Investment Q&A

Q: With the prospect of rising rates should an investor sell their bonds or bond ETF's. and if so, is their a better place to park money? Thanks, Bill

Q: Good morning. I would like to increase my fixed income allocations and would like suggestions on where best to invest additional cash. I already have enough in GIC’s and our pref shares have been suffering of late but we are below our target in the fixed side. 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: Given the uncertainty in short term market direction,I have 50% of my TFSA in cash.I believe Canadian interest rates are not going to rise.I am considering the choices listed above, unless you can suggest others.I also have some cash in my US$ RRSP and am considering the Vanguard fund for this cash.US rates may climb further,but not much.Perhaps you could rate these according to risk.
Thank you.

Q: I am an old man (86) sitting on a lot of cash ($800.000) and I am considering on purchasing the following stocks equally invested what I think if is a conservative based portfolio.
VFV yield1.7%,XIU Yield 3.2%,CBO yield 2.61 %, XBB yield 2.9%,CBO yield 2.61 %
Would appreciate any comments you may have. I am looking for yield and relative safety. Thanks, Bill

Q: Realizing everyone's situation is different, generally what percentage do you think one should have in bonds? Thanks, Bill

Q: Team, I’m looking at holding 15% of my portfolio in a low risk fixed income investment. What would be suitable securities to buy?

Q: I am still spooked out about the markets and sold all my stock positions yesterday. I now have a significant amount of cash and would like to deploy it the Bond Market which I think is a safer place at this time. Would appreciate any recommendations you might have as to how to invest the money. With thanks, Bill

Q: I AM FED UP WITH BONDS. DURING THE LAST 5 YEARS I HAVE LOST IN ALL OF THEM .I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY ALL ADVISER SUGGEST BOND FUNDS AS A PART OF INVESTMENT. ONE HAS BEEN LOOSING MONEY .I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENT AND ADVISE RE ABOVE STOCKS.EBRAHIM

Q: I have recently paid off a sizable chunk of consumer debt, and now have a few thousand bucks at my disposal each month. I want to invest most of this in my TFSA so that I can catch up to my lifetime limit, and thereafter invest at a monthly amount equivalent to the annual limit. I've been thinking of investing most of this money in ETFs, but am a bit confused about the advice I see online. In your view, what is my best strategy here? Invest in one or two solid ETFs? If so, which do you recommend? Often, the ETFs I see experts recommending don't seem all that appealing. They hover at the same price for years and years and typically don't have much in the way of other types of yield. Anyway, I'm a bit confused and just wanting to have a basic plan for moving forward over the next year or two in my TFSA.

Q: I am looking for a gov't bond etf /fund to hedge away some equity risk. Can you recommend a liquid gov't bond etf for US treasuries?

I would also be interested in a similar version for Can gov't bonds, if you thought it would produce similar results.

Currency is not an issue.

Thanks, Greg

Q: Hi, are the interest distributions in bond ETF’s like XBB included in the price of the ETF. So when looking at the chart of XBB over time are distributions included in the price? Thanks.

Q: Hi,
I am an income investor whose portfolio is currently 25% fixed income and 65% in equities. With the money I made on the sale of Enercare I would like to invest in a bond fund to keep it safe in these time of market uncertainty. Which do you prefer? Would I be better to divide equally between both funds or all in one fund? Is there a better fund I should consider?

Thank you for your time.
Leigh

Q: I'm often sitting with ~$5K-$10K in cash reserves, which sit in my TFSA/RRSP account while I wait to decide how to invest that money. Usually the money sits for a Quarter or more. What are your thoughts on investing the money into XBB instead of letting it sit in cash? It pays a 2.95% Yield and historically has been fairly stable (thought it has dropped in value this year).
Given my time-frame, do you think its worth investing the money into XBB while I wait to decide how to invest, or better to simply have the money sit in cash?

Q: I am trying to clean up my portfolio a bit by reducing the number of holdings. For the fixed income portion I have 5 different bond funds (CBO, XBB, XHY, CVD, HYGH). Is there enough overlap with either of these that I should consolidate any, or would you suggest any different ETFs to simplify the fixed income portion of my portfolio?

Q: I am looking for the proper vehicle for the bond portion of my portfolio.
Would like to have 3% yield in short term ETF. Does rising rates mean existing bonds in an ETF will decline(and hence a lower ETF price)?
Can you suggest any appropriate bond ETF’s?
Derek

Q: What would be solid and safe ETF`s for fixed income? Looking at 5-10 years timeframe.
Thanks
Kevin

Q: I hold both XBB and ZFH in my RRSP. Is there an advantage to holding both or should I consolidate in ZFH? ... or to another fund which you can suggest?

I need to add a greater bond exposure and want to ensure I'm not simply doubling up.

Thanks,
Ron

Q: I'm retired and have no fixed income in my portfolio.
I would like to switch about 15% of my investments into fixed income. I have read all the questions regarding MFT but am looking for a few more ideas with as much return as is prudently possible.
I spend time in the U.S., so an idea or two there would be a great help, as well.
Thank you, in advance.

Q: I notice lately you’ve been recommending XBB for a bond etf. I own ZAG. Is there much difference between the two? Should I switch?