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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: Hamilton has the tax breakdown of their ETF's for 2023 posted on their website. I see both HMAX and UMAX distributions are 84% Return of Capital. This seems high. Do you think this is an aberration or potentially the norm? If an aberration, could you please quesstimate a percent range that you'd expect Return of Capital to usually be.
Read Answer Asked by Brent on March 01, 2024
Q: Just finished reading the Money Saver's email warning " Avoiding The Yield Trap " on covered call ETF's . Where it mentions ETF's yielding in excess of 10% yet uses a BMO banking covered call as an example . I believe all the Hamilton ETF covered call products yield in that 10% or better area and in the case of the banking ETF ZWB used as an example, HMAX yields 15% which beats ZEB's 10 year return by over 5% . And that doesn't take into account the 50% of the HMAX portfolio that contains the underlying stock which should return 50% of the return on ZEB .....If ZEB over 10 years returns 9.6% then HMAX should return the annual yield of 15% plus 4.8% reflecting the 50% of the portfolio containing the underlying stock .... There will also be a small capital gain/loss reflecting the covered call side of their holdings which I have no idea how to calculate so have ignored .... Please explain how I would be missing out growth in the banking sector using the example the Money Saver used were I to purchase HMAX instead of ZWB ? 15% + 4.8% = 19.8% which doubles ZEB's return ...... Please explain the flaws in my logic. { I suspect they are there I just don't know what they are }

Also could 5i give me a list of all the Hamilton ETF products that operate like HMAX { 50% of the portfolio with the underlying securities } with an explanation of what sector they represent, their current yield in percent , and annual dividend amount { I'd like this number so I can calculate the yield on any given day while I follow them and make my decisions on whether and when to purchase }

Thanks for your great service in helping us DIY investors ......
Read Answer Asked by Garth on February 26, 2024
Q: Good evening,

I have a couple of questions regarding the following 5 ETF's. If it cost more than one credit that is ok. Just curious if you only own those 5 ETF's how diversified would you be? I understand that you be giving up some upside but from a diversification perspective do you have all your sectors covered?

For full disclosure I have 15 percent of my entire portfolio allocated to this 5 ETfs too add a little boost in income.

My last question regarding these 5 ETF's iss they all pay a distribution except SMAX and QMAX. SMAX and QMAX pay dividends according to my platform BMO investorline. Does that mean both these two are eligible for the dividend tax credit?

Thanks and have a great day.
Jimmy
Read Answer Asked by Jimmy on December 21, 2023
Q: So a lot of people think that interest rates have peaked and are set to go down, thus the market reacts positively. I believe that interest rates have peaked BUT will remain higher for longer. I anticipate that the market will initially react negatively to this but eventually will settle down to the new reality and continue to react to such metrics as earnings growth etc..
Recognizing that no one really knows the future, what would be the likely scenario ( short and long term ) for each of the sector ETF’s I am invested in : Canadian banks , American tech, American healthcare, Canadian large cap industrials/ utilities. Thanks. Derek.
Read Answer Asked by Derek on December 18, 2023
Q: Could you please give me your thoughts on the following etf's for a RIF that is looking at income? HMAX,UMAX,SMAX and QMAX. Thanks Gary
Read Answer Asked by Gary on December 06, 2023
Q: A little while ago I asked 5i what the current yield was for UMAX and HMAX as I wanted to target the yield for an entry point . Could 5i give me the formula to use so I can do this on my own ? Use HMAX as an example to illustrate using the formula ..... Thanks Garth
Read Answer Asked by Garth on November 27, 2023
Q: I have incorporated these ETF’s into my RRIF with the goal of deferring taking capital from my principal ( mandatory and rising % withdrawal requirements ). They now represent 33% of total portfolio. My TFSA and cash accounts equal my
RRIF and are more growth oriented. The ETF’s give me a high yield, diversified portfolio of solid large cap, primarily low growth companies in Canada and the US. So I ask myself “ Why don’t I have my RRIF be 100% of these 5 ETF’s ? What say you ?

Thanks Derek.
Read Answer Asked by Derek on November 27, 2023
Q: I know you don't like comparing ETFs to single stocks...but I'm going to put a question out there anyway. I currently hold TELUS in a non-registered account. As I've held it for a very long time, I'm up 20%, but I feel the stock is stalled for a number of reasons. Given that I bought it for the dividend as well as some growth, I would appreciate your advice on trading it for HMAX. Please compare total estimated growth for both T and HMAX over the next 3-5 years. Additionally, with interest rates expected to begin falling next year, how would that impact the price of HMAX? Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Maureen on November 24, 2023
Q: RE these 3 investment companies, which do you think is the best to invest in for high yield and modest growth: Harvest funds, Hamilton funds, Brompton funds. Thanks
Read Answer Asked by george on November 23, 2023
Q: Hi 5i,
I am trying to find the ex-dividend and payment date for Hmax....Td web broker info only shows a dividend payment date of Nov 07, but have not received anything in my account yet as of Nov 14.....in your experience does that seem unusually long or does this fund require additional time to show up or do i need to take action?
thx
Read Answer Asked by jim on November 14, 2023
Q: As a divided investor would you be a buyer or seller of the Canadian banks today.
Read Answer Asked by George on October 25, 2023
Q: I would like to put about 50% of my portfolio into safe, higher yielding (10%+) Canadian focused ETF's or Mutual Funds, and adjust my holdings as needed going forward based on sector performance. I feel that both Banks & Utilities are nearing lows and that a further correction may occur in the general market due to tax loss selling or possibly one more rate hike. Do you feel that the mix of ETF's listed provide a safe way to invest with the goals indicated? What % for each, as part of the 50%, would you recommend as a holding, and how would they be treated for tax purposes? Thanks for the great service and please use as many credits as necessary.
Read Answer Asked by Will on October 25, 2023