Investment Q&A

Q: These ETF's are TRI or Total Return Index ETF's. They pay out no distributions of dividends and no ROC. I'm guessing that they reinvest all the payouts and subtract the fees. Since they do this would you expect that there is no CRA paperwork to complete unless you sell units which would trigger capital gains. What is your opinion of holding these in a passive corp as I think Canadian dividends would be taxed higher in the passive corp and these only produce capital gains? I am looking at the HXQ (Nasdaq 100) so I do not have to complete the T1135 paperwork and stay in CDN $.

Q: Do theses etf's ie HXT & HXS require the 1035 US tax form to be completed?
Thank you for your service

Q: I will sell shares of HPE and GE to harvest some capital loss. I would like to replace those shares by an ETF which have a fund structure that re-invest dividends (as quoted in the September ETF letter) or shares of another company. Could you give me some suggestions?
Thank you

Q: What are you thoughts on swap or synthetic etfs? I have a basic understanding of how they work, and they seem like a good thing to pop in a non-registered account after RRSPs and TFSAs are maxed out. What do you guys think?

Q: I'm looking for some US exposure. Is this ETF suitable for a RRSP account. Other US ETF's suggestions ? Thanks

Q: I have owned HXS for some time and intend to keep it for a while. Can you advise on a similar ETF that encompasses US small cap stocks and would you recommend it in view of everything that’s happening - US economy, US/Cdn $ etc.

Q: I am interested in the purchasing Horizon Benchmark ETFs, such as HXS because of the tax advantages. The MER is reasonable at .11% but they charge a swap fee of .30%. I assume that the swap fee added to the MER makes the total fee .41%. This would mean that from a fee perspective VFV is more attractive with an MER of .08%. Given the importance of low fees on total returns will VFV outperform HXS over the long run?

Q: I have a sizeable position in the Mawer balanced fund in my non-registered account from the sale of house a couple years ago. I have treated this as a standalone portfolio so that should I decide to use the funds for a large purchase such as another house, I do not need to make a larger number of trades to rebalance my main portfolio.

As I do not anticipate using the funds for a number of years, I have been considering replacing MAW104 with Horizon's swap based ETFs to defer any taxable income and create a balanced portfolio from the 5 funds. My thought is that over a number of years the tax savings and reduced MER may outweigh the potential returns of the actively managed fund.

My main reservations in proceeding are the liquidity of these ETFs through an economic downturn or major market sell off, and with the solid long term returns of the MAW104 fund, is there really much upside in making the switch?

Appreciate your thoughts.

Q: Hi There,
The government recently eliminated the use of Corporate Class Funds to save taxes.
Do you think the government would also eliminate the use of Swap Based ETF products like Horizon's offers? Have you heard or read of any such rumours?

thanks

Q: HXS is a swap based ETF and VFV has a traditional ETF structure.
If these are held in a non-registered account I understand that the VFV
adjusted cost base likely changes every Year due to distributions and
creates "tax tracking" paperwork. Am I correct in assuming the adjusted
cost base base of HXS will not change every Year because there are
no distributions and hence "no tax tracking" paperwork?
I essentially want to buy HXS and hold for the long term and
not have to concern myself with annual changes to ACB
usually associated with ETF's.

thanks in advance

Q: Gentlemen,
Can you please explain the swap fee on HXS (no more than 0.30%), in which situation this fee will be added.
Thanks
Best regards

Q: As small investors, we are constantly urged (John DeGoey even pleads) that we diversify out of Canada via ETF/mutual funds but far less is said about the tax implications on investment return of the recommendations. Let's say one wants to invest new funds in mutual/ETF funds that are tax efficient. Because of contribution limit rules on TFSA/RSP/RIF, someone wants to add to their regular Canadian trading account instead. I understand at least one fund co. uses swaps so you postpone tax until you sell thereby avoiding annual dividend and unpredictable capital distributions. At least you then have some control over tax exposure timing and amount. Realize this not the forum for comprehensive answer (designing such a portfolio good topic for one of your newsletters), but can you advise of of some high quality fund managers/funds that offer tax advantaged products? Thank you.

Q: Are there tax implications with holding HXS in a TFSA given that the dividends are not distributed? I have no US holdings, and in my (latish) retirement, I've decided I could use some US exposure. Would it be a suitable single ETF to hold? I could hold it in my non registered account if that would be better, or if you can suggest another suitable ETF that could go in the TFSA, that'd be great. Many thanks.

Q: I was thinking of a position in HXS as a stable long term gainer for my RRSP. It has outperformed the SMP500 handsomely over the last few years - except in the last few months. Is that simply because the CAD I rising against the US and would this make it a good entry point?

Q: I have plenty of dividend income and am now interested in adding stocks or ETFs which pay distributions as RoC. Would you have a list of tax effective equities? And what are your views of using stocks/ETFs with a high Return of Capital as a means of improving the tax effectiveness of portfolios? I have heard experts on BNN who are not in favor of RoC but I tend not to agree since my biggest expense is tax.

Q: Do you have an opinion of ETF's structure. Specifically Horizons using derivatives and reflecting dividends in the share price vs. more conventional ETF's. If you could comment on the downside and upside of either structure. Thank-you and Merry Christmas.

Q: I am thinking of investing in U.S. large cap companies more specifically an ETF. Are you better off to invest in a fund like SPY (U.S. dollars) or in the other canadian fund base companies like HXS,VUN or XUS. I noticed that the ytd. return is approx. 14% for SPY versus the others at %7% for this current year.

Q: I have just recieved some new money to invest and woukd like to increase my expsosure outside Canada. Im thinking of a US index fund. Can you please tell me the difference between VUN/VUS, HXS and SPY? Which one is better? Do you think this is a good time to invest in the S&P with it at all time highs?
As always your advice is greatly appreciated.
Nancy

Q: Peter, I am considering buying one of these ETF's. HXS is quite small vs XSP but it has had much returns over the past 5 years. I would have thought that the returns of both would have been quite similar as they are designed to track the S&P 500.