Investment Q&A

Q: I sold my business and started investing last year. I am trying to build balanced portfolio and struggling with the bond portion. I don't want to buy individual bonds and was looking into something like HBB for unregistered portfolio and VAB and XSB for registered. Yet, I am very uneasy about buying bond ETFs in the near-zero interest rate environment - the rates can only go up (unless we end-up with negative rates here) and, obviously, bond ETFs will be going in the opposite direction. I was thinking about VSC but almost 35% of it are junk bonds, so no comfort there. With PSA now paying only 0.65%, I am really out of choices for the fixed income portion of my portfolio. Any suggestions (both for CDN and USD positions)? My time horizon is 10 years and I want something safe and tax efficient.

Q: I have been keeping a lot of money out of the market for most of this year waiting for stability to return. Bonds seemed to be pretty much a pointless investment to me for the last few years but I've reconsidered. Putting a chunk of cash into a bond etf seems better than just leaving it in my account where it earns next to nothing. On the other hand, it's safe where it is. How safe are bond ETFs? I'm particularly thinking of bond ETFs which don't seem to bounce around much like BLV, VLB, and XLB, but which seem to have done well YTD.

Q: Hi, my question concerns slow repositioning of an actual 100 % dividend etf and stocks portfolio , for long term and retirement . Concerning the fact that various economical factors are now present for a future inflation (and then future interest raise in maybe 2 or 3 years ?): 1) what sectors will be safer, or even stay "safe" for dividends 2) what category of bond etf could be added to this portfolio , if indicated ? Many thanks ! JY

Q: Hello, can you make a comparison between these 2 etfs? I already have XBB, so my goal is to maintain a minimum 2% revenue stream in my RRSP and shorten the duration as well. Maybe you have another suggestion? Thanks.

Q: Morning, 5iTeam,

I am thinking taking a position in XLB and XSB. Would this move make a good pair trade in your opinion?
Cheers,

Q: Can you comment on these ETF's I presently hold in a corporate unregistered acct. I have a large amount in DVY.US - not sure why (previously with a FI ) Looking to update this portfolio based on present times. In At least a 5 year hold. Please take as many credits as needed.
Thanks so much.

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.