Investment Q&A

Q: Hi there - I've been researching into using a laddered GIC for my fixed income portion of my asset allocation. I stumbled upon target date bond etfs which look to share some similarities to a GIC in terms of fixed maturity date. My potential plan would be to have a ladder target date bond ETF instead of a ladder GIC. What would be your thoughts on this and what would the risks be? Additionally, there seem to be many etf providers who are creating these types of products. Which would be your recommended etfs to create such a ladder, maturing in 2026, 27, 28 etc.

Thank you!

Q: This ETF seems too good to be true,roughly 17.5% yield,up about 8.5% since inception from July of last year and if that’s not enough it pays an 18 cent distribution twice a month.
.85 % MER seems high but I guess that’s for the 25% leverage and zero day to expiry(whatever that means) I suspect.If this is like most covered call ETFs it would have limited upside would it also possibly more defensive in a correction,your thoughts on this income ETF …Thanks

Q: I note that HLPR is a total return ETF. How solid do you think it is for purchase in an unregistered account? I would like to shift some of my income in the unregistered account from interest to capital gains. Thanks!

Q: Are there any listed international ETF like QQQ.us and XIT. Canadian ?

Q: What is your opinion of these 2 mutual funds. I have held for years but wondering if there is a better ETF to move the funds into or just keep theses two funds. They are held in a RRSP. Thanks

Q: Any suggestions for a technology EFT that covers United States, Canada and Global

Q: Looking for a CDN $ etf covering uranium - including physical commodity, miners, and companies involved in associated technologies. URA seems to fit the bill but is traded in US $. Is HURA the same -? Looking at both websites, I get the impression there may be differences but it's not completely clear. Can you confirm that it is or is very similar ? If not, do you still feel it would be a good choice or would you recommend another CDN $ traded ETF ?
Many thanks as always.

Q: Can I please get your take on Alerian Energy Infrastructure EFF (ENFR). Thanks

Dave

Q: In your Income Model Portfolio XHY shows a negative 24% return since inception, yet it yields 5.99%. I've held it in my RIF for many years but its price history is weak. Is this a good time to add or a value trap?

Can you suggest better options?

Q: Could you help me to understand ZCS.L - accumulating units - ie. the nature and merits of " accumulating units ".
From the BMO web-site , this ETF appears to be identical to ZCS -their S/T Corporate Bond ETF except that distributions are made only annually .
Is this correct ?
Is this the only difference ?
For someone who does not need / want the income from ZCS's monthly distribution but just some FI allocation , is this a better option ?
Chart suggests so .
And would it also be a better option in this respect than HBB which makes no distributions but has a much longer ( undesired ) duration ?
Thank-you for the clarifications

Q: Hearing the "options based ETF" category as a means of hedging against equity risk. Could you provide some comment and any specific favourites. Thanks.

Q: Lots of discussion and comments regarding small caps today.
My only exposure - about 10% of my portfolio - is VIOO.
Is this a good choice to play in the space or would you have other suggestions.
Thanks

Q: Thank you for those useful articles on all-in-one ETFs. I plan to gradually invest this way​ to make life easier on myself or whoever may be doing the investments in the future.
The problem (and it's not a big one ​as it just needs a bit of math). To have a position of 50%​/50% ​Equities/Bonds I need to have an 80% position in a 40/60 E​quity/B​ond ETF and a 20% position in a 80/20 E​quity/B​ond ETF.

​Is there an all in one 50/50 ETF with a reasonable MER?
​Alternatively, are there similar diverse all-in-one​ 100% equity and diverse all-in-one ​100% bond ETFs where we could just have one of each then rebalanced every 6 to 12 months back holding 50% of total each​? (Makes the math really simple :)

Though I don't tend to use timing​, is there a time of year long term where that rebalance might offer a​ percent​ or fraction of a percent advantage?​ For example, do bonds trade higher or lower at certain times of the year? Similarly equities?

Q: Is XSHD a good medium to accumulate the money needed to withdraw from my RRIF at the end of 2026?
Would it be better to accumulate the required funds in a high-interest account?

Q: Retired, dividend-income investor with a balanced portfolio (in my opinion anyway). I have a small Materials sector weight of approximately 5%....half of which is in Nutrien and the balance is held within CDZ, ZLB, ZWC and RBF646. The non-NTR materials holdings are heavier in the gold, etc. stocks.

I am interested in, if possible, a one-stop-shop ETF that focuses on materials like gold, silver, copper, rare-earths....those that have, obviously, already had a good run but are believed to have more runway to go. I have looked through both the BMO and iShares ETFs and have not found anything suitable.

Do you have any ideas for a few ETFs that I could further research?

Thanks for your help, much appreciated....Steve

Q: Is holding VIOO (only) a decent way to play the potential run up in small caps I read a lot about lately? Any other suggestions!
Thanks

Q: What do you think about SPLV for lower risk investing? I understand the defensive nature of this ETF, but it's practically unchanged since Aug 2024, so I am wondering whether holding one of these new dual-direction Innovator ETFs or simply holding SPY and selling covered calls at +10% and buying puts at -10% is a better strategy here than holding SPLV. Your thoughts/suggestions on SPLV and these alternatives?

Q: I bought VDY, primarily for the dividend, but capital appreciation has been much better than expected. Now I'm looking for a Canadian complement. I note that CDZ also contains financials and energy, but at fairly low percentages, and it seems to cover other sectors well, perhaps a bit better than VDY. Do you think CDZ would be the best complement, or is there another Canadian ETF that would fit nicely beside VDY. Again, the dividend is appreciated, but capital appreciation and low down-side risk would also be very welcome, in addition to sector balance. Thank you for all your great service.

Q: I am getting older and I am trying to simplify my accounts in case my wife or daughter have to take over for whatever reason. I am moving to VBAL and VGRO as all in one type ETFs to make that happen. My question is about taxing: how are these viewed by the CRA?

Q: Hello 5i Guys

I have GIC maturing soon and looking for substitute as rates are too low.

I've looked at ZCS and ZLC as replacement.

I understand Bond funds are not without risk compared to GCI

But do these 2 Bonds funds look like suitable (Low Risk) investments rather than a low rate GIC?

Thanks as ever
Ken