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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: Hi Peter and Team,

In our grandchildren's RESP (ages 15 and 16) I have been using accumulated dividends to 'top up' the above ETFs, as I'm able to do so commission-free through Scotia iTrade. The portfolio is balanced, with the majority of holdings from the 5i portfolios. Can you suggest a strategy as to which ETF(s) I should invest this extra cash at any given time? Since the 16-year-old is in grade eleven, and the 15-year-old is in grade ten, is it safer to use CLF and/or CBO, even though their charts don't look so great, as compared to CDZ and CUD?

Thanks in advance for your valued advice.
Read Answer Asked by Jerry on September 22, 2017
Q: I refer Richard's question of Sept.19th
Would this work for a RRSP as well, combined my wife I have $877,000. Sell our stocks and buy equal amounts of these etf'e.
This would give us a nice income should we take it out.
Also have a larger amount in cash and TSFA based on your portfolios.
We are 60 and also have pensions and no debt
Thank you and have a great weekend.
Mike
Read Answer Asked by Mike on September 22, 2017
Q: Good day, I would like to know if you think RPD(RBC Quant European Dividend Leaders) would be a good choice for European exposure, would there be, in your opinion, a better choice (I also look at VE).
Regards
Read Answer Asked by Philippe on September 21, 2017
Q: I am interested in the ZWH or ZWH.U for a registered account. Is effectively the only real difference in these 2 the fact that distributions are paid out and converted to CAD for ZWH whereas the distributions for ZWH.U are paid in USD? While ZWH is "held" in CAD it would be fully impacted by FX movements. Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Gary on September 21, 2017
Q: Hi,

Currently holding VCE which basically replicates the tsx60. Although I have a few select stocks from your growth portfolio, would like to add a more broad diversification on small cap. I would liked your opinion on either XCS or XMD that would compliment. Or would you have a different cnd small cap etc

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Rino on September 20, 2017
Q: Are covered call ETF's okay to put in a non registered account vs TFSA & RRSP from a tax perspective vs regular dividend etfs? Does this make things more complicated when filing?
Also what is the opinion of 5i regarding PDF?

Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by Kyle on September 20, 2017
Q: I would like to deploy cash held in my Canadian $ brokerage account on the basis that the Canadian dollar will decline in value in relation to the US dollar. I am considering the purchase of ZTS BMO Short Term US Treasury Bond Index. My premise is that this ETF should be very stable in the value of its holdings but will directly reflect changes in the CDN/US $ ratio. Is this correct?

Other than paying the high bank exchange spread or deploying a Norbert’s Gambit transaction, is there a better way to institute this idea? Is ZTS a suitable ETF for this purpose?
Thanks
David
Read Answer Asked by David on September 20, 2017
Q: I am a fan of covered calls. I am retired and like the income, tax treatment and downside protection. In addition I like the diversity an ETF brings.
I hold all the above but am looking for more diversity. Are there equivalent US offerings? Does BMO have competing products that are more diverse?
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Don on September 20, 2017
Q: I am considering converting the holdings in our investment account from the couch potato to a dividend portfolio consisting of the 4 etfs listed. In both cases cash replaces the bond component. I want to draw a larger dividend from the portfolio. Do the 4 etfs provide satisfactory diversification and how do you see the pros and cons of implementing this change. Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Richard on September 19, 2017
Q: Just a comment to Nino's earlier question about CDZ: at the end of February 2017 Aimia was the largest weighting at 3.15% of that fund (according to iShares website). With the loss of the Air Canada contract and subsequent cancellation of the dividend it would have been delisted from the index (can't find a link to that on S&P though). Seems to me there would be recent losses and distribution cuts to the fund especially from Aimia's fall plus any other changes in holdings. Fair to say situations like that make yield-driven weighting riskier?
Read Answer Asked by Stephen on September 19, 2017
Q: Hi Team,
Lithium has been on a roll for a while. There are two ETFs and one company that appear to get more coverage in financial news; they all have been steadily rising.
Would any of the mentioned names be viable for investment at this point in time or would you have additional recommendations?
Thank you for your input!
Read Answer Asked by Sigrid on September 18, 2017
Q: I am looking at purchasing an etf in the s&p500 and the nasdaq for my son. Is there a preference between the zqq or xqq and same question for the zsp or xsp. They seem to have the same mer but performance seems to be a bit better for the ishares product. Is there a seasonality aspect (time of year) to buy these or is just on dips?
Read Answer Asked by pietro on September 18, 2017
Q: Hello

I m looking for a etf or mutual fund of quality blue chip who can growth in bull market and minimize the the risk during a bear market for a long run minimum of 5 years.

Which product between VIG, ZGQ, MAwer global equity, edgepoint global, black creek global,do you suggest me?
If you have other suggestions let me know.

Thank you for your help

Have a nice week end
Read Answer Asked by Alexandre on September 18, 2017
Q: I am 70 years old, been retired for 14 years, and can't risk losing capital. Thus my portfolio is currently 100% in fixed income.... 65% in laddered 1-5 year GIC's, 10% in bond ETF's (CBO, CLF, XBB), 5% in preferred shares, and 20% in cash. In the preferred share category, I currently hold CPD, HPR, and ZPR equally. Given a steadily increasing interest rate environment, would you recommend selling CPD and adding to HPR and ZPR, due to their leanings towards rate re-sets? Is a 5% total weighting for preferreds appropriate for this fixed income portfolio? What do you recommend for the remaining cash, given my mandate for "safe" investments? Should I stick with additional GIC's or expand the bond allocation? Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Paul W on September 18, 2017
Q: I've been unsuccessful picking my own stocks thus far but have roughly 15k sitting in cash (afraid to lose it). What/How would you suggest investing this amount to return consistently over a long period.

Thank you
Read Answer Asked by Kevin on September 18, 2017
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