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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

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?
Read Answer Asked by Brian on September 17, 2018
Q: A friend father age 82 recently sold his residence and is looking to invest. Wants to be in the market. Can you suggest 3 to 5 ETF's for him to invest. Thinking Canadian and Us market , as well as a Bond ETF. Has a small registered fund & TFSA.
Read Answer Asked by David on September 07, 2018
Q: We will be putting 50,000 in my wife TFSA inNovember. we are looking for relatively safe investments with decent return.We think perhaps 10 investments @5000 each.Can you suggest other names I could look into.We have RRSP maxed out with varied portfolio.Deduct as many credits required. Tks 5i
Read Answer Asked by Guy on August 13, 2018
Q: Can you please provide a few bond ETF's that may react positively in a market correction to soften the blow to a portfolio? Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Graham on July 10, 2018
Q: I have 25% in fixed income in the above ETFs. In my TD account they are all showing a small negative return. Wouldn't cash be better or a GIC. I would really like to understand the logic of holding these rather than say a GIC. Thanks so much.
Read Answer Asked by Danny-boy on June 18, 2018
Q: Hi 5i,

I need to create a fixed income allocation in my LIRA. Would you recommend an equal allocation to the following ETF's: CBO, XBB, ZEF, CPD and ZHY? If not what would you recommend for a fixed income etf position.

Thanks,
Read Answer Asked by Christopher on June 18, 2018
Q: Hi 5i,

Need to create a new fixed income/bond position in my portfolio. Looking to allocate holdings (equally?) across the following ETF's: CBO, XBB, ZEF, CPD, and ZHY. Would you recommend this as a good long term strategy or would there be a better ETF combination you'd recommend.

BTW loved your May issue in ETF Fund Update (etffundupdate.ca) on balancing sector allocation.
Read Answer Asked by Christopher on June 18, 2018
Q: Of my bond holdings representing 5% of my portfolio and want to increase to 10%; I'm wondering if anyone listed that I should eliminate/increase in this market environment. Would appreciate any other suggestions. Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Charles on May 23, 2018
Q: 5-I,
I am looking at a managed portfolio of a friend who deals at Wood Gundy. They are comparing the performance of the portfolio to the "Value Balanced Index". It says it is a blended benchmark comprised of 40% DEX Universe, 20% S&P/TSX composite and 40% MSCI World. What would be the closest ETF to this index that I could follow on an exchange ?

Thanks

Paul
Read Answer Asked by paul on April 23, 2018
Q: Hi 5i. FI = Fixed Income

My (6) FI holdings with rough total returns (including MER & dividends) for period held (average ~ 1.5 years): CBO -1.3%, CPD +15.0%, HFR +1.7%, XBB -2.2%, XHY+5.5%, LQD -0.6%.

NOTE: LQD not selectable, so picked HYG for question above.

Question: I understand the reasoning behind having the above FI holdings in my portfolio, but holding CBO & XBB seems like a sure way to lose money. So why not move CBO & XBB holdings to HFR (and possibly also XHY) which at least returns me ~ +1.7% pretty reliably? Your opinion on my FI mix would also be appreciated.

Thank you for continued solid wise advice.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on April 10, 2018
Q: Hello 5i:
We currently hold about 4% of our portfolio in CSU.DB; bought first about 3 years ago with subsequent additions. It's been a very good and stable performer (thanks for the tip as in addition to the excellent dividend, we also have capital gains). Can you provide another name, possibly A ranked company that would have a similar fixed income contribution? Or, should we merely increase our weighting in CSU.DB?
btw, we also hold CSU (the regular equity) at about 3% of our portfolio.

thanks
Paul L
Read Answer Asked by Paul on April 03, 2018
Q: I currently hold this Bond Fund. I'm looking to add a bit more fixed income. This fund is well below NAV right now, has declined about 2.8% in the last year (most of this in the last month or 2), but has a nice yield of close to 6%. I am up on the year by 3% which seems fine to me, considering savings accounts pay .05% these days. Should I add to this one or are there others that might grow a bit in this environment? It seems most of them are well below NAV at the moment. Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by John on March 12, 2018
Q: I keep reading the traditional fixed income portion of a portfolio that has been allocated to bonds in the past, is a bad idea as a long term investment going forward. With that being said, what type of investments/products would you suggest the average investor allocate the fixed income portion of their portfolio going forward?
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Curtis on March 04, 2018
Q: Hello Folks:
My question is most basic re: bond and equity market price relationships.
I understand for bond yields to rise; either bond prices must trade lower or new ones issued with higher yields.
Commentators advise because of higher bond yields, people hesitant about equity market risk are moving money into the bond market.
With fewer people chasing stocks I can understand this could somewhat dampen stock prices.
What I do not understand is the reverse in the bond market.....more money from stock sale proceeds chasing bonds in the fixed income market should increase bond prices depressing yields.
I would appreciate if you can help with this basic finance 101 question.
Thanks for everything
brian
Read Answer Asked by Brian on February 08, 2018
Q: Can you recommend 2 or 3 bond funds in Canadian $ that would be the least volatile and offer a return for a 3 to 5 year hold? I would prefer one Canadian and one U.S. or international. This would be my sole fixed income holding. Thanx
Read Answer Asked by Steve on February 01, 2018
Q: I have owned these Bond ETF's for the last few years and have seen the unit prices drift lower with the rising rate environment. If I had bought the bonds directly the maturity date would restore the capital. Does the same thing happen within the ETF's to the same effect? How doe s it play out over time?
Thanks
Paul
Read Answer Asked by Paul on January 29, 2018
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