Investment Q&A

Q: I am thinking of starting a position in lif the covered call lifeco etf on the Toronto exchange. Do you see this as a bit of a hedge against rising interest rates?

Thanks,
Doug

Q: Hello Team,
For US mid cap exposure, do you prefer IJH or XMC. The Canadian ETF appears to be have a market cap of only 38 Million. Is that a liquidity concern? Any other thoughts you have would be appreciated.
Thank You,
Barry

Q: ZQQ-T (BMO Nasdaq 100 hedged) and XQQ-T (BMO Nasdaq 100 hedged) appears to contain the same tech companies in the same proportion. What difference do you see between the two ? What would be the equivalents on the U.S. market and is it better to buy this type of etf on the Cdian market (hedged) or directly on the U.S. Market ?
Thanks for your good attention,

Jacques

Q: I'm 56 years old with no fixed income and have been quite comfortable with this choice up until now. I recently have decided to have 5% in fixed income but have no knowledge on bonds. I have a balanced portfolio of stocks and try and hold 5% in cash to take advantage of good stocks in a down market. I was thinking of VAB and a 5 year GIC for fixed income. What are your thoughts and recommendations. Have a wonderful holiday to all at 5i and your families. Merry Christmas!

Q: I wish all 5i staff and they families Season's Greetings' I hope 2017 sees our portfolios grow ever healthier.

I want to gradually add some preferred shares to my portfolio, partly in lieu of some fixed income. In looking at potential candidates, I am attracted to the above three ETFs, particularly ZPR with its laddered feature. Do you have any thoughts? Are all distributions of such ETFs taxed as dividends? Thanks, Bill

Q: With 17% of my portfolio invested in these US ETFs, I'm thinking about adding another 5-10%. However, I'm wary of the Trump implications. All of the above are near 52-week highs. As a long term investor, should I not worry about timing the market, or is it advisable to wait a bit before investing in the US? Is XUS worth buying or am I fine sticking with VUN, if I go ahead and invest in the US?

Q: I do not have much experience in investing in US stocks. I would like to add some US exposure as it does seem that Trump's pro business approach might turn into a reality. Is there an ETF you could suggest that would track the US market?

Thank you, Peter

Q: My question is there any ETF like the "ProShare Short Dow 30 (DOG)" for TSX.
I am try to hedge on some of my Canadian holdings.
Thanks
Happy Holidays.
Tak

Q: Hi Peter and Team,

I find that we need to buy some more in the Utilities sector, to keep to a 10% weighting. We presently have about a three-quarter position in each of AQN, BEP.UN, and FTS. Do you think that INE would be a good addition to this mix or is it too similar to AQN and BEP.UN? We can buy and sell XUT commission-free, but I notice that ZUT (not commission-free) has a better chart. Should I increase our positions in each of the three we already have, buy a new one, or top up with XUT/ZUT? Or is there a US ETF in this sector that looks compelling? Or perhaps in the present "climate", could the utilities sector weighting be reduced below 10%? What sector should take up the slack?

Thanks for all your great advice which has been and continues to be very valuable. A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you at 5i and the members as well.

Q: Dear 5i
Do you expect US banks to do better than Canadian banks in 2017 .
Would zub be a good etf for US banks and what is their MER ?
What Can. bank etf would you recommend ?
Thanks
Bill C

Q: I am thinking of selling GWO and PWF and replacing them with a 50/50 split of ZUB and ZBK. I would appreciate you thoughts.
Thanks.

Q: What are your thoughts/risks on XHY going forward? How will any future rate increase affect xhy or are they already priced in?

Q: Could I have your opinion on XHY, XTR and CBO - should I sell or hold
Thanks - Hanna

Q: do you like the Japanese market and if so what would you recommend to buy into to enter into this market, and what % of a portfolio. Thank you and wishing you all a Joyous Christmas and a Wonderful New Year.

Q: Good morning. I was watching an interview with David Rosenberg who commented that Japanese stocks had an attractive valuation compared to historical norms and should benefit from a depreciating yen. I see that you can buy CJP commission-free in iTrade so was considering it since I have no non-North American exposure. It would be held in RRSP with a long term horizon. Thanks for your insights. Steven

Q: Thanks for your answer on ZUB - one basis point for hedging is neither here nor there. However, you refer to the "true" cost of hedging i.e. the efficiency of the mechanism, and I wonder if there is a gradual slippage over time such as you get with the (leveraged?) inverse ETF's where you never get back to your start point. In those cases I believe the slippage is significant over time - enough in theory to make it worth shorting the inverse product. Point is I expect to hold ZUB for some time - years potentially - and would like to hedge but think I have to avoid the cost of extended incremental slippage.

Q: I am a senior and a long time dividend investor. I have found that patience and having some cash on hand to buy bargains have paid off handsomely over the years. When stocks go down, dividends go up and I simply buy more. Eg. BMO@ 56.00, Sunlife@19.00, Fortis@29.00 etc. Except in rare instances (Manulife) the dividends just keep coming. I mostly agree with everything John Heintzl says in his G&M columns. Recently he wrote "I supplement my dividend holdings with diversified ETF holdings". Can you suggest some specific ETFs to balance & diversify my Canadian large cap dividend stocks?

Q: I have owned this fund SPR006 for 10 years of ups and downs. Is currently just above water and would like your opinion in the current environment, Hold ? Sell ? replace with what ? possibly at lower carrying costs. Appreciate your advice.
John

Q: There is currently a plethora of ways to invest in the US Market without touching sector funds. Would you use any of the above ETFs and if so in what proportion or would you suggest using any other US ETFs as well. High conviction US Mutual funds are also an option; but the fees are somewhat higher. I currently have no US coverage and am looking at establishing a 15-20% position. I know timing is a bit of a quess; but with the recent run up would you please suggest a strategy?

Thanks and
A very Merry Christmas to all

Q: Do you prefer:
(i) the 3 ETF Canadian Couch Potato Portfolio (VAB, VCN, VXC) (ii) the 11 ETF Canadian Money Saver Portfolio (CBO, XBB, CPD, XIC, CDZ, XGD, VEE, VE, SPY, VIG, IWO; or
(iii) something in-between?

Also, do you have any thoughts on Norm Rothery's Hot Potato (a take on the Canadian Couch Potato
- http://www.moneysense.ca/save/investing/spicier-couch-potato-portfolio/ )

Thanks!