Investment Q&A

Q: Good afternoon,

My question pertains to holding US equities in various accounts. Can you please validate or refute the following:

Cash account: US dividends are taxed as interest-50%, and a 15% withholding tax is applied which can be redeemed during tax season.

RRSP: US equities are supposed to be capital gains and divends tax free. However, I have noticed that some equities, such as limited partnerships have their dividend taxed at 38% with an additional 15 % non redeemable withholding tax. Can you confirm this, and are their any other types of US equities that are Exempt from RRSP tax sheltering?

I have also been told that US equity ETFs that are listed in the US are also have their dividends taxed. Is this true? And would this be the same for US equity ETFs that are listed in Canada (ex: those listed on black rock Canada website )?

Thank you for bringing some clarity to the issue. Any other tips you may have would be well appreciated.

Cheers,

KR

Q: Hello 5i,
My wife is concerned that our exposure to bonds is far too high, so I thought I would turn to the experts for advice.
Fixed Income is 31.1% of our total, combined portfolio broken down as follows:
CBO 4.8%
EMB 6.9%
VEE 1.0%
XHY 5.0%
XIG 4.7%
XPF 2.4%
XTR 3.0%
RBF 461A 3.30%
Note: these percentages reflect only the Bond or Fixed Income component of these ETF's, not the equity or other holdings.
We each have modest private pension as well as CPP and (1) OAS.
Our total portfolio income will soon be required to help cover living expenses - and presently looks to be able to do so for the most part.
So, my question is: given the foregoing do you see any areas of concern or any compelling changes that would be required?
I know this might sound a lot like a mini portfolio review, but I have added a lot of detail so that it might assist others who read the Q&A as I know asset allocation is an area of concern and interest for many members.
Please feel free to deduct as many questions as you deem appropriate.
Many thanks,
Cheers,
Mike

Q: I am interested in increasing my exposure to the US through ETF's. I currently hold some IWO and VIG. I am wondering if I should just add to those or are there 1-2 others that would round out my exposure. I am wondering about industrials and banks for example. Thanks

Q: Could you recommend and ETF for the US big banks ? Thanks again.

Q: Could you recommend an ETF that is heavily weighted with:Amazon, Google and Microsoft ? Thanks.

Q: I understand there is an ETF that could provide some protection in case of a down market,I believe these are called inverse ETF. I looked in the ETF section and only found one mention of inverse ETF and not sure I understood how it worked.
Any info would help as I am looking to buy "insurance" protection.
Thanks
Jean

Q: Hi 5i. I saw an interesting interview on BNN's 'Money Talk' (Nov23) with Damian Fernandes of TD Balanced Growth Fund. He was discussing the impact that a Trump reduction of corporate taxes would have on the S&P 500.
Hereis the link : http://www.bnn.ca/money-talk/money-talk-trump-s-impact-on-markets-and-sectors~1001584
If you have a chance to see it I would be very interested in your opinion.
As a result I am looking into investing in a S&P 500 ETF. I have looked at iShare's IVV (US$) which has 506 holdings and a MER of 0.04% - this would require converting CA$ to US$. Two other Canadian ETF's are Vanguard's VFV containing 509 holdings and MER of 0.08%, and iShare's CA$-hedged XSP which contains 1 holding (being IVV) and has a MER of 0.11%.
Two questions:
1. can you explain why XSP (hedged) MER would be almost 3x the IVV Mer that is its sole holding.
2. I assume that Vanguard's VFV is "unhedged". Can you explain how the Hedged product (XSP) differs from the "unhedged" product.
Thanks as always for your great advice.

Q: Back in July, I purchased the Global X Gold Explorers ETF (formerly GLDX, now GOEX). I was reluctant to sell when it started to dip, but since the price of gold keeps falling I'm wondering what to do. My time horizon is long and my allocation is small, so I can live with being in the red for many years. What I’m wondering is if it's safe to hang on to it, in terms of there being any risk to the underlying companies or even the ETF provider itself. Should I have any concerns about Global X? Also, if I can ask a related question, if an ETF under-performs for long periods, is there a risk of it being discontinued? Thanks for your help.

Q: HI Peter and team. AM I better off investing in an ETF such as VDY or the top 10 - 15 holdings? WIth a 0.22 mer and a $100,000 investment it appears I would still be ahead based on 10 or 15 trades per year given $10 cost per trade. I would also realize a higher avg Yield vs the ETF yield. Also where can I find a list of the complete holdings of an ETF vs just the top 10 that most sites list. I very much appreciate your expertise and advice. I'm

Q: I have a question about the effect of demonetization on Indian stocks in the short term and medium term. I currently own ZID ETF (down 10%), ICICI Bank IBN (breaking even) and Dr Reddy's lab RDY (down 8%). Should I continue to hold? Would appreciate your views on these.

Thanks

Q: Could you comment on ZPW, which I am looking at as a small position for income (being too cowardly to buy puts directly myself). Some points in particular:
- is a bull, bear or stagnant market best suited to this strategy
- the BMO site lists this as low to medium risk - do you agree
- can they really earn enough through puts to justify the dividend/fees
- is the US a good market for this strategy

Thank-you

Q: With the huge rise in US banks these past couple of weeks, would this be a good ETF to buy to catch any future gains? Is there a different one you'd recommend with upside exposure to US banks? Thanks.

Q: I would like to increase my exposure (at the understood risk of return chasing) to US industrials and defence companies that seem set to rally under the new regime in the White House. I would like to do this without paying the punitive buy/sell exchange rates offered by my bank. Does the above mentioned ETF look ok to you? Any others that you would recommend? I would be interested in ones with some exposure to steel/base metals/US financials too.

Q: Soooo many questions regarding bonds ... not surprising when so many of us have enjoyed the "safe" dividends.

My question: given the concerns regarding bonds in general in a rising rate environment, would you recommend this as good time to add XRB or a similar/better product to the fixed income portion of one's portfolio?

Thanks for your guidance here.

Q: I am a retired, conservative, dividend-income investor. I am looking to top up my industrial holdings. I own WSP, which I could add a bit more of. I am looking for another industrial company that pays a dividend > 2.5%...tough to find one.

What are your current thoughts on the etf ZIN-T? What do you think of the holdings and their participation in the current updraft, due to the anticipated spending on infrastructure?

A 2nd option is TFI, but it has had such a jump?

Do you have any other suggestions for a dividend-paying industrial for me to consider?

Thanks, Steve

Q: Is there a Canadian only etf for materials which excludes gold and precious metals

Q: Which of these ETFs would you prefer for a TFSA, XHC or ZUH?

Thanks

Q: Is HBB worth keeping in a rising rate environment? Since Trump took office the price has been on a slow steady decline.

Thanks!

Q: I would like to invest in 11 ETFs that track the TSX's 11 sectors. Are there individual ETFs for each of the TSX's 11 sectors. If so what ETFs for each sector would you recommend. Thanks ... Cal

Q: I hold xlk in my RRIF as part of technology. However I am unhappy with the larger weighting given to "giants" as is the case with iyw I could accept the minimally higher cost of ryt for it's equal weighting and better performance. liquidity seems good. Do you think this a reasonable switch. I prefer to keep a US dollar ETF. Thanks for your advice