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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: Do to a few errors/mistakes in switching brokerages, I ended up removing these from an RRSP and TFSA accounts and left them in limbo in a non- reg account. I am aware of the serious overlap among the RBF266, XDV,CDZ and XIU. (They were in separate accounts at one time). If I should consolidate, what are your thoughts? What stays and what goes? If I were to begin selling and adding stocks, I was thinking BAM.A and ?Twenty year time frame. Have maxed TFSA.
Cheers and thanks,
Paul
Read Answer Asked by Paul on February 07, 2022
Q: In yoor recent reply to my question regarding how to evaluate returns, you suggested CDZ. Thanks for that, it does seem a better comparison. Of interest, though, I did a comparison of CDZ to the TSX return, and found that the only difference over 10 years was the actual management fee of .66%.
I also appreciate your comments about risk. I had about 20% of my investment assets in "play" money, but over the last 2 or 3 years I have reduced that to essentially nothing, since - as you pointed out - an extra percent or even more would not make any difference to my lifestyle. That frees up my time, and I do sleep very well at night!
Thanks again!
Paul K
Read Answer Asked by Paul on January 31, 2022
Q: What ETFs do you recommend for a retired senior with a company pension age 79. I am a conservative investor. How should covid developments affect my selection?
Read Answer Asked by Donald on January 03, 2022
Q: I have about 10% of my portfolio in these bond ETFs XBB 2%, CLF 4%, XSB 2%, XSH 1%, PMIF 1%. They have shown a negative performance recently with CLF down 7%. The coupon reduces the losses. Will increased interest rates improve their performance? An alternative is to reduce my exposure and buy something like BCE with a low beta and a better yield (5% +). I am 79 years old and have pension income. My portfolio is conservative holding a large proportion in banks, telecoms and utilities. I am looking for stocks, ETFs with a low beta and good yield..
Read Answer Asked by Donald on January 03, 2022
Q: Hi, I'm looking to save and invest $X every week into the market. I could either:

1) Buy etf's as there is really no commission on the purchases
2) Buy individual stocks as the funds accumulate. Commission is only ~$5, what would be the minimum $ amount to invest so that it's worth it?

If I were to choose option 1, what would be your two or three ETF choices for either dividend growth or pure capital gains growth. Same for option 2, what two or three individual dividend growth or growth stocks would you choose to allocate capital to every week or two?

Thanks!

Read Answer Asked by Keith on November 16, 2021
Q: Am looking to invest in a Canadian Dividend ETF.
I have researched the above ETF's, they all have pros & cons.
Am leaning slightly towards VDY at this point.
Criteria: Will be in a non-registered account, am after monthly dividend income with
some moderate growth potential. Am not overly concerned with a high weighting in financials, ideally would have a lower MER but am after solid 3-5 year growth.
If forced to choose one only, which ETF would you recommend?
Thanks for the great service,
Steve
Read Answer Asked by STEVEN on November 11, 2021
Q: What 4 dividend stocks or ETFs would you suggest for a long term hold to see the power of compounding
Read Answer Asked by Terry on November 08, 2021
Q: What are your top 10 ETF’s to hold forever?
Would you buy them on the US or Canadian markets if available. I know some of the US listed ETF’s are more liquid. Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Ben on November 05, 2021
Q: Hi 5i, I started my stock market investing in March 2020 in order to get 'skin in the game'. I am a daily learner whose investing personality is that of an 'individualist'. I have determined my investing goal to be for income (mostly through dividends) and growth (for capital appreciation). I have found lately that my risk tolerance feels lower due to increasing volatility, talk of market decline/crash, increasing inflation, shortages, rising rates etc. As a result I would like to cash in the individual stocks I own that have given me good capital appreciation and replace them with ETF's and/or Index Funds. Income and growth plus diversification to my portfolio is my objective here. Since I hold more than enough physical precious metals and an emergency stash in US dollars I feel I have enough insurance/hedge against a worst case scenario happening in the economy. Please comment on these following ETF's. I am also open to other suggestions you might have as well. Please note that my entire TFSA is in my brokerage account so taxes are not an issue for me. Thanks

ZCN BMO S&P/TSX Composite Index
CIC CI First Asset Canadian Bank Income Class
ZWB BMO Covered Call Canadian Banks
RIT CI First Asset Canadian Banks
ZDV BMO Canadian Dividend
CDZ iShares Canadian Aristorcrats
XRE iShares Capped REIT
XEC Emerging Markets ETF

P.S. I assign an equal dollar amount for each investment in my portfolio. The ETF part of my portfolio are for long term holds.
Read Answer Asked by Lucy on November 02, 2021
Q: Please name half dozen of your top choices for an income portfolio.
Read Answer Asked by Roy on November 02, 2021
Q: I am looking for monthly income. So far I am considering ZEB, KEY, PPL, and either HHL-B or HHL-T. Your opinion on those, and any suggestions you have, please.
Read Answer Asked by James on October 29, 2021
Q: About 1 year ago you provided some general guidance on a retirement portfolio and I’m wondering what changes, if any, you might recommend given another year has passed. I’m not looking for specific guidance but rather suggestions for me to investigate further given how the investing landscape has changed this past year. Retirement horizon is 5 years and the portfolio has the following holdings: ZAG(26%), ZSP (3%), CDZ(65%), ZEA(6%). We have a large cash position that we’re ready to deploy. First, what is your take on the viability and allocation of the current holdings? Second, what are some ETF suggestions for the cash - add to existing ETFs or do you have alternative funds you’d recommend for us to investigate. Thanks so much!
Read Answer Asked by Warren on October 04, 2021
Q: After selling a rental property I now have cash that equals approx 25% of my investment portfolio. My goal with this cash would be to create a mini portfolio within 2 TFSA's to produce dividend income to help with everyday expenses for the next 5 years or so. After this time the investments would be sold and incorporated into my balanced portfolio as the income should no longer be needed. I am looking to keep the portfolio to a max of 6 positions that are diversified from a geographical and sector standpoint. I do not have an exact income requirement, but 4% was my initial target. What investments would you suggest to meet my goals? Feel free to deduct as many credits as required.
Read Answer Asked by justin on September 09, 2021
Q: Hello, I have the Mackenzie fund mfc244 that has done very well for me over the years and pays me a nice dividend every month. Is the a cdn etf that would be comparable in performance and payout but would have a much lower mer? Thanks
Read Answer Asked by pietro on August 10, 2021
Q: Is this ETF a safe way to invest in the banking sector in a RRIF account for income and some growth and do you believe the strategy used by this ETF can outperform other ETF such as ZWB or ZEB. Can you suggest a couple of alternatives ETF that are more appropriate for a RRIF or do you feel it is better to just own the individual banks.
Read Answer Asked by Joseph on August 04, 2021