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Investment Q&A

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

Q: Hello and Merry Christmas to all at 5I.
Moving forward I have new funds to add to my portfolio in the fixed income sector. My RRSP portion is fully utilized for fixed income using CBO and XBB so this is new fixed income funds outside of a sheltered account should I still use XBB/CBO or is there some other fixed income source that would be more beneficial that I should consider.
Read Answer Asked by Peter on December 08, 2016
Q: Hello, I know you do not recommend holding REITs in a taxable regular account. In that context, where is the best place to hold income funds such as Pizza Pizza (PZA) or Boston Pizza (BPF)? My understanding is that their distribution is in the form of a dividend portion plus a return of capital portion, is that effective from a tax perspective? Regards, Gervais
Read Answer Asked by Gervais on December 05, 2016
Q: I have a question about 1714,Hi,I would like to diversify out of Canada with a etf. If I bought VGG in my cash account,would I have to fill out a U.S. Tax form,or would it be included in my Canadian tax return? I file my own taxes and not interested in filing U.S.taxes as well.
Would Vgg be good for income 3-4% and a little growth or could you recommend something.
Thanks,Brad
Read Answer Asked by Brad on December 01, 2016
Q: Can I have your thoughts on ZDI or an alternative you suggest. Yield and holdings look good. Also, what do you suggest as a foreign stock holding percentage for a portfolio not including US stocks. Looking to add foreign dividends and exposure with existing incoming Canadian dividends from portfolio. Does ZDI hold the stocks directly or through another ETF, I want to get as close as I can to the ownership of the stocks through the ETF avoiding any unnecessary extra fees.
Read Answer Asked by Nino on November 30, 2016
Q: Good afternoon,

My question pertains to holding US equities in various accounts. Can you please validate or refute the following:

Cash account: US dividends are taxed as interest-50%, and a 15% withholding tax is applied which can be redeemed during tax season.

RRSP: US equities are supposed to be capital gains and divends tax free. However, I have noticed that some equities, such as limited partnerships have their dividend taxed at 38% with an additional 15 % non redeemable withholding tax. Can you confirm this, and are their any other types of US equities that are Exempt from RRSP tax sheltering?

I have also been told that US equity ETFs that are listed in the US are also have their dividends taxed. Is this true? And would this be the same for US equity ETFs that are listed in Canada (ex: those listed on black rock Canada website )?

Thank you for bringing some clarity to the issue. Any other tips you may have would be well appreciated.

Cheers,

KR
Read Answer Asked by Karim on November 28, 2016
Q: Hi Peter and Team

What Canadian listed ETF would you recommend today for US market exposure for the TFSA of a thirty year old with a long term time horizon? Would your answer be any different if it was for an RRSP where the 15% US withholding tax was not an issue? There seem to be hedged and nonhedged versions of all of them so would you recommend a hedged version now with the USD so strong?

Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by Mary on November 18, 2016
Q: I am nearing retirement. Most of my savings is in a non registered account (75% non registered and 25% RRSP). Can you suggest tax efficient ways of managing the fixed income portion of the non registered component? I understand ZBD and BXF are tax efficient. Would you recommend these or do you have any other ideas? MERs are important and I noticed the management fee for BXF is about .2%. With a return of only about 1% does an investment in this make sense?
Read Answer Asked by BRYAN on November 17, 2016
Q: Being a retired accountant I can't help but feeling compelled to add my two cents on the question raised on goodwill.

Goodwill is simply the difference between the purchase price and the net book value of a company acquired. Say, if Co. A buys Co. B for $12 million and Co. B has a net book value ("NBV") of $10 million, then Co. A will report a goodwill of $2 million in its books. It's that simple.

You can call it an accounting plug if you like and that's not far from what it actually is. As to whether goodwill is good or bad, that really depends on each acquisition.

Using the same example, the $2 million goodwill is considered "good" if Co. B's actual assets are worth more than the $12 million paid for by Co. A. However, if the same assets of Co. B are actually worth less than the $10 million NBV, then that $2 million goodwill is really not an asset. That is the reason why so many acquirer companies have goodwill write-offs a few year after initial acquisition - when the true value of the company they acquired becomes crystalized. Hope that helps.
Read Answer Asked by Victor on November 16, 2016
Q: Hi Peter: I am 81 years. Am considering buying Fidelity Tax-smart withdrawal program. This fund invests 70% S&P/Capped 60 Index and 30% S&P 500 Index. If you can recommend the fund would a 50% to 75% investment of my funds be reasonable? Should I buy on my TD trading account or buy direct from a Fidelity rep? Would I receive the same net income either way? Thanking you for your valuable opinion. Ron Noble
Read Answer Asked by ron on November 16, 2016