Investment Q&A

Q: Hi 5i team,
Group A: XCV 35%, VVL 35%, VEE 10%, VAB 20%
Group B: VSB 15%, ZPS 15%, XSB 15%, XIU 30%, VCE 20%, XAW 5%
For short term 2-3 years, which group would you pick? or any better idea?

Q: Peter,

What do you think of the low volatility ETF's especially in our current environment? Do recommend them as part of a balanced portfolio?
Thanks for your valuable service.

GM

Q: I am looking for a short term, low volatility, ETF earning better than the daily interest in my chequing account.

Q: I am looking for an ETF for my TFSA that has broad coverage and that is not so heavily weighted in financials and energy. Would you have any concerns with owning these two ETFs.

Q: I have a 2 year old RESP for a 3 year old grand daughter to which I will contribute in about a week on her birthday. It currently holds only VGG. Should I add the $3000 to VGG or can you suggest something else. I actively monitor my own investments but the RESP I look at only at this time of year.

Q: Hi guys! I asked this question a few days ago and received no reply. Not sure what happened, it could have been on my end. I have equal portions of these 8 stocks in my TFSA. What do you think of these stock selections?
Thank You !

Q: The performance of ZLB has strongly outperformed VCN over the short and long term. ZLB will likely survive a recession better then holding VCN. If I own both, should i just sell VCN and own ZLB but would their be a case to own VCN instead? thanks

Q: Hello i5 crew...I am repositioning my cash account for retirement dividends to supplement my RIF account withdrawals. I like the tax favoured Canadian dividends and have blended ZLB, ZWC and ZDV for that purpose. There is a lot out there and would like your suggestions for long term long term dividend generation. Thank you in advance...

Q: I have the above securities, as well as RBC Cdn Equity Inc, Sentry Cdn Inc, Sentry Global REIT, and fixed income via Fisgard Capital, Annuities, a company pension, CPP and soon-to-be OAS.

I really focus on asset allocation and am a little light on Consumer stocks, holding CGX, PBH and TCL (although some consider TCL to be in the Industrial sector). I am normally a buy-and-hold investor who trims-adds around core positions.

Question 1 = I am looking to add 1 more consumer stock and am looking for a dividend ideally > 3%. Based on my stock-ETF-MF mix, are there a few stocks you could suggest that would fit in my above set of securities.

Q2 = if I was to consider ideas from the Income Portfolio, is there an issue with having multiple food stocks....like PBH and A&W and NWC. Why have more than one food stock?

Q# = because A&W is a ".UN" company, how are their dividends treated for tax purposes? Are they eligible for the dividend tax credit?

Deduct as many credits as you deem appropriate....got loads and will never use them all up.

Thanks as always...Steve

Q: Hi, 60 year old investor. Wanted to get your thoughts on a portfolio consisting of about 11% each of zlb, xiu, wxm, zqq, zsp, zlu and ~ 33% zag. Won’t need the money for about 5 years. Thanks, Mike

Q: Hi there, it seems like more and more commentary is stating we are in late cycle. Assuming this means that we will soon see a recession in the next 12-18 months, would it make sense to hide out in a low volatility ETF for the time being? It seemed to have held up pretty well in the 2018 Q4 drop. What are your thoughts regarding this strategy and between ZLU and ZLB which would be preferred to be in, or would you split your portfolio 50/50 for diversity? Thanks!

Q: Would this etf be a good RRSP candidate to compliment a good mix of blue chip stocks (Td, Bce, Slf, T, Enb and Trp) I hold 5% each of Vee and Zwe ETFs as well for some foreign exposure?

Thnx team!

Q: what would you think of the following strategy?
instead of paying the high MER of ZLB i buy the top ten stocks listed under ZLB in the proportions listed and then at the end of each year I readjust to match their new top ten? i know this would involve some trading costs but even if all ten would have to be replaced (not likely) i would still be ahead. anything i am missing?

Q: i have about $500,000 to invest for 10 or more years. i don't need income from it. in order to keep it simple and be able to easily rebalance every six months or so, i am considering investing in only 3 etfs, as suggested by the canadian portfolio manager.
1. do you see any problems with this strategy? (i already have another portfolio in individual stocks.)
2.would ZAG be preferable to the suggested ZDB?
3. would ZLB be preferable to the suggested VCN?

thanks in advance. take whatever number of points necessary.

Q: What is your latest view on the performance of this etf. So far it appears to me that it has handled the latest downturn quite effectively when compared to the return of the tsx. I have been thinking of using this etf for the income portion of my portfolio. Would that be a good idea or would I be better off using bond etfs for the income portion? Tnx for the help.

Q: Hi 5I,
I am retired and living off my RIF. With the current volatility and market downturn, I am thinking of getting more defensive. My current holdings of ZWC, VVL, VUN and VEE are each about 8% of my RIF. I am thinking of switching ZWC for ZLB, switching VVL for VVO, switching VUN for VGG and switching VEE for VXC. What do you think of this strategy? Should I hold some and do nothing? Please explain your reasoning.
Thanks for your help and have a happy holiday season.
Dick

Q: Folks can you recommend one or a few ETFs that trade in US dollars that would compare with the ETFs listed. I want to put some US cash into lower beta equities and strategies and am thinking that the ETF fees may be worthwhile to gain the covered call approach and enhanced income that results at the additional cost of sacrificing upside in rising markets. Also any comments on this intended approach for an equity investor who is transitioning from a balanced to an income tilt is appreciated - all the best.

Q: Not sure if zlb should still be in my porfolio, since its underperforming. Would i be better off to just put the money in vanguard canadian index vcn if i have a longer term view of the market 20 years out.

Q: I have the above securities as well as RBC Cdn Equity Inc-D shares, Sentry Cdn Income, Sentry Global REIT. I am a retired conservative dividend income investor with a company pension, CPP, annuities and Fisgard Capital for fixed income.

I currently own ECI and will sell and look for a Consumer stock to replace it (not interested in BIP...I have a full slate of Utilities). I filtered several candidates using fundamental metrics (P/E, beta, P/BV, P/CF, P/S) and technical metrics (200 dma, etc), as well as yield and price targets (for what they are worth).

I will keep my CGX and PBH. I'm looking for a long term hold (conservative, liquid stock with a good and growing dividend). My short list of candidates include CLIQ, CTC.a, PLC, TCL.A. I already flushed ADW.A, KBL, RSI and since I already have 1 food stock, I flushed L and NWC.

Please provide your insights into the appropriateness of these Consumer stocks (CLIQ, CTC.A, PLC, TCL.A) for my portfolio, given my circumstances and existing stock positions.

Are there other securities I should consider, even those that I have flushed?

Thanks for your help...Steve

Q: At 75 years of age I am not comfortable holding a full portfolio of stocks in a world that is so dependent on tweets from a malevolent idiot. Thus I have moved a large portion of my holdings to cash, and have built a GIC ladder as my main attempt at capital preservation. I am now looking for stocks or ETFs that provide good income with a relatively low risk of capital loss. SRU.UN was recommended on BNN recently, in particular because Walmart represents about 1/4 of its holdings. Does this rationale make sense to you, and do you think SRU would be suitable for my new capital preservation portfolio? Any other suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks for your great advice, as always.