Investment Q&A

Q: For income purposes, is this a good etf to own? What is the downside risk to the unit price - Fed rate hike? Please advise the pros and cons.

Thanks

Q: I have been rebalancing my portfolio which has been heavily skewed towards Cdn Dividend payers as I am retired and use the income to supplement my Pension. My Cdn holdings are now fairly well diversified using your Income and BE portfolios as guides.
I have targeted 15% of my total portfolio for Cdn ETFs which hold US equities. The following are my current holdings and the % weighting: ZDY 9%; ZBK 2%; ZUH 2%. I am looking at adding 2% Tech exposure and am considering either ZQQ or XQQ.
Your recommendations for the Tech exposure and my overall plan for my US exposure would be appreciated.

Q: Imagine an investor setting up an RRSP with $15k, a 30 year time horizon, a desire to keep it simple (CAD ETFs), an ability to sleep at night when markets are down and a desire for a somewhat aggressive strategy. What CAD ETFs would you suggest as a portfolio? Thanks as always.

Q: Hi Peter and gang.
Nice seeing you all at the Money show. I'm looking to get exposure to the US market and I've yet to dip my toe into the ETF field. However the CLU seems to consistently be reported in Money saver in the top ten. Would you recommend this as a way to get diversification in the US and which of the three do you think would be most appropriate. All of my money is invested in Canadian stocks at this time.
GUY

Q: Do you have a preference at this time? (Unhedged vs. Hedged). Thank you

Q: I am looking to take advantage of the expected year end rally. I would appreciate your recommendation for any stock or ETF's with the best expected momentum and your view on this strategy.
Thank you as always for your wise advise.
Raouf

Q: Hi Peter
I want to get into the technology stocks. ZQQ and IGM (US) have similar holdings but a huge difference in cost to get in. Do you think these ETF's have similar potential? Many thanks for finding IGM.
Cam

Q: Hi Team
I have my full allocation of 30% bonds in the etf CBO, is this a good strategy, although I get dividends the share price is down 2.86%.
I was wondering if I should hold more than 1 bond etf.

Q: Hi, I am considering BXF (combined with CBO, VSC, XHY and VSB) for my fixed income exposure. They will be roughly equal percentages totalling 30% of my portfolio. Can I have your advice about this? Would the take over of First asset by CI affect the underlying etfs? Are there any fixed income vehicles for taxable accounts (I was considering CPD)?

Q: Hi Peter
I'm trying to find an ETF called "ishares trust Shs s&p GSTI technology index fund (IGM)" mentioned in the Globe today (Monday) as an upgrade. The only IGM I found was a financial company. I assume they are not the same company. Are you able to help me? If so, what do you think of this ETF.
many thanks.
Cam

Q: I have a large cash position and I am giving consideration to purchasing VCE Vanguard FTSE Canada Index and and VFV Vanguard S&P 500 Index rather than purchasing individual stocks based on the premise that generally indexes outperform managed funds and are less costly to manage. I would buy 60% VFV and 40% VCE. Would appreciate your opinions. With thanks, Bill

Q: I always had bonds equally spread over a 5- year period. However, it is getting very difficult to buy bonds. Since i want liquidity, i am considering an etf like xsb or xbb.
I read that if interest rates go up, there will be a loss of capital equal to the average duration for each 1percent increase. For ex. The average duration for xbb is 8 years, thus if interest rate go up by 1% the unit price will drop 8%. If over the years interest rates go up 3% the unit price will loose 24%. Thus, i fail to see how i could ever recuperate the capital loss even if the distribution is reinvested.

Since many people are using bond etf, i must be missing something. Could you please tell me if my description of the risks associated with bonds etf is correct.
Thank you

Q: What is your opinion on cpd?
is it a buy now and what is your future outlook?
Would cpd rise with a rise in interest rates and with interest rates at the bottom this would be a good entry here?

Q: I have a new baby (less than two months old) and have just set up an RESP. We plan to contribute $2500 each year to get the government grants and grow a portfolio. Because $2500 is fairly low, what would you recommend as a starting equity position for this? Would something like GUD or DHX.B be a good start, or wouldis there an ETF be recommended first?

Thanks!

Q: When comparing a bond ETF to a ladder of individual corporate bonds is the MER, in this case .46%, greater or less than the bid-ask spread of the individual bonds? or asked a different way - is it cheaper to own XCB or a ladder of individual corporates? Thank You

Q: Could I please have your opinion on what to expect from this ETF over next six months to two years?
Thanks again
Larry

Q: Good morning!! I am using a margin account offshore to borrow CDN dollars and paying in $US...currency upside..I am looking for dividend stock as part of the portfolio to pay the interest charges...I am ideally looking at yield over 5.5%...I currently have many of the favored (WSP,BEP.UN,CSH.un,SIA,REITS, AD, ENB,SLF, TD)..i was thinking of adding VNR,IGM,WIN...or would you suggest adding to existing portfolio of "higher" yielding stocks...no tax issues...

Q: Is there an equivalent with lower fees?

When I renew before Dec 1 will my subscription still go to April?

Q: For better diversification of my portfolio, it has been recommended that I invest in a couple of US ETF's. John DeGoey, who was speaking recently on BNN, thought that the Canadian/US dollar is probably at its lowest point. He suggested that Canadians should buy hedged ETF's to take advantage of the future increase in the Canadian dollar. Would you suggest that I buy Canadian dollar hedged ETF's for US consumer staples and utilities at this point, then switch to US dollar ETF's when the currency ratio is more favourable? And if you think this is a good idea, what hedged ETF's would you suggest? Thanks!

Q: I enjoyed your Small Cap essay. I had to get to pg4 to know which small cap indices you were using. Pg4 & beyond said MSCI, but which MSCI?

Why would you compare a Financial & resource heavy Tsx to ,say, IWO or any MSCI small cap.

You have been a long term IWO advocate. Is there a C$ ETF that would provide access to IWO stocks as VUS/VUN do For access VTI?
Also can you suggest ETFs in any currency that follow MSCI Indices?

I ask few questions, but follow with interest your daily stream. Thanks for what you do
Ernie