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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: Hi, US long terms bonds performed very well during the recent market decline. Did the Canadian bond etfs perform well during this down turn? Which ones did well? I would add to such bond etfs. Thanks.

Regards,

Shyam
Read Answer Asked by Shyam on May 29, 2020
Q: Good morning! I would like to add to the fixed income side of my portfolio ... pls recommend the best fixed income investment today (retired, long-term hold, dividend investor). Thank you for this Q&A service!
Read Answer Asked by Patrik on May 21, 2020
Q: In your portfolio analytics, you used to have A list of suggested etfs for each sector. I cannot find this list anymore. Has it been removed? Could you please provide a list of recommended etfs for each sector. Thank you
Read Answer Asked by satish on May 15, 2020
Q: Hello Peter et al.

I hope you are all doing well in these unprecedented times. I would like an explanation of the ETF price movement of XLB.TO through these markets. When the markets began to crash to the lows in late March, XLB price surged all the way up to $29.00 and then dropped suddenly all the way to $22.00 and has since bounced all the way back to around $27.00 now? I expected the rise in price because stocks were dropping precipitately but I did not expect it then to drop all the way down to $22. Why did that happen? Also it has bounced back to $27.00 now and why is that as well? What am I missing here in my understanding of this bond ETF? I would have thought the bond prices would have went higher because people would have transferred into bonds for security in these uncertain times. Am I wrong in my interpretation here? I expected the same with gold and gold stocks went down for a bit because of mine closures due to COVID-19. They have since rebounded nicely due to mines being re-opened now and they are producing gold again at good prices. Thanks for the great service. Please educate me here.

Regards,

Brendan
Read Answer Asked by Brendan on May 04, 2020
Q: Since the world is engaged in massive bailouts and handouts, does taking a position in US treasuries become more appealing. I know very little about govt bonds other than they are supposed to be safe and they are uncorrelated to the stock market, but if the US govt (and everyone else) is going to buy huge amounts of their own treasuries, it seems this might be a place to make money, not just store it. Is this thinking flawed?
If i take a position in ztl, is this just a safety play, or can it continue to make big gains? Are there other long bond etfs that i should consider?
Thanks for all your help in demystifying the investing world
t
Read Answer Asked by treva on April 22, 2020
Q: Greetings 5i: I have some XLB which I thought would do well when/if interest rates fell. When interest rates plummeted the unit value dropped almost $7. Now I could be wrong (again) but I don't think interest rates are moving up or down any time soon. It's my expectation that when rates do eventually start to go up that XLB may not be something I want to own. I'd appreciate your thoughts. Thanks. Rick.
Read Answer Asked by Roderick on March 20, 2020
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!
Read Answer Asked by Pierre on March 18, 2020
Q: I am a long time subscriber and an avid reader of the Q&A. Even with all I have learned, I am still having a difficult time understanding how to invest the fixed income portion of my portfolio. I want fixed income to provide portfolio stability by protecting on the downside while offering the possibility of capital gains along with some income.

I am a buy and hold investor on the equity side and I am comfortable deciding when to sell a company. However, the fixed income side seems to demand a more active approach - or does it? For example, you have been suggesting that interest rates seem likely to decline in the coming months so that would favour long term bonds. But for stability, or as an offset in case I am wrong, should I also hold short term notes? Should my fixed income portion be split 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 among cash, short term and long term and just left at that or is it necessary to continually monitor and adjust these weightings? Or is there one fund that does all that already?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on March 02, 2020
Q: Hi, I do not have any bonds or fixed income. Looking for one or two prospects to start, with about $50,000 to invest. Would like 3-4%+income. What are your views on the above, and of course any other you may suggest. Would like one size fits all if possible.
Also in a possible 30% downturn in the market , how much would a bond etf cushion the blow?
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Brad on January 13, 2020
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?
Read Answer Asked by Pamela on November 27, 2019
Q: Hello 5i
I have CLF at 6% weight, the highest of the portfolio. I am tired of seeing it constantly dropping over these many years. Would it be of a benefit to exchange this for XLB with the higher dividends and what appears to be an up trend over time? I am 73 with a 60 /40 split, value investor seeking dividends holding some growth equities among the blue chips.
Thank you
Stanley
Read Answer Asked by STANLEY on November 13, 2019
Q: Hello 5i team,
My portfolios are mostly stocks and with a possible recession coming next year, I would like to purchase bond ETFs for both my CDN and U.S. portfolios. At this point would you recommend long or short or ultra short ETFs? and could you suggest a couple of each ( CDN and U.S)? Thanks Carlo
Read Answer Asked by Carlo on October 31, 2019
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