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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: Preferred shares and fixed income

Hi 5i team : I own only common stocks in my portfolio and since I am a mature person that is near retirement, I have the feeling that my exposure to common stocks is very high. So far, to mitigate my risk, I keep daily of the market changes, so I do not get caught in a drastic downturn.
To get more protection, I have thought in buying some preferred shares , but I know nothing about them to start a position.
Are the P.S. a good way to go ?, if so, what should I learn about them and how (references, books, etc), also what would be a reasonable percentage of my portfolio to have in P.S.?
thanks for your help
Alex
Read Answer Asked by Alejandro (Alex) on July 28, 2016
Q: I'm considering adding a 3% emerging markets component to a growth portfolio. The two ETFs I am looking at are ZEM (C$) and EEM (US$). They both track the same index, ZEMs MER is about half that of EEM and its dividend is slightly higher. It is however, much smaller with a 157M market cap vs. 27.8 for EEM. Is the size differential a concern?
Read Answer Asked by Ken on July 28, 2016
Q: Good morning Peter, Ryan, and Team,

I submitted this question about a week ago, but guess that it must be "floating" in cyberspace! Here it is again:

There was an article in the July 18th Globe & Mail called "It’s time
for investors to reassess their rainy-day funds". The author
believes that too many investors keep too much money in low-
interest bank accounts and money-market funds. Instead, he
states that "intermediate-term bonds, over the long run, are
superior not just to cash but to long-term bonds as well. So when
thinking about where to invest your fixed income assets,
remember Goldilocks: The best place to be is not too long and
not too short. The place to be is what is essentially a large “sweet
spot” between short and intermediate. That’s where the reward-
risk trade-off is at its greatest."

Assuming that one agrees with this thesis, what fixed-income ETFs would you recommend that could fit the bill?

Thanks as always for your valued advice.
Read Answer Asked by Jerry on July 27, 2016
Q: Now that the Brexit vote uncertainty has diminished a bit, would it be a good time to add to European market exposure? Presently hold ZWE for income. Would you add to ZWE or open a position in another etf? If so, which etfs would you recommend for income? Which for growth? Possible ZDI ?Looking at 2-3 year time frame. Many thanks for the terrific service.
Read Answer Asked by Don on July 25, 2016
Q: Hi,
My son is taking a break from active stock picking and has gone with this ETF model: VUS(15%), VBU(5%), VCN(22.5%), VAB(5%), VI(22.5%). His investing horizon is very long (10-20 years). Your thoughts on the individual ETFs? How about sector & geographic diversity? Any other concerns?
Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Gordon on July 25, 2016
Q: On the fixed income side of a portfolio 5i has included both conv. debs. and prefs. Do you see them as having a similar risk profile? With new money would you choose CVD or CPD? and why? I am having a hard time finding CDs that are worth the risk, yet the rate reset pref. market seems like a "bargin" assuming rates go up in the next 5,10,15 years.
Read Answer Asked by Ronald on July 21, 2016
Q: Peter; I read a Globe article by the Avenue Group regarding the massive amounts of money flow into bond ETF's. Their main point was, if the bond market goes to a " no bid" situation, then the resulting problems with accurately pricing the Etf's could cause havoc if investors tried to exit. Today Larry Berman suggested buying his ZCS short term corp.bond
as a place to sit and wait for a pullback he thinks is coming. I realize that trying to time the market is pointless but first could you comment on the " no bid" scenario and second do you think buying some ZCS would be like a hedge if anything did develop?
Thanks.

Rod
Read Answer Asked by Rodney on July 20, 2016
Q: Hi, I am considering replacing my IWo by IJR or SLY ( S&p 600 small cap growth). I was reading David Swensens book "unconventional success". Brilliant book. He talks about how Russell 2000 is not a well structured index as compared to S&P 600. Which has a better structure and therefore results in better performance. What are your thoughts on this. Also what portion of a portfolio would you suggest for small cap growth based ETF like this. This is for an otherwise diverse and aggressive portfolio. Your advice is most valuable. Cheers, Shyam
Read Answer Asked by Shyam on July 20, 2016
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