Investment Q&A

Q: Rob today asked for your recommendation on an ETF that tracks the broader US market, that he can buy with CDN funds. Your recommendation was VGG a dividend appreciation etf with 1 year return (as of yesterday) of ~ 18%. You have recommended this etf on various other occasions today and in the past. You should be aware the tempting 18% return is due to currency because the hedged VGH return over the same period is a mere 1.9%. I cannot understand why you continue to pick these "niche " etf's especially when someone asks for a broad index. The broadest US index with lowest mer in US $ is VTI and in Canadian $ VUN. And VUN has 1 year return of 22.6%. VTI/VUN over various cycles outperforms these "niche" etf's tracking some subset of a market and this is what etf's were originally designed to do anyways so just recommend the broadest index to maximize investors returns.
Steve

Q: Hi Peter and 5I team.
I am trying to build a portfolio for my wife's LIRA acct, with 70% from the BE portfolio and the remainder made up from 2 foreign exposure ETFs. I was thinking XSP for US and one of the following for diversity, (VDU,VEF,VXC,) can you please advise or recommend which Vanguard product would be best suited for a 8-10 year timeframe, and does this idea make sense to you. Thank's for your great service, James

Q: Doing some research I have become quite impressed with the Mawer group of funds. For the most part they have done very well versus the indexes both in Canada, the U.S. and world. I have reviewed Maw, 102,108,120,150,106,130,104 and 105.

What is your opinion of Mawer ? Any things to watch out for.

Many thanks

Paul

Q: Can you please recommend an ETF that tracks the broader US market, that I can buy with CDN funds. I know you have identified IWO in the past but I don't have US funds and the cost and spread on currency conversion turns me off... It seems you are going to lose 3+% coming and going just on the conversion charges. Thanks

Q: HI Folks: Is owning PHS.U a good/safer way to "own" silver or would buying silver bars and rounds be better and, would this be a good time to buy PHS.U or should I wait until after the CEF.A and the SBT deals are complete?

Q: Hello 5i team I am building a US stock portfolio and would like your opinion on the stocks I wish to accumulate. jpm,t,psx,jnj,nvda,tot. I plan on buying these over 6-8 month period and holding for 3-5 yrs. I am trying to into get into different industries and picking some best of breeds. I would also like to add 2-3 etf (1-growth,1-income,1-balanced)if you could recommend some to compliment these stocks. Thks

Q: Your thoughts on ZRE and CPD at this moment. Are they a buy?
Thanks

Q: I am nearing retirement and would like to sell some stocks and purchase a 1 to 5 year bond ladder. But, a bond ladder can be difficult to manage for a retail investor. Can you recommend a good 1 to 5 year bond ladder ETF? Will a bond ladder ETF actually perform like a bond ladder, where every bond is held to maturity or would it be more subject to capital gains and losses with fluctuating interest rates? Would I be better off with a 5 year GIC ladder at today's rates?
Thanks,

Q: Investing in preferred shares is a conundrum at present.Do you have any suggestions on investing in these products or should they
be avoided for other income products which offer less risk of capital loss? Are pref share ETFs worth the effort? Joe

Q: Re the ETF question, another company making money on ETF's is Blackrock, which has the ubiquitous i-shares in Canada as well as in the US.

Q: In his recent article on etf investing Cullen Roche's closing comment is: "making markets in index funds is hugely profitable". I wonder if there are companies specializing in this area that you could name that would be worth researching. Also, of course, do you agree that they have potential for a profitable investment.
Many thanks
Mike

Q: I would appreciate your opinion on FIE for a balanced income portfolio. Will the capital value hold up in our current flat interest rate environment with rates gradually rising over the coming quarters? A big part of this ETF is composed of preferred shares. Will preferred re-sets do better in a rising interest environment? Many thanks!

Q: Hi,

Has the dividend on VDU gone down a lot? I'm sure when I looked at it a few months ago it was about 4% and now it is under 2%. What would account for this change?

Best,

Carla

Q: Can you please give a update.. Thanks for the great service.. Rgards Cliff

Q: At the current unit price of these etfs, do you think they are a buy at this time for a person looking for yield? Or, do you see further downside in October and November for the North American markets?

Thank You

Q: I am recently retired, 58 years of age and my investments are 100% in equities and should be looking to diversify into some assets with less risk. I am currently receiving company pension that is sufficient for monthly expenses. What are your suggestions to diversify my portfolio? I am looking at some bond ETF and/or CIBC Income Plus Portfolio. Robert L

Q: I was planning to purchase this etf but I see the daily volume is very low. Is there another etf with similar attributes and yield but with more market activity?

Thanks

Q: Hi, this morning at one point one bid @ 18.28 for 8000, one ask @ 18.32 for 8000. Is this BMO making a market for the shares based on the companies inside the ETF?

Thanks

Q: I asked a question on Wednesday but did not get a response.

Could I have your advise on buying some growth as well as relatively safe US stocks to take advantage of this weak market.

Thanks a lot. I leant a lot from 5i and also other members' comments

Q: Dear Peter and team:
Even though the tech sector has also corrected, it appears its gains haven't been completely wiped out.
What ETF would you recommend for one to take a position in NASDAQ. Keep in mind that the CAD is so weak! Do you see NASDAQ losing even more or holding steady in the next year or two. This is for my RRSPs. Time horizon 3 to 5 years.
If you don't recommend any ETFs, can you suggest some tech stocks?
Thanks .