Investment Q&A

Q: I have a relatively small RESP portfolio that will have to change to an RRIF. I would like the RRIF to be able to generate enough dividends to cover the required withdrawals. If that is possible. Can you tell me your top ten highest dividend-paying Canadian companies or maybe even better ETFs or a combination that you would be comfortable owning?

Thank you.
David

Q: Retired, dividend-income investor.

I just flushed a legacy mutual fund that was planned to be merged into a different MF. I didn't like the new MF asset allocation. I plan to top up some of my existing ETFs and stock holdings to my maximum comfort level re: asset allocation, then (if needed) add an additional ETF to complement the portfolio.

Q#1 = I own CDZ and ZLB. For a conservative, long term, core ETF what guideline would you use for maximum asset allocation? I currently am at 7-8% each for the equity portion of my portfolio.. Is it reasonable to stretch this to 10% each? When I look at the top 10 holdings in CDZ and ZLB, there is no overlap at all.

Q#2 = I also own LIFE and ZWC, both covered call ETFs...total exposure is 11% of my equities. What maximum exposure to CC would you recommed? I seem to recall a question a while back that you suggested 10 or 15% was reasonable.

Q#3 = depending on your above answers, I may need an additional ETF with the following attributes for a long term holding = conservative, dividend >3%, Canadian holdings (ok to have some foreign). holdings should hit as many of the 11 sectors as possible and if possible, little overlap with the top 10 contained in CDZ or ZLB.

Thanks for your help...much appreciated...Steve

Q: 65 yr old retiring this year. I hold the following: XAW (35%), XBB (20%), XIC (12%), CDZ (7%), ZSP (7%), VTI (7%), ZIC, VTI and ENB at 5% each.
In view of the current conditions, would you increase the fixed asset portion and reduce equity? Which ones would you add to and which ones would you reduce/remove?

Q: Hi. I hold a considerable amount in CDZ and none of VCN. My thinking is that through CDZ I have large Canadian companies that raise their dividend but VCN may offer more diversity at the expense of income. I do like the dividends and concentration of CDZ. Would you stay with CDZ or shift some funds to VCN?

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

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

Q: Can you explain why for all periods up to 1 year VGG has a larger drawdown than CDZ? In other words CDZ seems to be less affected by the current expensive growth sell off. Going forward for a 3 year hold, what etf would you favour? Thank you.

Q: I have 5,000 cash in my RRSP come available. I plan to retire in 4-5 years and am looking for a reliable dividend paying stock(s) or ETF(s) to put this money into and forget about it.
Can you please provide a recommendation for this cash. Thank you.

Q: What is the distribution for this fund and when is it made? Happy New Year!

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?

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..

Q: Would you still recommend CDZ as the best Canadian Dividend ETF for retirees? Is it a good basic Canadian equity fund?

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!

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

Q: What 4 dividend stocks or ETFs would you suggest for a long term hold to see the power of compounding

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

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.

Q: Please name half dozen of your top choices for an income portfolio.

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.

Q: Is there another good Canadian-listed ETF similar to VGG? I need another one or two so I don’t exceed exposure in a single ETF. Anything based on the S&P is not ideal as I already have a fair bit of technology exposure.

Thanks.