Investment Q&A

Q: We have about 1/3 of our portfolio in a HISA earning about 4%. This was done since at our age ('50's) we decided that was the approximate amount we should have in "non-equities". But we'd like to target a low-risk return on this portion of about 6%, and HISA rates are also coming down. So we want to move this to other "non-equity" areas. What is your best suggestion on this? Bond ETF - of so which ones are best right now? Or other ideas?

Q: I’m considering whether I should invest in TLT, HPYT, or a combination of both. I understand that HPYT has a much higher yield, but I’m struggling to fully understand why. TLT, which makes up around 70% of HPYT’s holdings, only has a yield of about 4.3%, which makes me wonder how HPYT can achieve such a significantly higher yield. I understand the basics of covered call ETFs, but what kind of options are they trading to generate this yield? There seems to be something I’m missing here—could you also explain the additional risks that come with HPYT's elevated yield?

Q: Similar etfs....20 yr vs 10 year. Why such a big difference in yield?

16% vs 8%

Q: Dear 5i team.

I tried going through recent Q+A to make sense of these two ETFs.

Can you simplify for me?

1) What are the key differences of these two? The yappear to have similar holdings, just diff %.

2) Closing in on one year since inception, any more visibility to performance/cost etc?

3) Can both be held, or do you prefer one over the other?

Many thanks for your help.

Q: I'd like to assess the following group of ETF's I am considering purchasing from a conservative and safety point of view ...... HYPT has been used as the fixed income part of the portfolio . Please advise if this is appropriate and if not a suitable replacement ? The 5i income portfolio has Canadian preferred, convertible bond, and high yield US bonds for around a 15% weighting as the fixed income section ...... Please give a rating of between one and ten with one being the most " conservative and safe " for the following group of ETF's . I will assign the 5i income portfolio a four just so I can see how my choices rank against it using the criteria I suggested ...... Also everything I have chosen is a Hamilton product. Does 5i consider that problematic ? Thanks for your terrific service .....

FMAX 10%
HMAX 10%
QMAX 20%
HYPT 15%
SMAX 20%
LMAX 10%
HYLD 10%
HDIV 5%

Q: Could you confirm what is happening with the price of long term U.S. treasuries?
I purchased HPYT in January for the high yield to fund my RIF withdrawals. I understand the inherent risks of the structure of HPYT and anticipated some volatility but a generally a flat to upward trajectory given the forecast of reducing interest rates. I know the timeframe is short but wanted to confirm that the reason for the slide in HYPTs price is long term treasury rate increases.
Do you still anticipate rate reductions in US treasuries?

Q: Thank you for the Money Saver's email " Avoiding The Yield Trap " on covered call ETF's. Garth’s question and your answer from February 25, sparked more questions. Also read all the Q&A on HBND.

My understanding HBND is 50% covered call on Treasury ETFs (eg: TLT, VGLT, VGIT, etc.) with target yield of 10%. Dividend growth is reliant on interest rate rising. You answered on Oct 6, 2023: “…But if rates stagnate or decline….the yield on this ETF may come under pressure, but its unit price can see capital appreciation”. Expectation is interest rate may go down this year.

Is it better to invest in HBND or dividend grower in the long term? So, I created a spreadsheet to determine the breakeven period where a dividend grower will match the annual dividend paid by HBND if dividend yield stays around 10%. I choose four random dividend growers FTS, SLF, TD, T with average historical annual dividend growth of 5%, 9%, 6% and 7% respectively. Starting point: Annual dividend payment as of January 2, 2024, no DRIP and no additional stock purchases.

If HBND dividend yield target yield remains around 10%, the number of years, when the annual dividend grower payment would exceed HBND annual dividend payment for FTS in 18 years, SLF in 13 years, TD in 16 years and T in 8 years.

Based on these results, if a person requires dividend income is the next 10-12 years, than HBND is a possible income source. However, if the dividend income is not required for more than 10-12 years, a viable option is to purchase a dividend grower since the annual dividend amount should exceed HBND and continue to grow.

Note: This is a simplistic point of view since HBND target of yield may drop with interest rate expected to drop later this year, a dividend grower rate may drop, no drawdown in capital for more than 10 years or black swan events. This exercise is focus on dividend not capital appreciation. This exercise could be applied to other income stocks (eg: XHY, HPYT),

Is this logic flawed? What other points should I consider? Is there a role for HBND or other high yielders in wealth accumulation portfolio vs wealth decumulation phase? Inflation in the last couple of years has reinforced (for me) to consider dividend growth to be able to fund retirement income for hopefully a few decades.

Thank you for your thoughts.

Q: According to the T3 published on the CDS listing for 2023, the Return of Capital for 2023 for HBND was 70.7% and for HPYT it was 48%. I'm holding them in non taxable accounts so the source of the dividends doesn't matter, but isn't that level of ROC completely unsustainable and will just mean an erosion in the NAV?
thanks

Q: Hi, can you provide your current thoughts on Long term US treasuries. TLT is down 2.5% so far today. Thanks
Mike

Q: On Dec 28 you responded to a question from Cal about covered call bond funds, and made a recommendation as he requested. However, in your comments I got the impression that you felt now may not be the right time to buy this type of fund due to the potential for higher bond prices and lower yields over the coming months. Looking at the 2 noted above, and assuming rates do start to slide down a bit, what would you expect to happen to the ETF price and the distribution? Would you be a buyer today?
Thank-you

Q: Could you comment on the relatively new option-based US treasury ETFs HBND and HPYT. The yields have caught my attention, together with the underlying security of US treasuries and the possibility (?) that rates have peaked. Do you see these as being suitable up to around a 1.5% position in an RSP, and is there US tax withholding on the distribution in an RSP? How do these compare to TLTW (I would prefer to buy a CDN$ ETF rather than take the hit on conversion) Do you have a preference, and would you buy today? Note that I already hold about a 2.5% position in ZLC, which is up marginally.
Thank-you

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

Q: I'm considering Harvest Premium Yield Treasury ETF (HPYT.CA), US treasury Income, high yield through covered calls; very aggressive Yield of approximately 15% and 0.45 mgmt. fee; new ETF to the market, anything one should be aware of here good or bad? Thank you & keep up the super work!!

Q: Recently I asked a question on HBND. Could 5i give me a similar analysis on HPYT ? As well as comparison of the different structures between the two . The only one I am aware of is the 50% position of HBND that is not covered calls . Not sure what the situation is with HYPT ..... The yield on the two is considerably different with the former yielding 10% and the latter 15% ...... Please compare what you would suspect would happen differently with each under rising/stagnant/falling interest rates ?..... Thanks Garth

Q: Good Morning ,

Could we have your opinion on this new listing from Harvest. Also do you see their risk evaluation as accurate (medium-low). Thank you.