Investment Q&A

Q: HI
i understand that high yield bonds do better than the other types of bonds in an increasing interest rate environment. Do you agree? Can you recommend some high yield bond ETFS?
thanks

Q: Good morning 5i,
I need some fixed income. And I am paralyzed by the low rates I see. when I think of fixed income i tend to think of security and not growth. I know there are a number of people who put all kinds of things in fixed income, from high risk bonds to preferred shares. Where would 5i fall on this question? I was wondering what you thought a suitable fixed income component might look like for a retired person? as you can see by the symbol I added in the title, I am thinking short term bonds. But, i am open to suggestion. Could you suggest some bond etf's for the US and for Canada that would be appropriate for our current situation?
thanks

Q: Hi,

How would you allocate a 20% and a 30% position to the income portion of a portfolio? If one dumps it all into a well diversified bond fund like ZAG be too much in a single ETF?

Thanks

Q: Hello 5i Team

I currently hold PH&N High Yield Bond Fund Series D (RBF1280) in a RRSP account.

I would like to transition from this mutual fund to an equivalent ETF.

What ETF would be a suitable replacement for this mutual fund, trading in Canadian dollars on the TSX?

Thank you

Q: Hello,

I am concerned in a rising interest rate environment CBO (5.0%), CPD (1.92%), XHY (7.4%), VAB (4.13%) are positions that need to change in my portfolio. Portfolio Analytics recommends holding 35% in fixed income. I currently hold about 18%.

Should I be selling some or all of these positions and then re-investing in other fixed income vehicles given the rising interest rates?

I would appreciate your feedback/suggestions on current position. Thanks again for all your great service.

Q: I need to raise some cash which one can be trimmed today? Thanks.

Q: Hello Peter,

The ETF's above are in the income portfolio. All have different yields that are paid out monthly. My question is, do any of these "dividends" increase over time? Not the yield but the actual payout per share?

Thanks,

Kelly

Q: Making some adjustments based on portfolio analytics.
Whats your best growth suggestions for:
Health care (us/ international)
Industrial (us/ international)
Consumer defensive (us/ international)
Consumer cyclical (us/ international)
And what is your favorite way to add a fixed income component?
Take appropriate credits as nessacary.
Thx for the great service.

Q: Two separate questions on the same theme I guess. First, Can you comment on CAE’s ability to deal with an inflationary environment, especially if interest rates were to rise? Thinking of their balance sheet, “pricing power” and so on, as well as their current P/E versus historic. Second, wondering how XHY might fare in the near term as well? Looking at the last number of years it has held up pretty well considering the yield, but it seems like a fair number of storm clouds gathering on the horizon that make me wonder about defaults etc.
Thank you,

Q: I have a non-registered account which is invested in roughly equal weights of 13 Canadian blue chip dividend payers (NTR, RY, BNS, TCL.A, T, BCE, SLF, QSR, ENB, FTS, LNF, BEPC, AQN) and CPD. I am in the process of re-organizing it a bit and have some additional cash to invest.

I have tinkered with SYZ, FSZ and LIF in this account and none of these quite fit the profile I'm going for (steady eddies thru next economic cycle, decent and reliable dividend).

Over the last year or so, I have been tweaking this account to get it to the point where it will be very low (or no) maintenance. Game plan is to drip for another few years, then start to take the dividend in cash to live off. Capital preservation and dividend reliability are obviously key.

Looking for some guidance on choosing 2 or 3 additional holdings from the following list:
EIF (nice div, needed industrial exposure)
AW.UN or ZRE (are these OK in an open account?)
CVD or XHY (some fixed income to smooth out any upcoming lumps) or other fixed income idea.

Do CPD, CVD, XHY make sense now with tapering about to begin in the US?
All comments about this strategy and my stock selections are most welcome.

Several questions here - please take several credits


Thanks in advance,

Jim

Q: I own ZHY, XHY and ZEF bond ETFs. They do pay some income, but the capital is getting constantly depleted - I am 10% down on ZHY/XHY and 5% down on ZEF after holding them for many years. Is there a point of keeping these funds or should I get rid of them?

Q: In a flat or a rising interest rate environment which ETF is preferable i.e XHY, PFIA, MFT, ZHY OR PYF?

Thanks for your service!

Q: Hi I have this etf in my account . Should i sell some and buy stocks or add some i am looking for dividend income.

Thank you

Q: Hello,
I am nearing retirement. I have CBO, CPD, VAB and XHY at 20% of my fixed income portfolio. All these ETF's exist in my unregistered account. I wanted to add XBB in my RRSP account. Any concerns about too much overlap by adding this position? This will add 7% to my fixed income position. Portfolio analytics recommends a 30% position.

Thanks for all your help.

Q: Good morning,

Two general questions:

1. I am fortunate in that I have now maxed out my TFSA contribution. Could you give me an idea of what sort of investments I should have in a TFSA vs. a cash account? 

2. According to portfolio analytics I am underweight in Fixed Equity. Underweight, in that I have none. Could you give some direction as to what to include for the fixed equity portion of a portfolio and provide some suggestions. 

Thank you for your help!

Q: What do you think of this twenty stock dividend portfolio for a taxable account? I am focusing on high quality and it yields about 3.8% . Any changes you would make?

Q: Would XHY be a suitable bond ETF in the current environment? The yield looks quite attractive, near 5%. If not, is there another bond ETF you would recommend?
Thanks

Q: I had a portfolio review many years ago when you did them individually, personally by human! At the time your suggestions were right on and cleaned up my ETF's. Now I have over ten and according to your metrics it should not be so. Given those above, is there anything that is not required? I am up 25%- 150% on all of them. I am happy with all of them. I have a balanced portfolio in all 11 sectors with 44 stocks all doing quite nicely thank you. Following the income portfolio with some of my own additions from 15 years ago. I do not see any major conflicts.I am s a buy and hold dividend investor with some growth ( lightspeed, Leon's).
Thank you for your million dollar service!
Stanley

Q: Hi!

I used to own these ETFs for my fixed income exposure. I went to 0% fixed income during the downturn last year, instead using the proceeds to buy stocks that were crushed. I'd like to slowly start to build a position again in my RRSP. Am I too early? It seems like rates have started to rise and where they go is anyone's guess, but if bonds have an inverse relationship to rising rates, aren't I setting myself up to lose money? Does a laddered approach negate that somewhat? Maybe its best to start with CBO since its Corporate credit and laddered? How would you rank these in general and in order of which I should accumulate first. I realize XHY is riskier than the others.

Thanks,
Jason

Q: As a follow up to my earlier question, where in you mentioned "if the focus is on bonds....", last line. I am looking for opportunities in fixed income investments. So where should the focus be, other than fixed deposits . Thanks for the excellent advice you have consistently provided over the years.