Investment Q&A

Q: what growth stocks would be a good addition in my sons RRSP long term.
he has 30% in bds 10 % in preferred and 10 in rei.un,he also has 2 mutual funds:
BCM 800 12% and NCE 9 %
equities BNS 8%
fcr .5 %
IPL 9%
STN 6%
the rest is cash,but thinking of selling part of the BCM fund.
thanks for your advice

Q: Good morning. Unfortunately, I have a large part of my holdings locked into a company RRSP program. There are decent, not great, mutual funds to choose from. I have about 18 years to retirement and am almost 100% in equities. What would your rough advice be for %-age in large cap dividend, midcap, and small cap be? With funds it is tough to get as low a weighting in financials and materials as you recommend. Amy suggestions? Thanks, as always for your excellent service!

Q: Currently IGM comprises about 2.3% of my portfolio and is in an RSP. Total Financials are 27%. Dividend payback is about 4% but I think I should take my losses of 20% and utilize the proceeds in Communications (5%), Basic materials (1%) or Utilities (5%). What do you think? The other option is to add new money to the low sectors and hold IGM.
Thanks
Bob

Q: Hi Peter and co.
I recently scaled back on my US holdings in my RRSP in order to lock in my gains from capital and currency appreciation. I was lucky enough to buy the majority of my US holdings when the Canadian dollar was close to par with the US. My next step is to invest these proceeds into Canadian companies. When the Canadian dollar gets back on to an even playing field with the US, I may again look to increase my exposure in the US.
Considering this is my RRSP and I am 36 years old, what percentage of my holdings, in your opinion should I keep in US companies? My goal is to continue to see growth from my US holdings while minimizing currency risk.

Thanks!

Q: Hi Peter and team
It is time to invest this years contributions in my 35 year old's RRSP which is currently structured: 5% Sylogist(SYZ),15%Telus(T),3% Surge(SGY),18% CDZ,13% Brookfield Renewable(BEP.UN), 4% DHX media(DHX.B), 4% Exco (XTC) and 38% cash.
What would be your recommendations for deploying the cash for diversification and growth, indicating if possible percentages. I have been considering Currency Exchange (CXI) and Alimentation (ATD.B) and some Heath Care but unsure of which ones. Should I consider increasing Exco to an 8% position. I would greatly appreciate your views on this.
Regards
Kathy

Q: Regarding Linda's question on washing within RRSP. RBC Direct for a few years now, has both US and Canadian currency accounts in RRSP, TSFA and all other accounts. Thus when you trade US securities they stay in US $ and you are not hit with currency exchanges coming and going. I find this feature a huge advantage.
steve

Q: Just wondering if I should hold Vee, fez, and vxus inside a registered or non registered account. I thought I read somewhere that if held in a registered account, the withholding tax of 15% would apply (unlike us equities in a registered account), and there is no way to recoupe since it is in a registered account. What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks again for the great service.

Q: I have sold some of my shares in CSU to bring down my allocation from 10% ( thanks to you by the way)
I now have enough cash to buy a new company with a 5% allocation in my RRSP. I'm thinking of VNR, ZRE or AW.UN.
At this moment which one would you purchase?
My RRSP is not quite your Income Portfolio but close.

Thank you

Q: My question relates to what one should hold in an RRSP for minimum taxation long term.
I have quite a diversified portfolio but I rely more on dividends from stable companies instead of bonds for "fixed income." I treat all accounts as one account for diversity.
Some rules of what to put where are clear eg Cdn dividend stocks go in cash accounts to get best tax treatment. However if cdn dividend stocks are held in an RRSP I conclude you lose the favourable tax treatment because when you take money out, its taxed at the marginal rate. REITs appear to be better because the yield is not all dividends. My conclusion is that the priority for picking stocks to hold in an RRSP should be US dividend payers and interest paying securities first and Cdn REITs after.
Does this make sense?

Q: We have Crescent Point and Surge Energy in our RRSP's. We're not wanting to sell and are prepared to hold on for long term. My thought is to move what I can into our TFSA's while the price is down. Thoughts?

Q: Could you please explain the "tax loss selling rule". The way I understand it if you have a non-registered account and you want to declare a tax loss for the year you have to make sure after you sell that you don't buy back the stock within 30 days of the sell. So my questions are:
1) What happens if you accidentally bought back within the 30 days?
2) Can you buy it back within 30 days if you have a profit & not a loss?
3) Can you always buy a stock back within 30days if you are in a registered account?

As always great service and thanks for the advice.
Cheers.

Q: Just for clarification purposes:

If you sell a stock at a loss in a non-registered account the superficial loss rule applies to all accounts, registered and non-registered.

If you sell a stock at a loss in a registered account the superficial loss rule DOES NOT apply. One can buy that stock back in any account, registered or non-registered.

Thanks for your confirmation or clarification.
Ron

Q: I am looking to add a few U.S. stocks to an RRSP account: GILD, JNJ and GRMN. Is there an added cost to purchasing U.S. stocks in Canadian dollars, and in relation to dividends? Would I need to open a separate U.S. RRSP account to hold U.S. stocks? Thanks!

Q: A question on buying stocks on the NYSE or Nasdaq exchange. I have never bought a stock on an exchange outside of Canada, and am very ignorant of the consequences. As an example I would like to buy Apple, and realize I have to pay in U.S. dollars, plus a small fee for exchange both on buying and selling the stock. I have a RRIF, an RSP, and a TFSA and any buying would be through one of these. Is there any problem with me holding a US stock in these programs and is there any tax consequences? Is there any other problems I am not aware of? Thank you.

Q: I have made good profit on CNR,SJ,CGX,BNS,BYD.UN. Should I sell these stocks now and buy them back in third week of December, hopefully at some dip, so as to lock up my profits. These are all in my RRSP portfolio.

Thank you for your excellent advice in the past.

Q: With a diversified fixed income portfolio, which would you prefer:
Arits REIT AX.DB.U 5.75% 30-JUN-2018 Price:104.75, YTM:4.3%
Parland Fuel Bond 5.5% 28-May-2001 Price: 102.50, YTM: 5.2%
Also, an RRSP has to be converted to a RRIF in the year someone turns 71, do you have to withdraw that year, or is it the year in which you turn 72 that you have to start withdrawing?

Q: Please suggest 3 low beta blue chip CDN stocks for RRSP Investing and 3 of similar quality for my TFSA . Thanks. Richard

Q: How on earth does a 7 year old get an rrsp ??

Q: Hi Peter & Team,
Should I consider my wife's TFSA & RRSP as part of a consolidated family portfolio (diversification, % of allocation, etc)? or a "stand alone" portfolio (which may mean duplications etc)
Thanks for a VERY good service!
Morris

Q: hi i would like your opinion on having dividend paying stocks in ones RRSP. Is this a good idea or not , thanks for the help.