged ETFs when the USD is falling, it sounds tactical but what if an investor has a long time horizon in mind? I’ve heard that unhedged ETFs yield better returns over time, say for a period of 15 years, but I’m wondering if US dollar ETFs are even more preferable, considering that I’ve already got some US cash ready to deploy.

Thanks for clearing up my confusion!

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team,

I'm a bit confused with your answer to Florence about TXF. Your answer said "This one overlays 75% of the portfolio with call options......".

However, according to the First Asset website: "Distributions are paid quarterly and no more than 25% of the portfolio's securities will have call options written upon them at any given time".

If no more than 25% of the portfolio have call options, doesn't this strategy mean that an investor wouldn't be giving up as much as your answer indicates? Am I missing something here?

Thanks in advance for any clarification.

Q: Hello 5i,
I am looking to increase my U.S. and International exposure. I currently hold VIG-N, JNJ-N and a number of Canadian ETF's which also hold U.S. equities. I am open to either USD or hedged products and would like a yield in excess of 2.25% if practical. Since I look to yield for income I was considering ZWA. Would you have any other options you would prefer over ZWA?
On the Int'l. side I hold CYH and ZDI and am happy with both; I held VEE at one time, but the yield is on the lower side for my needs. Should I just increase my holdings in these two or, again, do you see a better option? I could move out of one or both of those if you think there is a more compelling option I'm missing.
As always .... thanks so much for all of your help - very much appreciated!!!
Have a great summer!!
Cheers,
Mike

Q: Realizing you don't cover US funds that much, but can I get a quick opinion on VIGI? Looking for a long term hold with decent dividend. Any risks you see?

Q: Hi 5I
I am looking to sell off some ETFS as I am too heavy in financials, have done well with them just too heavy, cvan you advise what I shouls stay and what could be sold in my RRSP. I also hold band stocks.

Thanks

Q: Dear 5i,

I currently own XHU and am comparing it to PUD.B.

PUD.B is more expensive, with a MER of 0.67 vs 0.34 for XHU.

PUD.B is attractive because it appears to involve a strictly quantitative screen including 5-year non-negative dividend growth and Piotroski scores; whereas XHU involves quantitative but also qualitative assessments by Morningstar analysts (economic moat, uncertainty index, distance to default).

PUD.B is higher conviction, with 40 holdings vs. 75 for XHU.

Do you think that over the long-term, PUD.B will have higher dividend growth? Higher total return? If so, do you think PUD.B is worth the higher MER compared to XHU?

Thank you.

Q: I'm considering various ETFs (mostly from Vanguard) for global exposure and I just wanted to get your thoughts:

Asia/Pacific - VPL or VAH
Europe - VEH or ZWE
EM - VEE or VE
USA - VUN or VIG or VGG
Global - VT, VIGI, VYMI, VXC (would it make sense to buy all of these, or is there too much overlap?)

These would all be held for many years. I don't need the income from dividends, but a decent yield is always nice. Currently wondering about things like hedged vs unhedged, fund size, growth potential. Thanks for the advice.

Q: Hi Team - would you have a recommendation for a short term US CORPORATE bond etf hedged and unhedged ? I have a well diversified equity portfolio and now think I should have some fixed in the mix.
many thanks !

Q: What do you think about this etf TXF, to get the benefit of tech plus a dividend. Thanks Flo

Q: I purchased ZPW in April 2017 primarily as an income source in a stagnant or rising market. Since that time, the ETF has fallen 5%, and the monthly income has also dropped from $0.105/share to $0.095/share. At the same time, the S&P and DJIA have both risen 5%, so this ETF does not appear to be behaving as I would have expected.

Can you please explain why both the NAV and dividends have dropped for this ETF while markets rise? Is it related to the rise of the CAD vs USD or are there other factors at play here? If something fundamental has changed with this ETF, would you suggest any comparable alternative that would provide reliable income that is not fully taxed as income (e.g. bond ETF's). Thanks.