Investment Q&A

Q: Dividend payers have been beat down lately. What would be your suggestion for a low cost CDN etf for dividend paying companies?

Q: I am looking for an ETF for RESPs for my three grandchildren. The eldest is 8 yrs old, so the money will not be needed for some time. I would like conservative growth, if there is such a thing. I am thinking of XIC or CDZ. Or maybe you could suggest something else. The amounts are about $5K so one ETF is probably best, for now. Thanks

Q: what is outlook / recommendation for cdz

Q: After reading your article about Dividend Growth Stocks, the first question that came to mind was "Is there a Canadian ETF that covers dividend growth stock for Canadian stocks and one for US stocks and would you recommend them based on past experience? With thanks, Bill

Q: I am setting up an all ETF portfolio for a 20 yr plus holding period and I have a two-part question. The first part concerns the makeup of the Canadian/US component. Is it better to go with a combination of SPY and XIC or would including CDZ and VIG provide stability and perhaps a bit more growth to the mix (keeping in mind that I intend to hold at least 5% of each but don't need income yet)?

Secondly, I am looking for higher risk assets for my TFSA. I was thinking of IWO. I know that there are specialized sectors I could include but I looking for a fairly hands-off approach. Do you think this approach would serve me well - I know that it is only one asset type - or is there a better mix out there that would still be quite manageable?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: Hello,
I am in the process of taking over my mother's portfolio and getting her out of mutual funds. She likes the idea of ETF's to reduce risk vs: specific stocks. What would your top 4-6 ETF's be for a sleep at night portfolio that is well diversified globally and covers all sectors, time range 20 years? Starting portfolio value $750,000 cash by the end of January. Also how would you intelligently step into these ETF's as the markets could be positioned for a correction sometime this year?
Thank you

Q: Hello 5i team,
What is a good ETF that tracks the tsx broad market that pays a decent dividend. Is CDZ a good choice or do you have another suggestion that would be a counterpart to VFV.
Thanks,
Andrew

Q: Good morning from the West Coast.
Merry Christmas and a Profitable New Year to all the staff at 5I.
My question : Is there a CDN ETF that has a monthly payout please?
Thanks
Rick

Q: Hello, One of kids just turned 18 and I would like to start a TFSA. What would you recommend to invest in as a long term goal so that they can also learn about investing. The money will not be required for next 5 years at least
Thanks
Ravi

Q: What would be the Pros and Cons to invest in a new ETF such as DGRC with a total asset of 1.3m?
Would you rather invest in VDY or CDZ?
Really enjoy the new website
Well done
Sylvain

Q: Thinking of selling my CDZ and VUS and replacing them with Mawer 106,108 and 150.Or selling CDZ and keeping VUS and buying Mawer 106 and 150.Or do have another US ETF or fund that you like.Thanks Paul

Q: Hi Peter and Team,

In our grandchildren's RESP (ages 15 and 16) I have been using accumulated dividends to 'top up' the above ETFs, as I'm able to do so commission-free through Scotia iTrade. The portfolio is balanced, with the majority of holdings from the 5i portfolios. Can you suggest a strategy as to which ETF(s) I should invest this extra cash at any given time? Since the 16-year-old is in grade eleven, and the 15-year-old is in grade ten, is it safer to use CLF and/or CBO, even though their charts don't look so great, as compared to CDZ and CUD?

Thanks in advance for your valued advice.

Q: I am considering converting the holdings in our investment account from the couch potato to a dividend portfolio consisting of the 4 etfs listed. In both cases cash replaces the bond component. I want to draw a larger dividend from the portfolio. Do the 4 etfs provide satisfactory diversification and how do you see the pros and cons of implementing this change. Thanks

Q: Just a comment to Nino's earlier question about CDZ: at the end of February 2017 Aimia was the largest weighting at 3.15% of that fund (according to iShares website). With the loss of the Air Canada contract and subsequent cancellation of the dividend it would have been delisted from the index (can't find a link to that on S&P though). Seems to me there would be recent losses and distribution cuts to the fund especially from Aimia's fall plus any other changes in holdings. Fair to say situations like that make yield-driven weighting riskier?

Q: Just looking over the ishares website regarding CDZ, and I don't seem to understand why the dividends have not been increasing steadily and instead have been erratic. For a dividend growth ETF, should the dividends not increase regularly? Can you please help me understand this?

Q: I hold small weightings in cdz,zwc,zwh,zwe as well as holdings in Canadian utilities. I am thinking of replacing cdz with either zdh or cyh to increase my international holdings. Would you please look under the hood of zdh and cyh and would you recommend this move or do you have another recommendation?. Thanx. Great service.

Q: Which category of stocks are these (financial, energy and etc )?
BRK.B(Berkshire )
CDZ
BAM.B(Brookfield )
Thank you

Q: During the Spring I liquidated my CDN Equity portfolio. I wanted to move away from managing indidual positions and move to a more passive approach. Then I read Ryan's excellent article, Why it's almost impossible to be a passive investor in Canada. I looked at HEW; but it is very small with only about $12m invested. Are there other ETFs that do an equal weight S&P 60? I also am considering VCN and CDZ. I also looked at Two mutual funds, Mawer Canadian Equity and Lester CDN Equity Fund. There are High Conviction funds available; but with very high MER's.
Would you please recommend a portfolio structure that would meet my needs, I am a conservative senior. Please have the suggestions add to 100%.
Thanks Guys for keeping us thinking outside the box.

Q: Can you give your thoughts on CDZ in light of the following Globe commentary (similar to other blurbs I've seen in the Globe):

"And another thing: The way some dividend ETFs weight their individual constituents is a bit nuts. Take the iShares S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index ETF (CDZ). Choosing stocks that have raised their dividends regularly, as this ETF does, is a great strategy, but assigning the largest weightings to stocks with the highest yields is a problem. Why? Because a high yield is often a sign of a struggling company whose dividend is unsustainable.

Case in point: At the end of April, CDZ’s largest holding was Aimia (AIM), which at the time yielded 8.8 per cent. But the loyalty plan operator’s shares collapsed in May after Air Canada said it would be parting ways with Aeroplan, and Aimia recently suspended all dividends. CDZ’s top holding now? Corus Entertainment (CJR.B), another struggling company that yields about 8.7 per cent and hasn’t raised its dividend since January, 2015."

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investor-education/im-still-waiting-for-the-perfect-dividend-etf/article35453106/

Would you recommend a switch to a different ETF for broad-based Cdn exposure in an RRSP? What alternatives do you like that are not over-exposed to financials/materials?

Q: Good morning from the West Coast. My question is about diversification. I have purchased CDZ. I would like you to recommend an equivalent ETF for the USA please.
Thanks
Rick