skip to content
  1. Home
  2. >
  3. Investment Q&A
You can view 3 more answers this month. Sign up for a free trial for unlimited access.

Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: In my RRSP accounts I have built up a laddered GIC portfolio in addition to a variety of stocks and equity etfs, taking the income generated by the portfolio and adding to the ladder. Given the low rates for 5 yr GIC, under 2%, I’m thinking of taking this years income and purchasing CVD, which has a lower payout but more stability than the above mentioned Preferred share ETFs.
I may split my purchase between CVD and one of the above Preferred Share ETFs and am leaning towards ZPR as performance and MER of the 3 is similar but ZPR has a higher dividend payout.
In addition to better income, interest rates should be close to bottoming and if I stage my purchases over the next 3 months I will benefit from unit price appreciation when rates start going up and will have locked in a 5-6% return.
Your thoughts please.
Read Answer Asked by Bruce on March 13, 2020
Q: 5i
Being retired with~40 % in bond ETF`s as my fixed income and thus part of my relatively safe part of the portfolio , i was quite surprised when equities dropped so much today , that the bond ETF`s dropped considerably as well ie CBO , ZAG and XBB . They all dropped ~4% .
Can you help me to understand why bonds would drop so much under this scenario ? If investors are fleeing to safe havens such as treasuries and bonds and out of equities why do bond prices drop particularly as much as it did today ?
Thanks
Bill C.
Read Answer Asked by Bill on March 13, 2020
Q: I am looking to invest in very safe very short term fixed income. I currently own PSA and CSAV in a non-registered account.
I am thinking of buying HSAV for an RRSP account and perhaps for a non-registered account. Your opinion please on HSAV - is it safe, has it been around long enough for liquidity purposes? Any comments on whether there is any preference or difference in owning this etf in either a registered versus a non-registered account? Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by David on March 12, 2020
Q: In February, I was adding to my fixed income and believing that interest rates would not go any lower, purchased ZFH. It, like so many other holdings, has been hammered. It now looks to me that rates probably are not going up, for an extended time. If that is correct, is there any chance that ZFH will recover when the market calms down and equity prices begin to improve? Thanks for your excellent service.
Read Answer Asked by Leonard on March 12, 2020
Q: Hi, the big us banks have all come down significantly lately and some hitting multi years lows. What is your opinion about the situation and would it be a buying opportunity ? Can you explain why they fell down so much. I know that Warren Buffet loves them a lot for many decades. Which one is your number one pick ? Thanks
Read Answer Asked by jean on March 09, 2020
Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team,

Motive Financial, a division of Canadian Western Bank, is currently paying 2.8% on their high-interest savings account. In this lower interest environment, I'm wondering how the smaller operators can 'afford' this. Your insight is always appreciated.
Read Answer Asked by Jerry on March 06, 2020
Q: Hi,

I have parked some cash in PSA (CAD) and MINT (USD) for short term until market and economy stabilizes. PSA invests into cash or high interest savings accounts of National, Scotia, CIBC banks. MINT invests into short term high quality corporate investment grade bonds. How safe are this ETfs if interest rates keep dropping and a severe global economic downturn or collapse of Financial markets. How much can the price drop be considering they are yielding close to 2%

Thanks
Ninad
Read Answer Asked by Ninad on March 06, 2020
Q: I am a long time subscriber and an avid reader of the Q&A. Even with all I have learned, I am still having a difficult time understanding how to invest the fixed income portion of my portfolio. I want fixed income to provide portfolio stability by protecting on the downside while offering the possibility of capital gains along with some income.

I am a buy and hold investor on the equity side and I am comfortable deciding when to sell a company. However, the fixed income side seems to demand a more active approach - or does it? For example, you have been suggesting that interest rates seem likely to decline in the coming months so that would favour long term bonds. But for stability, or as an offset in case I am wrong, should I also hold short term notes? Should my fixed income portion be split 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 among cash, short term and long term and just left at that or is it necessary to continually monitor and adjust these weightings? Or is there one fund that does all that already?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on March 02, 2020
Looking for more? Sign up for a FREE 14 day trial! No credit card required

We invite you to sign up for a 14 day free trial of 5i Research!
Experience all the benefits and tools we have to offer; stock research, model portfolios, Q&A with our experts, and so much more. Join a community of like-minded investors today!