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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 Ryan,What would be the best etf for china right now , Thanx Cliff
Read Answer Asked by cliff on September 16, 2014
Q: Hi Team...I bought CBO in around May..it only goes down and when I look at the charts, it just basically drops (even over the last 5 years). Can you suggest an alternative? XHY??? I would like a steady Eddie for this part of my Portfolios but one that has a good dividend and some (even slow) growth!!?? Thanks ahead..
Read Answer Asked by El-ann on September 15, 2014
Q: hello 5i team, could you please give some info on i shares xpf, i hold some cbo and some xhy as part of my fixed income allocation will xpf compliment it
Read Answer Asked by James on September 15, 2014
Q: I am looking at the strength in the US dollar and adding a USD ETF such as SDY Dividend ETF - is this a good ETF to play the USD dollar and strength in the US Economy?

Thank you for for help
Read Answer Asked by Kevin on September 11, 2014
Q: ETF
Good Day. A question for registered accounts only and switching between similar ETF's. I have held the Vanguard S&P500 etf for quite sometime and have a good size but unrealized capital gain. Except for probably a few basis points difference in MER's, tracking error or yield what would be your opinion in selling the Vanguard product and then taking the proceeds to buy the same IShares product? My thought process is to switch between like etf's realizing the capital gain to get this gain now working for me, and while making sure portfolio weightings are also maintained.
Is this a reasonable portfolio strategy to enhance returns with minimal risk. Also, this would not be a trading strategy but a long term process as capital gains hopefully grow over a couple of years.

Thanks,
Read Answer Asked by g on September 10, 2014
Q: Oil and gas. My portfolio is likely underweighted in this sector (7%). I would consider increasing it via ETF. Do you have recommendations for ETF's in this sector (Canadian only preferred).
Read Answer Asked by Carl on September 10, 2014
Q: Dear 5i:

I hold EWU an ETF that tracks the larger UK market. Any idea what the impact would be on it if Scotland actually secedes on the 18th?
Read Answer Asked by Roland on September 08, 2014
Q: Dear Peter,
I'm glad to see that contributions to your ride are continuing and you are now at 98%. Way to go! My question is about investing in European securities. It was mentioned in a recent answer that 5% of a portfolio be in Europe and 10% in USA. What do you think are the best way(s) to invest in those areas?
Linda
Read Answer Asked by Linda on September 08, 2014
Q: Europe is now printing money to grow their economy, how does the at home do-it-yourself investor take part in the potential growth of European equities?
Read Answer Asked by Kim on September 06, 2014
Q: Hi,

If you had to bet on one of these solar stocks/etfs for a long term hold, which is the better bet- CSIQ, TAN or KWT? Or is there a better/safer solar alternative?
Read Answer Asked by Graeme on September 05, 2014
Q: What advise can you give to a person that just changed careers and their pension had to be moved to defined contribution plan with Sunlife Financial as to the type of products, ie ETFs,mutual funds,etc. and the weightings? time frame 20 years and very little investing knowledge.


thanks and we still consider5i as one of our top investments ever
Read Answer Asked by James on September 05, 2014
Q: We learn this morning that the ECE cut its interest rates to 0.05%. It seems a good bet to add to my european assets using the ETF XEH. What do you think? Also, would you go with ZEQ instead of XEH or are those two pretty much the same?
Read Answer Asked by Matt on September 05, 2014
Q: Morning 5i,

My question pertains to the Cash Distributions (CD) paid per unit on iShares ETF's. If the previous year a particular ETF was paid a high CD per unit does that mean we could expect the same this year? Or do these CD's change drastically from year to year, and if so then what drives the amount of the CD? An example would be iShares Alternatives Completion Portfolio Builder Fund, symbol XAL. 2013 CD was $0.63777/unit paid.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on September 04, 2014
Q: Hi.

Though the valuations are reasonable and I'm still invested in many 5i stocks, I foresee a correction coming some time in ~ 2015. To mitigate this, I plan on moving 'a bit' of my equities into Vanguard Total Stock Market (VT) - the ETF of everything I call it ... My thinking is that North America (TSX) will be hit a little harder than the world in general when this occurs. When it does, and it will, I will sell VT and buy 5i stocks back at a discount. I know you can't time the market, and this is a bit crystal ball-ish - but the downside of doing so seems low ... Any advise or comment? Many thanks.
Read Answer Asked by J Carl on September 03, 2014
Q: I saw you commented on VTSMX in an earlier question. VTI is a vanguard fund with the same title "Vanguard Total Stock Market". Is there an advantage of going with one over the other?
Read Answer Asked by Carla on September 03, 2014
Q: Hi Peter/Team,

Good luck on your ride Peter. Come back safely - we really need you here! ;-)

I have a question about some US funds I read about on Seeking Alpha. I know you focus on Canada but would appreciate any general or specific comments about these funds.

I paraphrase the description by a poster: "...funds are around half US stocks and around half foreign stocks, and write covered calls against some of the shares in the portfolio and have payouts over 8-9%."

Here is the list:

EXG.US Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Global Diversified Equity Income Fund
IGA.US Voya Global Advantage and Premium Opportunity Fund
IGD.US Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund
IDE.US Voya Infrastructure Industrials and Materials Fund
BOE.US BlackRock Global Opportunities Equity Trust

The poster also mentioned the following fund that "...writes call options against some of the shares in the portfolio."

GNT.US GAMCO Natural Resources Gold & Income Trust

Any thoughts or advice you may have would be greatly appreciated. I am looking for long term income with low to moderate risk. I suspect these are high risk though.

All the best, Michael.
Read Answer Asked by Michael on September 02, 2014
Q: Hi Guys,

Can you suggest a Technology ETF. I would assume to hold Google, Amazon, and those types it would have to be American.

Thanks,
Charlie
Read Answer Asked by Charlie on September 02, 2014
Q: In the latest email from 5I, I was reading about ETFs and saw the symbol VTSMX as a suggested Vanguard fund ; however, when I looked it up no results were found .I rechecked and had copied it correctly but once again no results . Could you give your comments on this fund? Thanks, Dave
Read Answer Asked by Dave on September 01, 2014
Q: Would you suggest an ETF or mutual fund suitable for a RESP for a child in his mid-teens? (Something that could be held at a bank, perhaps so fees could be low.)
Read Answer Asked by Bruce on August 28, 2014
Q: Hi Team,

I have a number of quality US$ equities in my portfolio. I would prefer to hedge the US$ exposure if I could find an affordable way to do so. I tried a 2X leveraged ETF a few years ago but it had a 2.5% MER and I seem to recall that the leverage doesn't work well with volatility. Do you have any suggestions on how I can hedge the exposure? Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Morgan on August 28, 2014