Investment Q&A

Q: I need to expand my international exposure and would be holding the ETF in a non-registered account.

What are your top 2 international ETFs (ex-north america?).
What do you think of VIU?

Thanks
(Note I tried sending this in previously but not sure it went through so resubmitting)

Q: I need to increase my international exposure. My plan is to accomplish this through ETFs held in a non-registered account.

1) Can you please recommend two ETFs to achieve international exposure.

2) As a member of BMO Investorline I can access commission free ETFs and I am considering vanguard's VI ETF to increase international exposure. What are your thoughts on this ETF and how does it compare versus the ETFs recommended as part 1 of this question?

Thanks!

Q: VI and VEF have been suggested as Canadain dollar alternatives to VXUS. Both VI and VEF are hedged to the Canadian dollar. Is it better to be hedged or unhedged to the Canadian dollar? I was considering VIU which I believe is the unheadged version of VI.

Thanks

Q: Hi All at 5i!!
I gather VXUS is in USD. Is there a CAD equivalent??

Cheers,
Tamara

Q: H i5i,

I have a question about opening $10,000 RESP for our granddaughter who is 11 yrs old. An extra $2,500 will be added each year to qualify for the $500 from the gov't.

We are newbies to RESP's so pardon our ignorance for our lack of knowledge. Our current service is through a CDN bank so each transaction costs $. That is ok for us as a buy and hold strategy. For an RESP, is it best to open an account with Wealth Simple to avoid fees? We would like a DRIP stock(ETF) and then a suggestion how to manage the additional funds that are added each year. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you for your service. Without question, 5i is the best value that I have ever found. It is our go to reference and we let everyone know if they pay for one service, 5i is the best choice.

D&J

Q: I am a retiree and looking for conservative growth stocks with target of 3 to 5 years hold. Dividend is nice, but, not important. Based on the current market condition and valuations, could you recommend 5 Canadian stocks and 3 global ETFs? Please suggest an entry point with a note for the reason of recommendations. Thanks so much.

Q: I am looking for income and some growth,but income is more important. With that in mind what are favorite ETFs in the following areas ?
International ,excluding North America
US small cap.
India
US large cap.
Thank you,
Philip

Q: I currently have no international exposure and wondered what ETF(s) in a TFSA would be best? Is 1 ETF enough or should I buy 2?

Thanks

Q: HI Everyone,

My portfolios (Non-Registered, RRIF, TFSA) consist of only 100% Canadian equities and Cash. I am retired and would finally like to add some excitement and diversity to my holdings. Can you please suggest some Global/International or US ETF's and/or other funds that I could consider.

In my current mish-mash of holdings; I presently own: BCE, T, ENB, AP.un,H&R-un,BN, CSU, TOI, LMN, EDV, K, VET, WSP, LSPD, Anergia, Copperleaf, Softchoice, ATD, and WSP, etc.

Thanks very much,

Dean

Q: I will be providing some funds for my grandson to invest in the market. My grandson is 15 years old and is interested in investing some funds for his retirement years (40+ year time frame). He has indicated that he has a moderate to aggressive investment risk level. Please provide your top 5 large cap ETFs and top 5 small cap ETFs with a comment on each ETF. Please provide your top 5 large cap companies and top 5 small cap companies with a comment on each company. Please include general comments on the anticipated returns for the ETFs and companies. Thank you. We

Q: Using the Portfolio Analytics, I see I need to increase my international exposure. What strong performing stock and ETFs do you suggest? In Canadian dollars, and US dollars.

Also I'd like to know if CSU, LMN and TOI are Canadian.

TIA,

Brenda

Q: I will be providing some funds for my grandson to invest in the market. My grandson is 13 years old and has indicated that he has a moderate to aggressive investment risk level. He would like to invest funds and hold the investments for approximately 10 years. For a 10 year hold, would you recommend moderate to high risk companies/ETFs over low risk companies/ETFs? My grandson is considering investing in ETFs and/or individual companies. Please provide your top 5 moderate risk ETFs, top 5 high risk ETFs, top 5 moderate risk companies and top 5 high risk companies with a brief comment on each investment. Please provide a general comment on the typical performance of ETFs vs individual companies. Thank you

Q: My son has held VFV and XIC in his RRSP account for a few years now. That was based on your recommendation around starting an ETF portfolio for him at that time.
He will have extra cash to contribute this year, and I'm wondering if he should maybe add some other ETF's at this point, or just continue to stick with these 2.
If he should add, what other ETF's would you recommend?
Also, for the 2 he already has, do you still think VFV and XIC are the best choices, or are there other ETF's you like better right now?
Thank you!

Q: I currently own a 3% total portfolio in international markets. I plan to raise my total international exposure to 10% from new money available. Do you think it is safe to do so. My U$ exposure is at 42%. No bonds, 7% in money markets.

I currently own XIN and ZWE for distribution. Is there overlap between VI, XEF and XIN? How would you proceed? Can you rank and propose what my options are among these ETFs with the % you would allocate to each 2 or3 ? I don't want EMs.

Thank you for your precious help. You've made me wonders since I use your services.

Yves

Q: I have 4 stocks doing very well in my TFSA, MSFT, BRK.B, VI and APPL. Recently I noted that COSTCO is doing very well and I am considering adding it to my TFSA but am out of space. 1) do you think that adding Costco to my TFSA is a good idea and 2) if so which of the my current stocks above should I replace?
Many thanks. Jane

Q: Can you please suggest a few ETF's for a young investor who has recently opened a brokerage account.
My 30 y/o son will be transferring funds currently held at his bank. (TSFA , RESP, RRSP accounts) He is looking for long term investments options.

We as grand parents have started a RESP for each of the grandchildren. Looking after their first year RESP contributions. Currently invested in HXS and a small VFV position.
Can you please give some options for :
RRSP
RESP
TSFA
Thank you
Gord

Q: Hi

What would you prefer among XEF, ZEA, and VI for a long-term hold for international exposure ex CA and US.

Thanks
Robert

Q: Hi 5i team,

My daughter and her partner are investing in their RRSPs through a work plan. They are in a number of Mutual funds, some with quite high MERs range about 1.5 to 2.5%. Also high redemption rates (some up to 5% in first year or two). I have tried to find the mutual funds from their statements, but mostly listed without codes so difficult to be certain of all data.

They have :
20% Balanced funds
47% Canadian Equity
13% Global Fixed income
20% Foreign Equity.

Amount invested is significant but not really high - includes 3 years of contributions/investment. I think they would be best to withdraw the money now and invest in ETFs. I don't think they need to similarly replicate the funds above in ETFs.

2 questions:

A. Any suggestions as to most efficient way to withdraw from these funds? Are there questions to ask that might help reduce redemption bite or should they just make the switch.
B. They are late 30's and 40 yo, so time horizon of approx. 20 years or more before needing money. They are interested in investing but are very early in this. Wondering what you would suggest for starter ETFs right now with bias towards growth. Perhaps you could suggest 4-6 ETFs that would give them age and time horizon appropriate investments.

Please use as many questions as needed.
Thank you in advance for your usual great service and the very helpful advice.

Q: Hi

What do you recommend for a TSX listed ETF that is ex-Canada and ex-USA for global exposure?

Thanks,
Robert

Q: 3 years ago I divided my pension 50/50 between MFS Global Equity and Schroder Emerging Markets in an effort to increase my international exposure. I had been 100% in the MFS Global Equity Fund and would have been much better off had I stayed there. I have a couple of options as I see it:

1) Move back to 100% MFS Global Equity Fund (portfolio drops to 20-25% international)
2) Stay the course (portfolio stays at 30% international)
3) #1 plus allocate some non-registered funds to an international ETF to get portfolio back to 30% international (suggestions?)