Investment Q&A

Q: I have been retired for 5 years. With equities outperforming my fixed income significantly over this time period I am now looking at options to increase the fixed income allocation in my portfolio from 20% to 25 or 30%.

I am looking for advice on what to purchase. I have had some laddered GICs but returns are dropping. Should I consider buying actual bonds...ie construct a bond ladder that might see better returns especially if interest rates continue to drop?

Q: Hi,
I'm looking for your sage opinion on how to deploy cash at this point in time. I have enough cash for 5 years of expenses and I'm in my 2nd year of retirement. The rest of my nest egg is in equities, real estate and bullion.

I have been thinking of just putting this cash into a five year GIC ladder and call it a day. But.... rates are already falling on GICs as we speak, likely in anticipation of further Bank of Canada and soon US Fed cuts.

Have you other options for me to consider for how to deploy this cash to 1) ensure a high probability of being able to meet expenses without selling equities in the event of a market downturn, while 2) ensuring a reasonably decent return from this cash over such a long period.

Specifically, does it make sense to accept around 4% as a guaranteed average rate or is there a solid case to make for dividend payers instead of GICs. Open to other and all suggestions.

Thanks for your invaluable service.
Michael

Q: Your thoughts on TLT, is it likely there more up side in the next year?

Thanks.

Q: Hi 5i Team - In your opinion what might be the possibility of a Canadian bank or several of them failing, at least temporarily, because of a cyber attack, with the consequence of account holders not being able to withdraw cash.

As a corollary to this question what would be your recommendations of safe options for people wanting to store a portion of their cash in case of the above event.
Thanks.

Q: Dear 5i team.

I tried going through recent Q+A to make sense of these two ETFs.

Can you simplify for me?

1) What are the key differences of these two? The yappear to have similar holdings, just diff %.

2) Closing in on one year since inception, any more visibility to performance/cost etc?

3) Can both be held, or do you prefer one over the other?

Many thanks for your help.

Q: Please provide you input on the pros and cons on the difference between ETF bonds, such as RQQ, with maturity dates, vs ETF bonds, such as VAB and/or XLB, with no maturity dates. Instead of investing in GICs, which you are locked in for a period, RQQ can be bought and sold when the market opens, making it seems to be almost as good as GIC.
Thank you

Q: Good afternoon, I am realigning my RRSP account using geographic and asset type recommendations. The asset allocator recommends that 15% of my portfolio be in fixed income. Can you please recommend a few fixed-income ETFs? Also, should fixed-income holdings be mostly domestic or include international as well? Lastly, would you consider CASH.CA part of the fixed-income component of a portfolio or simply a place to keep cash until it is directed into another asset? Thank you in advance.

Q: Clarification, with respect to your answer re the guess for the next rate on these Debs. The way I understand it is as follows

The rate is calculated via 6.5 Pus or minus the rate of change in inflation, not the rate of inflation. Thus is the change of roi is 2% next march the interest rate on the debs would be 6,5-2=4.5

From csu ir news release:
This new interest rate is equal to the annual average percentage change in the “All-items Consumer Price Index” published by Statistics Canada during the 12 month period ending on December 31,

Q: Which of the following ETFs has the biggest potential return if interest rates continue to go down: XCB XLB ZRE

Q: Is there a U S traded ETF similar to SGOV?

Q: Hi Peter, my question is in regard to HSAV. What do you think of the current premium to NAV. Can you comment on when you think it is too much. Also with rates coming down do you expect to see the yield come down also.

Q: I have some extra US$ in my business account and I am looking for a safea short term investment.stable place to park them can you suggest something similar to BMO short term bond fund?

Q: I am wondering what the best GIC rate is currently? And what institution is offering best rate?
Thx

Q: Hi, I like to get your opinion on Pimco Monthly income as part of an income portfolio. Is the distribution stable or is there a large fluctuations between each years? Thank You

Q: Hi group ...Can you explain the difference between private equity and private credit. Also how to patriciate in this sector and what is your top 3 picks to start positions?...Thanks for your help

Q: Good day,

I am selling some positions and want build up cash. I have put it into TDB2914 Premium MMF at 4.52%. Is there any bettter options? How about a bond ETF?

Thanks,
George

Q: I’m looking to diversify the fixed income portion of my portfolio. I don’t have any bonds/treasuries so was looking at TLT and XLB. Can I get your thoughts on these and others you could recommend?

Q: 2 questions:
In a taxable account what would you suggest to play the role of Bonds if any? I need to beef up my bonds allocation and need to keep cash and cash equivalent in my taxable account where I have new funds.

For a young retiree with a comfortable portfolio what percentage would you allocate to cash and bonds? Volatility is not a problem for me with a long term view.

Thank you
Yves

Q: What is a decent high-interest ETF that trades in the US? Also, are there any where the returns are capital gains instead of interest?

Thanks.

Q: Good morning,
which ETF, available at the moment, is the most effective for keeping cash without monthly distribution but rather a capital gain on resale?