Investment Q&A

Q: US Bonds. Do you favor them currently? If so, are there any US Bond ETF's traded in Canada that you would suggest? Thanks, great service.

Q: What would be the best way to get exposure to US Treasury Bills for inclusion in a registered account (assuming no tax hit from holding them there)?

Q: I am looking for an etf that allows me to buy long-dated US Treasuries in canadian dollars. In other words, like TLT but in CAD.

Q: Up until now I've only invested in canadian dividend stocks and ETFS in my non registered to take advantage of the favourable taxes on dividends. My RRSP and TFSA are balanced across all asset classes. But now that my non-registered account is growing, I'm thinking about adding the other asset classes in. Are there any kind of bond etfs that are more tax favourable for a non-registered? And what about US and Intl etfs... any that are more tax favourable?

Q: I would like to know what you can suggest as a canadian bond ETF that is reliable and gives a decent performance. I currently have XGB (IShares Cdn Government Bond Index ETF) but the yield is low. Previously I had MFT (Mackenzie Floating Rate Income ETF) giving a better yield. Is one is better than the other or is there a better choice? Also, is there any bond that instead of giving a yield gives a capital gain? It would be particularly interesting for my non registered account since I want to reduce the amount of interest that I receive to avoid clawback.

Q: I have most of my wealth in an unregistered account and would like to invest in the safety of Bonds or GIC's but I don't like that they get fully taxed. Are there any ETF's or funds you would suggest that use derivatives or some other wizardy to turn Bond/GIC income into dividends so they are taxed more favorably? All without giving the advantage back through high fees or MER?

Q: Do you have an opinion on this etf ?

Q: Since the tax benefits for HXT, HXQ, HTB, HXS have or will be diminished, is there any reason to continue to hold them or should we be switching to other etf's, is so which ones would you recommend?
Thanks for your service.

Q: Good morning,
My wife and I wish to put $$$ into our minor (twins 7 yrs old) grandchildren's in- trust accounts to help them get an early start in building an investment portfolio. Moreover, this would allow them to start contributing to their TFSA when they reach 18 years of age and when I am perhaps long gone.
I understand that if I put $$$ in my minor grandchildren's in-trust accounts that ALL INCOME would be taxed in my hands until they reach 18 years of age but that any CAPITAL GAINS would be taxed in the hands of the grandchildren regardless of their age.
Assuming that my understanding is indeed correct, I am looking for a few suitable investment vehicles and more specifically a few good quality ETFs that DO NOT generate any form of INCOME or DISTRIBUTIONS other than CAPITAL GAINS.
I would very much appreciate your thoughts on implementing this strategy along with a few of your best ideas as to which ETFS you would recommend for my purpose.
I thank you in advance and look forward to hearing your response along with your ETF recommendations.

Q: Good day and best wishes to 5i team for 2019! Regarding the swap arrangement for these etfs in lue of dividend distributions. If for example they had a 3% yield.and say I owned 1000 shares at a book value of 10$per.share. would the distribution show up as more shares similar to a mutual fund. So if I then sold after distribution.i would have a capital gain of say 300$and no concerns regarding dividend? And second question do you see some good interest in this as a way to shelter income or would you more lean towards say vcns or vbal? Hope I do not confuse. Tks Larry

Q: Hello Peter, Ryan and Team

Are there any TSX listed ETFs tracking CDN and USD Treasuries similar to
2-year Treasuries (SHY), 5-year Treasuries (IEI) and 10-year Treasuries (IEF) and are they a good investment options for fixed income under current market situation.

Best wishes for the new year
Ninad

Q: Could you tell me why HBB & HTB are trading close to their 52 week highs, whereas similar eft's are closer to their 52 week lows?
Thanks for your service

Q: I am setting up a fixed income portfolio for 5 -10 years with little need for income. HISA @ 15%, HTB @ 5%, HBB @ 5%, PYF @ 5%, HFR @ 20%, MFT @ 50%. I would increase the Horizon's ETF percentages, but liquidity is low. Would you please comment on this set up. Thanks for your service.

Q: Hello, HTB was suggested as a top pick on BNN recently. I had never considered such a long term bond fund, however I am not that smart...comments please

Q: Recently signed up with 5i and I appreciate the information provided. My first question ... I am reducing the risk in my portfolio in anticipation of a market decline over the next 6 to 18 months. Part of which includes increasing the allotment cash/bonds so that I can reinvest in equities at the appropriate time. Over the summer I've moved into some HFR,XBB, HTB. I would like to get some yield but I do not need the cash flow for years down the road. What are your thoughts on these 3 choices for risk reduction and capital appreciation when the market corrects?

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.