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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: Presumably ZSP and ZSP.U are identical except for the currency. Does ZSP.U also pay its distributions in USD? I currently own ZSP. Do you if it is possible to directly convert ZSP to ZSP.U or do I have to through the process of selling ZSP, converting the cash to USD and then buying in ZSP.U using USD? Thanks as always. Your service is great.
Read Answer Asked by Andre on May 10, 2024
Q: Good evening

What are your thoughts on these two ETF's ? I see you have answered a few questions on these already. I am thinking of buying ZSP.U for a long term hold. Do you prefer one over the other or does it really matter?

My main question is with US holding tax. Back in 2017 if I am understanding it right you answered that in an RRSP ZSP.U would still be subject to the taxes. Is that still the case? I am a bit confused as all my other US holdings in my LIRA and RRSP have no taxes held back on dividends. Before I buy I want to be sure my dividend on ZSP.U will not be taxed inside my LIRA.

Thanks Jimmy
Read Answer Asked by Jimmy on January 19, 2023
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: I've held this ETF for 2-1/2 years, its up about 40%. I purchased it initially as a US dollar holding not subject to US estate tax exposure. With Trump doubling the estate value amount before those taxes kick in, for now, thats no longer a concern. For future buys, is there a better US dollar ETF you'd recommend - lower MER and/or better growth, safety?
Read Answer Asked by Lloyd on July 26, 2018
Q: I'm looking for recommendations on how best to invest USD 175k sitting in cash since last week. Though tempted by the US buying opportunities, I've been avoiding buying US shares directly due the hassles and costs of US tax exposure. I've only bought 50 shares of ZSP.U so far. Is this a good place to invest more? Can you recommend other good investment vehicles for a non-registered portfolio that will capture US growth/income without currency exchange or US tax?
Read Answer Asked by Randolph on February 20, 2018
Q: For US stock exposure, is it better to hold the CAD or USD version. Does the CAD version have and exchange fees. Does it hedge out currency exposure.
Also as its traded on the TSX, I understand its does not count as a US stock holding so no US estate tax exposure for non-registered accounts. Are there other similar ETF's
Read Answer Asked by Lloyd on April 04, 2017
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