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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: A follow up on your recent response regarding XHY and BSJK.
What is the difference in risk factors comparing these two funds if interest rates rise as expected over the next 2-3 years.
I would expect BSJK to act like a single bond held to maturity ( 4% annual return with 100% of the principal returned in 2020 ). XHY yields 5.3% but rising rates could substantively reduce its value, resulting in a net loss if redeemed in 2020. Am I understanding this correctly?
Read Answer Asked by Lloyd on April 24, 2017
Q: Hello,

I assume that VFV and ZSP are identical EFTs provided by Vanguard and BMO respectively. Their MER, asset allocations, sector breakdown are close to identical.

However I notice the following anomalies (VFV vs ZSP):
1) Dividends of $0.238 CAD vs $0.145 with yields of 1.565% and 1.789% respectively. Why the difference in dividends?

2) Portfolio turnover rate of 13.18% vs 31.90%. Why would there be a difference in turnover rate?

3) Benchmark: S&P 500 CAD vs S&P 500 TR CAD. What does the "TR" mean?

3) Market price (NAV?) of $56.33 vs $34.94: Is this due to dividend reinvestment and inception date?

If one were to buy one of these, which would you prefer and why?

Thank you for your excellent and unbiased opinion and service

Read Answer Asked by Vee on April 24, 2017
Q: Hi5I
We are giving our 3 grandchildren $5000.00 each, so they can each open a TFSA account. Our intention is to give them the same amount for the following three years.
Considering the size of the deposit, and the fees for the accounts, your recommendation on where to open the accounts and what to buy inside the accounts would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks MJ
Read Answer Asked by M J on April 18, 2017
Q: Whats your take on Defined Maturity Bond ETF's such as BSJK? As I understand it, bonds in the ETF are held to maturity to remove market value risk from rising interest rates. I've aways used ETFs' for bond holdings. However with all the noise on what rising interest rates can do to portfolio values, I'm currently mainly in cash for my fixed income allocation. Instead of buying an ETF, do you think its "practical" for a retail investor to purchase sufficient holdings to be diversified ( and held to maturity ) in order to to accomplish the same "de-risking" without the MER? And lastly how many high quality corporate bond holdings make it diversified?
Read Answer Asked by Lloyd on April 17, 2017