Investment Q&A

Q: Bought a small portion of ZWU(covered call utilities with 0.72% mer) @ $15.04 in mid 2013(now$13.33) & loss is covered by the 0.08pm distribution.Please advise if I should switch to T,BCE.FTS, CDZ(0.67% mer) or Zlb(.39% mer)In 2013,I did not know what stock in the sector to buy.Since I joined 5I,I learn a lot & now tend to prefer a stock that is suggested by You.Thanks for your usual great advices & services.

Q: Hi 5i:

I have a set percentage of my portfolio dedicated to fixed income, with a primary focus on safety, but also with the hope of some return. I have focused on short term bond ladder ETFs, corporate and gov't. Over the last few years I have seen the reported distributions drop, slowly but steadily, and also the price of the ETFs drop steadily. For example, CBO now shows a dividend of about 3.6% wile I'm down about 3.3% on the market value of the ETF. I would have been much better off over the last few years in a GIC. I have some of the latter and like the ETFs because I can redeem them at will. Is there any other alternative to these bond ETFs (most that I have looked behave similarly)? What about RBC's Target Bond ETFs? These are held to maturity, though it seems to me that this might not help if the main problem is that the bonds included in the ETFs are bought at a premium. Your advice would be much appreciated.

Q: With the upcoming new classification of Real Estate being formed out of the Financials under the GICS is there a best way to play this? A single REIT or just pick up an ETF? I've read numbers as high as 100 billion could pour into REITs as a result - what kind of spike in valuations will this cause or is some of this already priced in?

Q: I have a few hundred shares of cyh and zwe which makes up about 8% of my portfolio. Would you recommend reducing this exposure until the Brexit issue is resolved in June? If so,what percentage might you recommend,if at all? Thank you.

Q: I hold ETFs that track the S&P500, TSX and the All Cap Ex NA index, both hedged and non-hedged. I'm considering adding an emerging market ETF but I'm concerned about the heavy China weighted that most such ETFs have. Your advice would be appreciated. In particular, can you suggest one that has a lower China weighting?

Q: Given today's market and the expectation of a US rate hike, could you identify 5 ETF's that you would be comfortable with to provide safety of principal and income. Thanks.

Q: Can you recommend this ETF as a fixed income equivalent, with better tax efficiency ?

Q: I am thinking about parking some cash in one or both of these ETF's (perhaps a 50/50 split) for the next 12 months. I understand that rate increases could adversely impact the unit price but given that rates are not expected to increase in Canada anytime soon and these are Canadian corporate bond funds not American would there be any impact from a US rate hike? If so, why? Secondly, what do you think of the downside risk and is there a better option you would suggest.
Thank you

Q: Hello 5i Do you think that ZPW could act as a hedge against choppy markets while collecting a nice dividend. Thanks. Gary

Q: Ours is a very conservative portfolio, with one third in dividend-paying equities, half of that individual stocks and half no-load funds. The latter's performance doesn't seem to justify the MER's so I would like to reduce, maybe eliminate, that cost, roughly $5,000 per year. Any thoughts you might have on how best to effect that change and what form that should take, eg less funds, more stocks and/or ETF's, will be much appreciated.

Q: I have some cash in my account and am thinking of adding to MAL and to XHY. Recent news and performance of MAL has been good, but I am concerned about the effect of US rate increases on XHY. My account is well diversified. I would appreciate your comments on both.

Q: Alerion appears to have begun recovery from an extended down trend with what looks like significant accumulation. However, doubts have been raised with respect to volumes for transport in part related product price and demand issues. Do you have an opinion on this issue and AMLP prospects please.

Q: Good Morning: My question is about the Horizons ETF listed as TXF. (It did not show up in the drop down menu.) The full name is First Asset Tech Giants Covered Call or something like that. I know it is Cdn. hedged which I am fine with and it uses a covered call strategy to optimize returns. Do you have an opinion on this ETF in regard to management fees (they do not seem excessive to me for an actively managed fund), performance, sector and weighting within a portfolio. I don't own a lot of big tech names directly (small holdings in Alphabet, Corning, Intel, Qualcomm and Apple,all of which are in this fund) and wanted some additional exposure in this sector. I already have a small position in this ETF (less than 1%) and would like to double it. Thanks for your input. don

Q: This ETF in your Income P/F has been pretty flat since 5i started it, I think in 2014, and do you think it will remain a long term hold? How much of a hit would you expect it to take with a quarter point rise in the Fed rate and what is its duration? Thanks, J.

Q: Do Vanguard ETF's actually own the shares in their ETF's or is it some derivative that they use? If they don't own the shares, what risk does this present? I seem to recall that there was a difference between Blackrock and Vanguard in this regard. Is that true?

Q: Hi Peter & Co.

I currently own ZDJ, ZSP & ZQQ. Should I replace these with VUN?

Thanks,

Henry

Q: For an ETF investor with a small portfolio do you see any compelling reason to hold BOTH XIC and CDZ for the Canadian component? Or would one suffice? If so which would you prefer?

Q: I'm considering ZLU as an investment & would appreciate your comments.It will be about 10% of my portfolio & in U.S funds.Is it too conservative for growth? Except for owning TD it's my only U.S. exposure.Can you recommend any other etf funds with U.S. exposure?Thanks.

Q: Hi Peter & Co.

I was watching BNN Market Call May 26/16. Guest was Daniel Strauss from National Bank. I do not have REITS in my RRIF portfolio but would like to add some. Daniel was discussing an actively managed REIT ETF, RIT.TSX, First Asset Canadian REIT by CI Financial. My research indicate that the MER is .75% and the 12 month trailing distribution yield is 4.88%, the average daily volume appear to be just under 30,000. What do you think of this investment? Are their better alternatives in the actively manage REIT space? Thanks, John

Q: I would like to divide $100,000.00 into 4 ETS of equal weights. Preferably high yield but still conservative. I have been trying to do it myself but I am overwhelmed by the choices. I currently have the two above but they may be too much the same.

Thanks for being there!
Bryan