Investment Q&A

Q: Hi Team,
I am looking for your opinion. I am thinking of adding 5k to my kids RESP after todays ugly selloff. I am banking with the ATB and most of the resp is currently in the atb compass growth fund. My question is...do you feel that I am best off adding to this fund, or buying an idividual stock? As far as stock I was thinking stable growth with a dividend. I had either BNS or SLF in mind. What are your thoughts? Or any other better suggestions as opposed to the ones mentioned? I don't plan on using any funds for at least 2 years. Thanks

Shane.

Q: Questions on RESPS. My kids are 5 and 3 so I have their RESP money in VGRO, right now. Plan is to move it to VBAL when they get closer to needing the money. But then I assume I have to de-risk it even further later on. What would you suggest for this eg. GICS and how many years out? I know this is years out, but just want to have a plan.

Q: My daughter has a Family RESP Account for our 2 grandaughters.
They are soon to be 16 and 13 years young.
Both, at this stage of the education game, appear to be headed to college or university.. I contribute monthly into the RESP plan for my grandchildren.
The original funds were invested in a Target 2025 mutual fund RBF1048, recently rename to RBF5731. This is showing an inception return of 4.4%. Since 2016 I have been investing this thru my Direct Investing Account. My present portfolio mix is about 98% equity Stock and is showing a return of 28%, since inception.
Finally to my question. Since the oldest Granddaughter will be attending post secondary education in the next 2 years and little.
What is your suggestion on how to split the total amount? Should I start investing more in fixed income?
Any other suggestions you have for a situation like this?
Thanks team,,,, your are my number 1 in finance.

Q: Hi,

Should one treat an RESP with a child who is 17 years old similarly to someone would view their nest egg when only a few years from retirement?

In other words, I have an RESP for my nephew as his parents don't have the financial wherewithal to assist him with schooling, which will start in about 1.5 years. Should I be switching to more conservative investments with his schooling approaching?

Right now, I really just have CDZ and TD. Would you keep those?

Thanks,
Robert

Q: Hi 5i Team,

I have held a balanced Canadian Couch Potato Portfolio with the above etfs in my son's RESP which i started when he was born in 2009. The portfolio has done pretty well (in my books at least) at 8% annual return. I am now looking at a 6 year time horizon for when he will need to begin to draw from the RESP. I am thinking of starting to rotate toward more conservative holdings as the timeline for needing the funds draws closer. Under "normal" circumstances from what i have learned this would mean moving more into bonds at this point but I am having trouble believing this is appropriate in the current market. With interest rates and inflation both rising i am wondering if low debt dividend stocks might be a better bet to hold onto purchasing power in this time frame? Maybe something something like CDZ vs XBB? I know you can not suggest specific portfolio recommendations but looking for suggestions/best bets for maintaining value and keeping up with inflation over this time frame.

Thanks,

Q: Greetings 5i team,
Marcel asked a question about contributing $10k to his granddaughter's RESP. If he wants to maximize the juicy gov't grant, he should first review the rules under which the grant is awarded; that large a contribution may not all be recognized for the grant, if made in a single year.
SP

Q: Good Morning
We have a approximately 10k that we would like to contribute to our Grand daughters RESP. We would like to do so with stocks and have about a 10 year window before the funds would be needed. Could you suggest 3 conservative stocks that would be appropriate for this type of account with one additional stock having a more aggressive approach?
Thks
Marcel

Q: Q.

Would you recommend one ETF for a 12 yr+- time frame for my sons RESP?
One that I can add to over time, growth minded, MER friendly with CDN & US exposure taking into consideration US taxation.

Thanks,
Dan

Q: Hi gang, would like to to buy between ARE or SYZ? For dividends 2-3 years in RESP account Is it a good idea or better choice anywhere it’s for my granddaughter 2 years old. Thanks
Alnoor

Q: Hi 5i,

I currently have an RESP for my two daughters. Questrade is charging us $50 every time we pull money out to pay for tuition, etc. That makes it four times a year.

We have used up the EAP portion so I'm thinking of pulling all the money out at once and transferring it to one of my daughter's TFSA account (there is room). the cost of totally divesting it is $100 but then we'll be mercifully done with the fees.

After that, I believe we can split it between the two daughters and take it out without any fees involved.

Do you see any problems with this strategy or can you suggest any better way of handling it?

Feel free to make it a public question or not depending on whether it would be of interest to other clients.

Q: Hi 5i team,

I recently opened an RESP DI account with Questrade for my 1 year old son. Could you please give me couple suggestion to invest on at current level? I am okay with either EFT or single stock and I have long term time horizon 10+ years.

Thanks,
Irene

Q: Since my kids RESP is still fairly small I only have room for one stock in each sector. What would you recommend for the bank stock? TD, BNS, RY or BMO? And why do you think the one you suggest is the better choice?

Q: I opened an RESP account for my newborn son this year, my goal is to have ~10% annual return and not have to actively manage and rebalance the portfolio. So I plan to just buy and hold VEQT with available funds for the next 10-15 years, then slowly transition to a more balanced VBAL as it gets closer to withdrawal. What are your thoughts on this strategy, and would you recommend another ETF/stocks as a better alternative for the purpose? Thanks!

Q: To Randall re:RESP and CESG grant,
I just wanted to flag you that the government’s grant portion is a maximum of $500 per year to a life time maximum of $7200. If you top up your Grandson’s RESP 30k at once you will still only receive $500 in government grant and have used up the contribution allowance of 50k.
Thanks,
Kerri

Q: Question for 5i team (or any other RESP knowledgeable subscriber). Over the past 8 years my adult son has contributed a total of $20000 to my grandson's RESP. With interest earned plus CESG grants, the total value is now $25000. PLAN: I want to top off my grandson's RESP to the $50000 maximum allowed. QUESTION: Is my contribution $30000 -- or limited to $25000 in (consideration of the CESG and interest accruing to the account). Thanks.

Q: Dear Peter and the team:

Nice articles as always in this month's Canadian Money Saver. Enjoyed the article by Sandi Martin on RESPs. I hope you can clarify something for grandparents like us!
The article doesn't address this specific issue.

On September 02, 2020, an article in the Globe mentions that one can safely contribute 14000 $ to the RESP. One can continue to contribute 2500 $ a year as well to benefit from the matching Govt grant. (500 $ max) until one reaches 50000 $. I have included the link to that article here.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/globe-advisor/advisor-news/article-three-important-facts-about-resps-that-canadians-need-to-know/

Is it okay to gift to one's grandchild's RESP 14k during the early years? I know one will NOT get the Govt Grant for this amount. If one buys a low fee, growth oriented ETF, will this approach yield better result than the ones cited in CMS article?

Your input is always appreciated.

Mano.

Q: Hello. I am planning on investing in education for our first grandchild. As our children were near graduating high school when RESPs were introduced I am not well versed in the pros and cons. I was recently told that there is a lot more cost than allowable deductions on income tax.
Question: if the parents of our grandchild have lots of room in their TFSAs, would it make more sense to save for education using the TFSA instead of RESPs? The rationale is that it is non taxable when it taken out for education in the future as compared to taxable even though there is an initial 20% grant from the government with an RESP. And perhaps making RESP contributions at child's older age, a few years prior to university age. Thank you.

Q: I have some cash to invest in RESP that still has 4 yrs to go. Could you recommend some stocks to initiate positions now? Stocks can be growth or value and from the US or Canada. Thank you!

Q: Hello,

Could you please recommend a few 'set and forget' high growth stocks which would be a good fit for a RESP for the next 15-ish years?

Thanks

Q: Could I get your suggestions for some $CDN ETFs to invest for a toddler's RESP. I was thinking maybe a split between a tech-based ETF and a general North American-based ETF, but am open to any other ideas. There is not too much in the RESP at the moment, but it does have years to go, so growth is the main goal.
Thank-you