Investment Q&A

Q: I have a diversified RIF but with little U.S./International exposure. Could you recommend one or two ETFs that would provide this - looking for a combination of growth and income.
Many thanks for all that you do.

Q: I have about 20% of my portfolio sitting in cash waiting for opportunities. Also if there is a 10-20% correction in the market I feel like this gives me a chance to take advantage of the cheaper prices for good stocks while not taking on additional risk. My question is: is there a better place to keep the money perhaps where I could earn some interest/divs and which might even go up during a correction yet is fairly liquid? Thanks. Great service.

Q: I have uninvested US funds. Would like to invest in an US dividend Aristocrats ETF. In this regard would you prefer NOBL yielding 2.28% (MER .35%) with 54 Companies and appear to follow the S&P Dividend Aristocrat Index or the HDV yielding 3.26% (MER .40%) with 75 Companies. If you do not like either of these, do you have other alternatives?

Interestingly, BlacRock US website indicate that a new Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) is expected to be launched on June 12, 2014. There are no facts as of yet except the MER will be .12% and the objective of this ETF "seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. equities with a history of consistently growing dividends."

Your comments will be helpful and greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Q: XTR - I noticed one of your responses concerning this fund in which you state, among other things, "a diversified income fund like XTR are similar but you will pay more in fees as all of your allocation will be exposed to the fee vs a portion of the model"

However, I am not sure this is correct - the prospectus relating to the fund fees indicates "the management fees will be adjusted to reflect the fees paid on the underlying funds held in the fund to ensure the total fees paid will not exceed the indicated management fee"

Q: Hello Peter :
As a retiree with hopefully 20 years to live I am looking for an additional safe secure stock capable of weathering a market crash and with a good growing dividend and enough expected capital gain to offset inflation.

I am currently looking at stocks in the 5% yield range and am focusing on BMO Equal weight REIT Index ETF [ZRE] which you have in your Model Income Portfolio and must like a lot, and on Bell Canada [BCE]. Both have about a 5% dividend. BCE has a P/E of 19.3 but I cannot find a P/E for ZRE as such, but the P/Es of the 18 REITs in ZRE range from about 10 to about 20.

I already own BDT, BEP.UN, PKI, ENF, and BIP.UN, all near the 5% yield range.

Which of ZRE or BCE would you advise me to choose for income for a long hold and why, and do you have any other or better suggestions?

Thank you....... Paul

Q: Hi,

Can you please offer your views on US ETF DTH. It is an international ETF with a good mix. Also in this market full of uncertainty is it good to invest in ETF's like FSD (US), PHE (CAD) and RCS (USD). Thanks

Q: Good Morning,
Value stocks seem to be making the news lately and I was looking at the ishares msci eafe value etf (EFV). Can you give me your thoughts on the etf and also your thoughts on value stocks in general?
Thank you

Q: 5i Team,

Thanks for the good work. We own CDZ in our portfolio, can you recommend two similar ETFs (Large cap dividend) in CAD$ for US stocks and International(ex North America), we are thinking of owning them in RESP and TFSA.

Q: Could you suggest some laddered bond etfs or would you cosider them too risky at this stage because of impending interest hikes?Are there any other fixed income products for investors trying to protect their principal? Thanks for all your help.
Dave

Q: Hi 5i, a short question...what etfs would you recommend for Europe exposure
thanks again for your great service

Q: Hi Peter & Team,
Opinion on BIP.UN or ZGI please for long term income. Thanks

Q: Hi Peter:
I hold this: MFR.UN.T
in my RRSP portfolio
what you say it is of decent hold as an income generating
investment; if not what would you suggest ?
thanks!

Q: Hi ,

In a registered account, what ETFs would you recommend for the fixed income part of a portfolio. I currently own XBB and CBO , and am looking for alternatives to diversify from bonds. Which one of your recommendations would be your first choice to add to these? Thank you

Q: I would like to purchase an energy ETF and I am considering Vanguards VDE-N or I shares XEG-T. Would you have a preference for one over the other or would you suggest splitting the total dollar amount invested 50/50? With thanks, again. Bill

Q: Hi Peter, and 5iResearch Team,
Would XLE, Energy Select Sector SPDR fund be the best way to invest long term in the US Energy Sector. Is the valuation of this sector still reasonable. It seems that US oil companies have a significant edge now and I think the US Dollar fundamentals may prove to be better than the Canadian dollar? Your thoughts?
Thank you very much!
Linda

Q: hello 5 i team. can you explain the yield difference of cbo 4.13 and vsc .29 and clf at 3.46 to 2.41 for vsb i am considering vsc but can not understand the yield difference on rbcdirect today is this an error ? thank you

Q: I sold most of my mutual funds with the advent of ETFs but have held on to TD Asia Growth fund. Which ETF would have similar holdings to this mutual fund? Which ETFs do you recommend in this space?

Many thanks

Q: Hi Peter and team,

Symbol: XIU

I have been a member since March and I have not asked questions before, because I found that reading your questions and answers gave me a lot of food for thoughts already. Thank you for an excellent service.

But now I do have a question, I would like to hold XIU as a core holding for the long term, and use your recommendations for extra growth potentials. But before I add more XIU, I would like to know what will happen if Blackrock goes into trouble? I know it is unlikely, but after so many crisis, I think anything is possible. Are our regulatory bodies making sure that XIU's underlying assets are totally segregated and safe? If that unlikely event happens, will shareholders of XIU able to access the stock still, or will its trading be stopped (for a while at least)? what will likely happen to the XIU's price?

Thanks!

Q: hello 5i team. from your previous feedback to other investors on xtr i gather 5i considers xtr to be a good compromise for income and well diversified. I held it for most of 2013 and my total income from it was 6130 dollars,however my return of capital was 27% of this at 1638 dollars. i got hooked on the payout for retirement income. any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Q: The best investment i have made in recent years is in 5i research, thank you. My question is what are good etfs for infrastructure,technology and oil service sectors, US and Canadian .Thanks