Investment Q&A

Q: What are thoughts on Collateralized Loan Obligation ETF's? Is ZAAA a good one, or are there better ones?

Q: Could you give me a brief overview of of CLO etfs,(e.g. BAAA) and their safety compared to short term funds such as ZST

Q: Hello 5i
I am overweight Nvidia and plan to sell some. At my stage it is probably wise to put this in fixed income. I don’t know much about this, however, and have been made a bit gunshy by hearing of people losing money in what one would imagine to be a safe and secure bet. So, iaskif you could give me some possibilities for US dollar fixed income in a non-registered account. Something that could reduce taxes would be helpful, as well
Thanks for your great service

Q: Please give me your opinion on the following bond from Top Aces Inc. Is it a good buy and is it safe to invest in it? The details from CIRO are:
CUSIP: 890523AA1
ISIN: CA890523AA10
FIGI: BBG01SQB5TM1

Q: Hello 5i,

We have a bit of a conundrum on our fixed low-risk investments for our RRSP’s. We have laddered GIC’s (@5%-5.4%) that expire each year to cover costs + we sell some USD fixed income for vacations. We are running dry on GIC’s and our fixed income (BIL) may have rates reduced. We need to replenish Canadian and USD fixed income as those investments are our safety net in case everything goes for a crap for 1-2 years.

Our standard decision in a lower rate environment is to purchase stocks or ETF’s with decent yields but the market is very high, 5-10 year Treasuries seem to be risky now due to Trumponomics, and our time-line is always short for that strategy.

Our goal is to have a 5% increase per year (thru yield or ETF or stock increase). Do you have a few suggestions?

Thank you
D&J

Q: I am relooking at the Fixed Income portion of my portfolio. The bulk is bond funds, but it also includes a few GIC’s and a HISA. But what about Preferred Shares, EIT, FIE, TXF, and UMAX, all of which I hold STRICKLY for their distributions? I am currently grouping them in with my dividend stocks but maybe they should be included in Fixed Income? EIT and FIE have paid out the same distribution for ten plus years. Thanks.

Q: Could you suggest a global bond ETF in Canadian dollars? Thanks

Q: I had purchased this in my RRIF thinking it would be fairly stable. Unfortunately with the drop in the US dollar it has not performed well. Would you continue to hold short term US gov bonds in this environment?. The second part of th e question is this a reasonable ETF for that purpose. I do hold AGG as well

Q: I was on forums looking at a question about parking US cash. The discussion was between Rob and Jeff dated Feb. 4, 2025. It seemed from my understanding that you can have T Bills that pay about the best rates and at that time it was 5% plus. I have accounts online both US and Canadian. Are these US online accounts set up to buy T Bills like I buy a stock? Thanks so much.

Q: Is there a Cdn $ etf that benefits from US$ strength and the higher (vs Cdn) US short term bond rates ? Thank you.

Q: I hold the Franklin Quotential Diversified Income Portfolio Series F (TML3253) mutual fund in my RRSP. It accounts for about 10% of my entire portfolio. I pretty much ignore it, mostly because I find bonds hard to understand. Do you think retirees need bonds in their portfolio if they hold a lot of dividend stocks and funds like FIE and EIT, plus keep a years worth of cash to live on outside of the market? If yes, would you continue to hold this fund or move into a bond ETF? And what ETF would you suggest? And if no bonds, what would you suggest moving the fund into? Thank you.

Q: Can you please explain why or why not it is important to have bond funds in one's portfolio. I have been reluctant to buy as during COVID market crash my bond funds, did very poorly at a time when I thought they would provide stability. Since my fixed income was supposed to be the worry-free part of my portfolio I have not reentered bond funds and choose GICs for fixed portion. The same happened with preferred shares years ago. Why would one not just buy a bond where your principle is guaranteed if you hold until maturity? Are these bond funds doing what they are supposed to do and what are the benefits of a bond fund as opposed to just buying the bonds outright? Is money earned still taxed as interest in a a bond fund? For someone with no bond fund exposure what would you suggest?

Q: Hello, which fixed income: ETF/Bond/GIC investments would work best under current economic conditions of lower rates coming from the US FEDS and Canada.? And, do you suggest staying short or long? .. Of course the lowest possible risk.
Thanks
Carlo

Q: I would like to get your opinion on BMAX. It's only been in existence sine August 2022, but the returns, including dividends, have been excellant. Dividends are approx 10% and it's diversified geographically in the US, Europe and Canada. Is this a growth or income or both ETF.

Wayne

Q: Several weeks ago one of your members said they were seeking the safety and yield of CASH:CA and another name I can't remember or find again. This to ride out the market turmoil. I remember both names as being stable and having a decent dividend. Can you suggest the forgotten name or other names that are similiar and offer similiar features?

Q: Hello 5i,
In 2024 I sold my full equity position of GSY not at the top but did well for the multi-year hold (thank you 5i). I started watching for a possible rebuy particularly after the 5i report A-. One of my goals was to create a corporate bond holding portfolio vs a bond etf for a portion of my fixed income %. I noticed GSY has a 5-year 6% coupon with a BB- rating bond on the market. GSY does carry a lot of debt thus if an investor is fine with collecting a 6% return with a stepped-up risk protection profile within the bond world does this make sense? I am assuming in a downturn the bonds will trade down as well but since I have a lot of equity risk already would this make sense? I would plan to hold until full maturity and keep this in a registered account so interest tax is not an issue.
CORP GSY 6.0 05/15/30 380355AK3
Security Description
Issue Description CORP, GOEASY LTD, Call May27@103.000
Security Number 0377427
Alternative Sec Id T657E7
Security Description CORP GSY 6.0 05/15/30 380355AK3 (C)
Issuer Full Name GOEASY LTD
Coupon 6.000
Maturity 05/15/2030
Issue Date 11/04/2024
Dated Date 11/04/2024

Q: Hi, I presently have $50000 U.S. in a non reg acct. I do not plan to purchase any stocks in the near future. Would appreciate your thoughts on what my options are to generate some income with it. Thank you.

Q: What will be the impact of the Bank of Canada's likely rate cut from 2.75% to 2% on the ZAG or XBB ETFs?
Is it better to simply buy bonds directly rather than ETFs?

Q: Hi Peter and team,

What would you do with free cash that you have and want to put aside from stocks for the next 12 to 18 months.

Thanks
H

Q: I asked this question on June 1, 2025 but did not get an answer so I am asking again.

What is the difference in underlining risks between ZST and high interest saving ETFs like CASH and HSAV?
What is the difference in yield between them?
I have about $100k in cash to park for 1 year ish so I am looking for a bit of yield during this time.