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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: What bond funds are the best to invest in right now for the long term? Currently I hold ZAG.TO and CVD.TO. Should I continue buying them? I would prefer a higher dividend than what the ZAG gives.
Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by Pat on August 22, 2023
Q: Hi there,

Can you please suggest Canadian-listed ETFs for the bond portion of a long-term portfolio? I'm interested in diversification.

Thanks,

Chris
Read Answer Asked by Chris on August 01, 2023
Q: I have 2 unregistered accounts and hold too much money in HISAs. I would like to invest more in Horizon's total return ETFs that pay no distributions. I have been looking at HBB but the chart looks nothing like similar Canadian bond etfs. Today, July 10th, HBB is trading at the same level it did 5 years ago but XBB is 13% lower today, VAB 13% lower and ZAG 15.2% lower. Can you explain this large difference? Should HBB now track in a similar way to XBB? Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Grant on July 13, 2023
Q: I keep hearing about the 60/40, 40/60 ratio of what you should be invested in with regards to Stocks and Bonds...

- I have Never held Any Bonds of Any Sort...Just Stocks...

- Please recommend some sort of Bond Investment I can consider that is somewhat safe, but Not ultra conservative...

- I remember when my parents said that Canada Savings Bonds were a good and reliable investment...a vintage memory...

Have a good weekend
Thanks
M
Read Answer Asked by michael on April 24, 2023
Q: What would be your top 3 bond ETF picks for both Canadian and US bonds? Is now a good time to put money into these?
Read Answer Asked by Dan on March 17, 2023
Q: I'm confused when looking at the value in bond funds going up when the talk in town is that the rates will continue moving up even in Canada maybe a bit later this year. How is that? How do one reconcile that the the rise in yield moved in tandem with the rise in value Thursday and Friday?

Yves
Read Answer Asked by Yves on March 13, 2023
Q: I am looking at adding a 15 to 20 percent bond component to my portfolio. From the mix of laddered, aggregate, short/long term and high yield ETF’s listed. Which would you recommend and why? Please let me know if you have other possible suggestions? Thank you
Read Answer Asked by Myron on March 02, 2023
Q: Hello Team
I am a retired income investor. I have calculated that my RRIF needs to yield about 4% in order to last until age 93( using my targeted withdrawal rate )I am happy with ZAG which now pays 3.53% and has a yield to maturity of over 4%. Does this gap in yield mean that ZAG unit price is over valued or is that where the the yield is moving towards? Should investors ignore the yield to maturity or just focus on the general trend in rates( I hope to buy more ZAG as rates move further up)thanks Gary
Read Answer Asked by Gary on February 21, 2023
Q: I'd like your assessment of MKB versus aggregate bond etfs like XBB, ZAG, and VAB. Has MKB performed better than the listed etfs? If it has performed better then is it because the etf has taken on additional risk to achieve the higher return? How might one incorporate MKB into the bond portion of their portfolio? Is it worth the higher fees?
Read Answer Asked by Robert on February 16, 2023
Q: Hello 5i,

In your recent update, you are increasing XHY to 6% of the income portfolio. We own quite a bit of ZAG in a non-registered account (about 10% of the total portfolio) that we received this year as part of an inheritance. Given your update, does it make sense to sell some ZAG and replace with XHY? The remainder of investments are in mostly diverse growth stocks and other ETFs on your advice and I'm looking to retire in about 10 years.

Thank you and happy holidays,
John
Read Answer Asked by John on December 28, 2022
Q: I didn't have bonds this year and I wish I did even though it lost value it still did better than my portfolio tilted toward growth. If you were to initiate a bonds presence in your portfolio. Would you rather buy these 2 or one or the other. Any other suggestion is welcome.

Thx
Read Answer Asked by Yves on December 21, 2022
Q: hello 5i:
We hold the Pimco Monthly Income Fund as our sole Global Fixed Income contributor. We are not displeased with it, but wonder if you favour another ETF, or mutual fund, that could replace it, or complement it. We would probably expect at least a 4.5% distribution. Ideas?
thanks
Paul L
Read Answer Asked by Paul on November 28, 2022
Q: For price appreciation in the next 12-24 months, would you prefer a long-term ETF like XLB/TLT or an ETF with shorter duration like XBB/ZAG. Or a bit of both?
Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Denise on November 18, 2022