Investment Q&A

Q: My portfolio closely matches you balanced equity portfolio. As it looks like the US will outperform Canada over the next year I am thinking of picking up some US ETF's for about 20% of my portfolio. What do you think of this strategy and if you agree, what ETF's would you suggest?

Ray

Q: Bonjour, please provide general comments on these two funds (MER, growth prospects, suitability considering a 10 year time-frame.
Merci
Ronald

Q: I started out with I question but find I actually may have 2 or more.

I am considering replacing CRQ & CDZ in 1 account,
and replacing cdz with HEW in another account. This would account for all my TSX ETF exposure.

The questions are :
1) would you view this as a viable move
2) I noticed that HEW is a thin trader. Will I be beaten
up badly if i try to buy several hundred shares of HEW
at one time.
3) Is there an approach to buying this type of eTF (thin trader)
4) I noticed when I looked up CDZ there is a CDZ.A
and CRQ has a CRQ.A
Could you please tell me the difference in the A versions
of the ETF's .
That's it for this "question".

Thanks in advance

Q: I have a question about 1714,Hi,I would like to diversify out of Canada with a etf. If I bought VGG in my cash account,would I have to fill out a U.S. Tax form,or would it be included in my Canadian tax return? I file my own taxes and not interested in filing U.S.taxes as well.
Would Vgg be good for income 3-4% and a little growth or could you recommend something.
Thanks,Brad

Q: I am interested in a small position in zef and I am wondering what a rising U.S. dollar might have on this etf. Would you recommend this etf for an allocation in an rrsp for income? Thanx.

Q: Could I get a couple of suggestions for 1-2 small-to-mid-cap regional US banks with good fundamentals that you like the looks of. What are your thoughts on US financials generally for the next 12-24 months. Thanks.

Q: Is there an etf that has both USA and Canadian Finacials ?

Q: Peter and Team, I want to choose some ETFs for my mother in-laws RRIF and LIF. My approach is to be well diversified, looking for some dividend and a little growth to achieve btwn 5 to 10% annually. I plan to select Equal weights using ZLB,ZWB, ZDV FOR Canadian content and ZLH, ZWH, ZHY, and ZGI FOR US Content. Your opinion and any pitfalls or suggestions would be apprecuated.
Thanks, Steve.

Q: you suggested this etf for my son.thanx.does the price move up and down with people buying the etf itself or the underlying stocks?

Q: I will appreciate your comments on IYJ ETF as a long term hold.
Thanks

Q: Can I have your thoughts on ZDI or an alternative you suggest. Yield and holdings look good. Also, what do you suggest as a foreign stock holding percentage for a portfolio not including US stocks. Looking to add foreign dividends and exposure with existing incoming Canadian dividends from portfolio. Does ZDI hold the stocks directly or through another ETF, I want to get as close as I can to the ownership of the stocks through the ETF avoiding any unnecessary extra fees.

Q: There are a few Multi-Asset ETF available in USA such as DWIN, PCEF, IYLD, CVY, and GYLD. The Beta of those funds is about 0.50. Do you recommend any of them? Are there any Multi-Asset ETFs that are based in Canada?

Q: A new investment strategy, based in Paris, has developed TOBAM (Think Out of the Box Active Management), which is a new anti-benchmark strategy of investing with a goal of minimizing volatility swings in the markets. Whereas the TSX has a 35.64% weighting in financials and a 20.58% weighting in Energy, TOBAM's strategy limits financials to 22.1% and energy to 9.1%. Consumer Staples, on the other hand, are weighted at only 4.16% on the TSX, while TOBAM gives that sector a weighing of 14.4%. While the strategy is fairly new, when you back-test data to 2001, it does seem to be working. Mackenzie Financial has a number of ETF's utilizing this strategy. I am interested in three of them... the Mackenzie Maximum Diversification Canada Index (MKC on the TSX), the Mackenzie Maximum Diversification U.S. Index (MUS on the TSX), and the Mackenzie Maximum Diversification Developed World ex North America Index (MXU on the TSX). All three are traded fairly thinly. The first two are currently at their highs, the last is currently at its low. Your insight please.

Q: Hi great team!
Know you do not cover US stocks specifically but you may be able to assist me.
I have a 4 yr. old grandson leaving in the US. His Mom would like to have me help her start a long term saving investment plan along the lines of the "Lazy Investor", with mthly contributions ( not too large) in preparation for his future education.
Would you have any suggestions as to the stocks she should invest in,those having a DRIP and OCP and with good history of dividends. This would be done in the US so no complications re Canada.
Many thanks for this and all the great work you do for us!

Casey

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