Investment Q&A

Q: Hello 5i-
what do we do with Canadian $ in cash. We've got cpp, oas, work pensions : however, all of this can go down significantly too and we need to preserve for our later years.- - my ? is this: what shoud we do with xtra cash now? Should we buy usa $, usa stocks, etfs? thank you for your time

Q: Hi team
looking for an etf for real return bonds (short term) vs XSB which is also short term
what is the main difference in terms of safety and returns between the 2 ? it is meant to be in a RRSP
thanks
Michael

Q: How would you rank these bond funds. I sold FTB and bought PMIF but it is not performing well. Bond funds have not performed well due to the drop in interest rates. I am retired in my late 70’s.

Q: Would you have any recommendations for individual corporate bonds with decent yield to maturity for up to a 7-year term? Based on my research, yield remains low for decent quality. Thank you!

Q: Can I get your thoughts on this etf? It only has $34 million in net assets. I am looking for a government bond ETF with a 1 to 5 year bonds with a reasonable management fee. Trying to get a bit more yield than GICs while preserving my capital. Any other investments that can achieve this? Thanks for your suggestions.

Q: I'm a highly aggressive growth investor (thanks for your help). At 86 with too small a pension, its time for some fixed income. I've sold 25% of my equities. Where do you suggest I put this cash so I get some return? Thanks.

Q: Can you recommend a money market fund to park some cash for about a year?

Q: Any recommendation on where to park cash short-term within a direct investing account? I like the sounds of PSA, but 'for business reasons' TD Waterhouse does not allow TD Direct Investing Clients to purchase PSA. Instead, they offer their own savings account which only pays 1.60% in comparison to the 2.15% paid by PSA. Any suggestions?

Q: Hi,

In your answer to James you suggested the following bond ETFS: XBB, XLB, XSB, CBO and/or XHY. I'm very interested in this as I'm trying to increase fixed income exposure.

What percentage would you suggest in each of the total bond portfolio? Also, unless I am missing something, CBO and XSB both appear to be the same thing, so why the need to own both?

Q: i would like to understand if there is any reason to diversify Bond ETF holdings. this would be either in terms of long term versus short term, Canada versus other countries and quality of bonds, such as government versus corporate.

thanks

Q: Within fixed income today, is it wise to move from longer term bonds into floating rate bonds...seems the longer bonds are beginning to slide while floating rates bonds are holding firm. both pay similar yields. thanks as always.

Q: As I mentioned earlier I have held 1800 units PSB in a corporate account since 2013 - 6 years. I failed to mention that I am paying management fees of 1%. I require a fixed income fund for this portfolio. Would appreciate any suggestions you have. Does this fund have a MER?

Q: I have currently USD 14K in above title with Dividends 2.1%
I wish to add another 10K but wish to know which Canadian title in CAD with similar dividends is there available.
Thanks
Art

Q: looking ahead the next 6 to 12 months and with safety of principal in mind, how would you rank these fixed income etf's? thanks.

Q: ..given growing expectations of a Canadian recession, i'm thinking of moving away from utilities into fixed income. how do you expect XBB, XSB and HFR to perform in comparison to ZWU if a recession occurs. thanks, great service.

Q: Hi 5i,

A portfolio construction question. I've selected a mix of XTR (36%), XSB (7%), CDZ (17%), XAW (19%), and then a mix of laddered GIC options (17%) and a small cash holding (4%). This is for a family member's portfolio, retired, needing income, security, and modest growth (in that order).

This ends with an allocation of approx. 55% equities and 45% fixed income/cash, and 69% Canada, 22% USA, and 9% Global.

This mix also generates distributions/dividends almost dead on 4%/year, so following the 4% withdrawal rule more or less allows for not needing to sell anything to cover cash flow needs.

Wondering if you could comment on the ETF selections and overall structure with the understanding of course that its always a highly personal decision. More just want to know if you have better ETF or security selections for this scenario...

Thank you so much!
Ryan

Q: FTB has a dividend yield of 3.56%, actual mgt fee of .50% and an MER of 1.09%. Could the difference be imbedded fees paid to the financial planner recommending the fund and biasing his judgement. How do imbedded fees impact the recommendation of the financial planner. Is he looking out for your best interests or his? He gets a 1%management fee regardless of performance, although he says if I do better he does better. Perhaps they should be paid on performance

By comparison CLF has a yield of 2.66% and an MER of .17, XSB has a yield of 2.38 and an MER of .17 and HFY has a yield of 4.98% and an MER of 1.03. Funds with a higher MER seems to have a larger yield. Is the yield stated after the MER?

Thank you.

Q: I am looking for good bond ETFs. Your comments on CLF, XSB, XBB and FTB. Given a possible interest rate increase I have leaned toward short exposure.

Q: ..HFR is beginning to slide, what do you think about moving out of it and into the above ETF's. in your view, what is the best bond ETF mix to be in for the next 6-12 months. thanks.

Q: ..what is your view on interest rates....with trade wars and the next presidential election now fully in sight, all the good news seems baked into markets. would you raise fixed income and/or utility allocations. what about moving into longer term bonds....thanks as always.