Investment Q&A

Q: As between the two Canadian Fixed Income ETFs - XBB, VAB and ZAG - which ones) would be your choice? Or would it make sense to have exposure to all?

Q: Hello 5i team,
I was wondering if there is an ETF in canada that contains provincial bonds. I am guessing VAB may contain these as well as Canadian bonds.

Also what is the best website that would have breakdowns of what is in canadian ETFs?

Thank You,
Andrew

Q: Good evening,

Multi-part question.

Had just finished reading ‘The Little Book of common sense Investing’, decide to make the switch, and am beginning to plan my transition to CPD, ZAG, VFV, XEF, VCN, VEE, and XRE, when I come across the new Vanguard products, of which VBAL to me seems the most interesting.

I see the pros of this ETF as being straightforward and dropping from 7 commission fees (re-balancing myself), vs just one trade a year to add money (portfolio currently around $26,000).

Cons: no preferreds or real estate. Less control (e.g they decide the asset allocations).

Do you have an opinion on this ETF?

Not sure the yield on VBAL but am guessing 2.5-3% maybe? Any idea?

Also, If I go ahead with VBAL would you give it some time to settle down (trading looks a little erratic), or is that volatility purely a product of price changes of its holdings already?

Thanks!

Q: I'm switching from mutual funds to ETF's and making a portfolio makeover. I have 3 years to retire and wanted to make sure I chose the correct Canadian Fixed Income ETF (at 40% bonds and 60% equities). I'm looking at HAB, ZCS, VSB, ZAG and ZEF. Of these 5 ETF's which one should I go with?

Q: What would you recommend for someone with a short term horizon 6M-1Year with a low risk tolerance. Should I put everything into bond etf such as ZAG or even VAB?

Q: A few questions have mentionned the ETF XBB. Since its fee is 0.34% versus ZAG's fee of 0.23%, shouldn't we go for ZAG? I also like the fact that ZAG is a BMO product which means I pay fees to a canadian company rather than a U.S company (bonus points). Thank you.