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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: I currently own TDB900 and 902. Have now read that TD will be using ETFs to purchase their funds like the ones mentioned. I have held these funds for a long time . So I am wondering if it still ok to hold onto TDB900 and 902 since I am uncertain how this will affect those holdings. Is it time to switch the funds for similar ETFs. Any clarification is appreciated. Thanks Paul.


Read Answer Asked by Paul on October 03, 2019
Q: when I put these three on a chart together (Thompson-Reuters feed on webbroker), for a specified period, hxs shows a much greater return than zsp which shows a much greater return than xsp. Five year chart 93%, 77%, and 45% respectively. This charting service does not show total return so some of the difference between hxs and zsp will be the dividend (included in hxs but not zsp). Some of the difference can be explained by hedging of the currency on xsp but not on hxs or zsp. Given the difference in five year returns there must be something else. Suggestions?
Read Answer Asked by Terry on September 27, 2019
Q: I was reading Norm Rothery's article on the "hot potato" portfolio strategy. As you know it involves investing in one of four etf's based on the previous year's best performance. The asset classes are Canadian Bond Index, S&P/TSX Composite Index, S&P 500 and MSVI EAGE Index. I have to do a little more research on this strategy but should I decide to allocate a small investment here, what 4 specific etf's would you recommend?
Dennis
Read Answer Asked by Dennis on September 23, 2019
Q: Would appreciate your view on this etf as a long term hold for some relative safety and income using US dollars. Secondly what would you suggest as a Canadian dollar version of this etf holding a similar array of US large caps with a similar yield and low mer - would you recommend these for purchase or another pair instead - finally would you suggest averaging in for a fairly aggressive portfolio percentage (as high as 20%) or just buy and hold given the holdings -all the best - Ken
Read Answer Asked by Ken on September 19, 2019
Q: Thank you for answering my past questions so clearly.

All the ETF's below mirror the S&P 500.

BMO S&P 500 INDEX CAD UNT ETF Symbol ZSP (not currency-hedged)

VANGUARD S&P 500 Index ETF, Symbol VSP (currency-hedged)

iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF, Symbol XSP (currency-hedged)

Over the last decade, as expected, XSP and VSP have appreciated as much as the S&P 500 has -- a little over 100%.

ZSP has appreciated about 180%. Likely, that is a function of the currency hedging/not hedging.

Please explain.

In your opinion, will ZSP continue to outperform?

Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Milan on September 06, 2019
Q: Hi Team,
Would you please recommend 3 to 4 C$ denominated etfs that are focused on us equities (I already own XQQ and ZUB).
Cheers,
Read Answer Asked by Harry on August 09, 2019
Q: I would appreciate your recommendations for the most tax-efficient ETF's for US equities in non-registered , RSP & TFSA accounts .
Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by David on August 02, 2019
Q: In reading Jason Heath's article in the Moneysaver he comments that there is no US withholding tax on US ETF's held in an RRSP, but there is withholding tax on the Canadian equivalent. I am in the process of rearranging our RRIFS and have been switching to more ETFs, including US based ones. Many ETFs have both a Canadian dollar and a US dollar version of the same fund. For convenience, to avoid opening a US dollar RRIF component, I elected to go with the Canadian equivalent.

Does the withholding tax also apply to RRIFs as well as RRSPs. If so it follows that perhaps I should convert a portion of our RRIF to US dollars and then purchase the US based ETFs in that account. It is not difficult to do, just a bit inconvenient.
Your thoughts please.
Russell
Read Answer Asked by Russell on June 05, 2019
Q: You are recommending etfs based on my analytical profile. What is a US HEDGED ETF.
Does it mean if the Canadian dollar goes up agai st the US dollar I would lose money. I am having a hard time buying the etfs at all time highs with small dividends. The one I want to buy is vun or zsp since they hold a lot of US technology, I think.
Read Answer Asked by Helen on April 25, 2019
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
Read Answer Asked by Michael on March 15, 2019
Q: Greetings 5i team,

For people who invest in a US market index ETF, are there significant differences between IVV, VOO and SPY ?

Are there any other similar US market index ETFs?

Thank you.

Milan
Read Answer Asked by Milan on January 22, 2019
Q: Recently read John Bogle, "Common Sense Investing"

What are my choices for purchasing the s & p 500 index, please compare MER, do all offer a canadian hedge? and what are the pros and cons of buying it hedged to canadian dollar?

thanks

Ernie
Read Answer Asked by Ernest on January 03, 2019
Q: Good afternoon, looking to hold a 20% allocation of the American market through ETFs (CAD dollar preferred). Currently hold VUN, and I am looking to add another ETF to complement it - was thinking ZSP or VGG. Any opinions on either of these or any others? Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Jeff on November 27, 2018
Q: Hello,
I would like to buy S&P 500 index through ETF. Could you explain the differences among VFV/T, XUS/T and ZSP/T. Which one of them you recommend? Should I convert Canadian dollars to US dollars to buy SPY? Should I buy hedged ETF(S&P 500 index)?
Thanks
Victor
Read Answer Asked by Victor on March 23, 2018
Q: Hi, I am becoming aware of the investment potential in ETFs and that BMO has a number of highly rated ones. When I go onto their site, there is a bewildering array of ETFs and I would just like to ask if there is some sort of preference that you have identified for income generation. Secondly, in respect to the BMO ETFs that are in $US, do they all generate withholding tax? None of them? Some of them and one has to investigate each one to determine if they do or not? Thank you for any suggestions you can make that would point me in a direction for further research.
Read Answer Asked by Gregory on February 12, 2018