Investment Q&A

Q: I would like i5R thoughts on how to invest this year’s RESP contribution. Withdraws will occur around 2038. I am trying to decide between, DOO, DOL, ATD, PET, XIC & XIU. Do you have any recommendations or should I just flip a coin. Thanks … Cal

Q: Good morning.
We are retired and rely on our investments for income.
We are looking to simplify our portfolios and would appreciate your opinion.
We are hoping to utilize etfs in our rrsp and tfsa.
In our non registered we would like etfs and Canadian dividend stocks to utilize the the dividend tax credit as this is our main source of income.
At present our set up is:
TFSA. VDY
RRSP. VIG
non registered. 70 % (VDY. XIU. VCE with 15 individual canadian stocks )
30%. ( VGG. ZSP. ZNQ)

Is this too simplified?
Are there any etfs we should add or delete or would be better.

Thanks for your help.
Victoria

Q: Can you DRIP the etf XIU?
Thanks
Dave

Q: Can you give me the symbols of ETF's that matches the movement of the tsx 60 , SP 500 and the NASDAQ. With the lower mer or fees. Thanks .. Borrowing money to invest on the stock market was something that was getting very popular. With interest rates now at normal rates in my view I believe this will end. Our economist drop the key interest rate at the beginning of covid to reduce the risk of a recession. In 2022 these same people are raising the interest rates to prevent inflation. I believe they will not succeed. I wish I had a company that could right out checks and not needing any funds to pay them. Only or government can do this.The same people that are raising and lowering or interest rates. Imagine that. Thanks for the great service but with 122 credit questions I guess I'm not using your services to the max. You guys are great happy new year.

Q: The first ones to forecast next year results are Goldman Sacks and they are pretty bearish on the stock market. They forecast the S&P to finish the year at 4000 after picking up steam in H2 while the first half should be down while traders will adjust their premiums with no gain in profits next year. Do you agree with their thesis? Where do you see the better overweight. In US with blue chips or smb ? Canada with oil and basic material? Look for dividend to try to make some yield? Please elaborate on your rational. Thanks a million$$$

Yves

Q: My Son has $12,000.00 to open a new TFSA. He has selected the following stocks
XIU(50)-ZNQ(50)- VFV(25)- ZUT(100)-ZRE(100)- ZPR(200)
He plans to add $6000.00 plus Dividends each year and buy more of same, for next twenty -five years. Will he get a good return on his choice. or does he need to diversify more or only buy the first three. Welcome your direction to maximum total return or close to it. Can accept risk. Many Thanks---Cec

Q: Hi, looking to invest long term in one etf for income first , growth second. Would it really matter which one I pick ? I’m thinking zcn for lower mer and higher dividend.
What etf do you like for retired investors (include any other you might consider) Thanks,

Q: Why your Growth portfolio returns are 5.44% since inception vs xiu.to avg 7.48% CAGR since 2002 returns?Am I better off investing in XIU vs your Growth portfolio what am I missing here ?

Q: 1.For Canadian coverage would you choose xic, vcn or xiu?
2.Would it be worth putting half the total amount in one of the above(xic, vcn, or xiu)and the other half in vdy?
3.For the U,S. allocation should I choose vig or spy which both require payment in u.s. dollars which I don't have, or would it be adequate to simply choose vun.

Thanks in advance. I plan to hold these allotments for many years and I appreciate dividends but do not need them for my living expenses.

Q: Hi Peter,

Over the next five to ten years, what is your expectation from a risk-return prospective for the following asset classes? Please provide your ranking with a brief explanation for your rationale.

Annualized returns for the past ten years are noted below as per BlackRock:

U.S. equities – 13%
Canadian equities – 8%
Infrastructure – 7.3%
Japan equities – 6.6%
REITs – 6.1%
European equities – 5.3%
China equities – 4.9%
High yield bonds – 3.4%
Emerging Market equities – 3.3%


Thanks George

Q: What are your thoughts on index funds and if you were to buy a few which ones would it be, following the Canadian and US exchanges?

Thanks

Q: Hi team!
I am considering a hybrid portfolio of either (A) 80% ETFs and 20% individual stocks or (B) 80% in an All-in-one ETF (VEQT/VGRO) and 20% individual stocks. I understand there may be foreign withholding tax considerations on the Vanguard All-in-one ETFs depending on the account type in which it's held and I'm wondering how significant this actually is.

Questions:

- Which accounts out of RRSP/LIRA, TFSA, RESP, and Non-Registered would US listed ETFs be a better alternative due to this foreign withholding tax drag?

- At what account value would the tax drag from these withholding taxes be material enough to warrant buying individual ETFs (ex. VT, VTI, XUU, XEF) instead of using an all in one fund (VGRO or VEQT)?

Trying to avoid losing 15% or more of any US/foreign dividends due to unrecoverable foreign taxes if possible!

Thanks for your great work!

Q: I'm looking to increase the dividends in my portfolio and wonder if there is an ETF that you would recommend for dividends?

thanks as always,
Paula

Q: Which Canadian Index ETF would you suggest holding in your portfolio?

Thanks for the great service.

Q: I have a question regarding the distributions for XIU, XIC and XAW. According to Morningstar these ETFs are close to 100% equities, yet it looks like interest income can make up a sizable component of the yearly distribution. I would have thought most of the distributions would be from dividends. Any information regarding this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Q: I am thinking of investing in these three ETFs because I believe we are getting near the bottom of the market and all three of these ETFs have good growth prospects over the next 2 years. Would you agree with my thinking?

Thanks. David

Q: I am thinking of setting up my portfolio with 25% positions in XIU, ZLB, XSP, ZLU. I am trying to avoid bonds and International stocks as they always seem to be a drag on the portfolio. With this arrangement I feel I have a better chance for returns closer to the market. With the low volatility ETF’s, I am hoping my positions would cause less volatility and would smooth out returns as the holdings in each are well correlated. Would you consider this plan to be too risky or would you have any other commentary or suggestions?

Q: My sister has an RDSP with BMO. She has 75,000.00 in each the above funds. The lifestage money will mature in June and automatically go into a money market fund. The money will not be needed for years. She also has a trust fund. Do you have any suggestions for the 75k? Also, I believe the Cad and Usd equity funds are mutual funds. Should I move them to a lower cost ETF?

Q: Would like a current opinion on this mutual fund?
Is the fees worth the returns or would a global ETF perform better?
Greatly appreciate your opinion.

Q: Hi 5i Team,

I have held a balanced Canadian Couch Potato Portfolio with the above etfs in my son's RESP which i started when he was born in 2009. The portfolio has done pretty well (in my books at least) at 8% annual return. I am now looking at a 6 year time horizon for when he will need to begin to draw from the RESP. I am thinking of starting to rotate toward more conservative holdings as the timeline for needing the funds draws closer. Under "normal" circumstances from what i have learned this would mean moving more into bonds at this point but I am having trouble believing this is appropriate in the current market. With interest rates and inflation both rising i am wondering if low debt dividend stocks might be a better bet to hold onto purchasing power in this time frame? Maybe something something like CDZ vs XBB? I know you can not suggest specific portfolio recommendations but looking for suggestions/best bets for maintaining value and keeping up with inflation over this time frame.

Thanks,