Investment Q&A

Q: I hold these ETF's in a RESP account and just wonder if all these ETF are different enough to own? Also would be be good to own XAW in the RESP account. Money is not needed for 10 years.

Thanks

Q: If the canadian dollar is presently low against the us dollar AND I want to buy the S and P 500 (with the expectation that the dollar will revert to historical values in the future), AM I BETTER TO BUY THE S and P in US dollars or hedged ?

thanks

Ernie

Q: Hi Peter and 5i Team,

Recently, Noah Solomon has had several articles in the Financial Post in which he describes the inherent dangers of the S&P 500 due to its high valuation, warning signals from the CAPE ratio, etc. (I’m using VFV as a typical ETF).

What is your assessment of his views? What strategies might a retail investor employ if there’s validity to his thesis?

Thanks as always for your insight.

Q: I currently own a full weigh of the above listed ETFs and in light of President Trump's economic policies that are likely to benefit the financial sector, I'm looking at possibly adding XLF: US ETF to my US$ Non Registered account.


Q1. What would be your best idea for US$ ETF to add to a US$ Non Registered account at this time along with your rational for this choice?

Q2.What are your thoughts on XLF:US in terms of potential return for 2025 and the remainder of the Trump presidency?

Thank you and I look forward to your response.
Francesco

Q: With all the noise around Mr. Trump I’m thinking your
Canadain dollar could take a beating.
How could someone hedge against this possibility,I
Have been buying two etf’s zmid and vfv thinking that if the cad goes down these two etf’s will go up ?
Thank for the help
Sam

Q: Is there a "Best" S&P500 Index ETF, or are all the same? Which has performed the best last year?

Thanks!

Q: I am considering ETF’s VFV & VSP.

Could you give me your assessment of these two ETF’s.

Would you prefer U.S. or CDN hedge versions? Would there be any tax considerations for either of them?

Would there be other ETF’s that you prefer other than VFV and VSP?

Thank you

Q: Happy New Year to everyone at 5i

I recently read a recent article in the Financial Post:
“The S&P 500’s performance in 2024 made investing look easy. Why bother with strategy?”

Since the ‘Magnificent 7’ stocks dominate ETFs such as VFV, I’m concerned that the S&P 500 represents a very lop-sided weighting of its constituent stocks. We do hold VFV in several of our combined accounts, but am considering selling 25% of VFV and using the proceeds to purchase some EQL.U, an ETF that has never had a question on 5i. I’m aware that an equal weighting strategy results in a tilt towards mid-cap stocks (a good thing?), has a higher expense ratio (not so good) and has higher volatility (again, not so good).

Do the benefits of equal weighting in the S&P 500 outweigh the disadvantages? What is your take on this strategy? Are there similar ETFs to EQL.U that we could consider? Would RSP be one of them?

Thanks as always for your insight.

Q: I have these five ETFs in RESPs for my grandchildren: VCN, VFV, VMO, XAW, XIT.
This seems excessive, so I would like to consolidate: can you tell where there is overlap, and which three I should focus on for the future. Or should I sell 3 and add a new one? Or should I just keep all 5 and top up one of them? They have all done fairly well, but I feel more of a US focus going forward might be appropriate. If I'm gong to have a technology ETF, it should probably be USA? Thank you very much for all you have done for me over the years, much appreciated, and Happy 2025 to all at 5i.

Q: Recently you answered my question regarding US dividend WHT on Canadian domiciled ETF issues (Vanguard Canada, RBC Ishares etc) and noted that withholding taxes are owing on distributions since the Canadian ETF is simply holding the US ETF and the taxes would be levied when distributions are paid by the US ETF to the Canadian ETF.

Some follow up questions:
- I am assuming that the WHT would apply even if the Canadian ETF is held within a registered account?
- Does the WHT explain part of the difference in yield when comparing the US ETF and the Canadian ETF? For example - VIG yields 1.69% while VGG yields 1.17%. Assuming also that the higher MER on VGG also explains part of the yield difference??
- Given these factors - the WHT and higher MER - why would anyone choose the Canadian version of the same ETF. Further to this - In another question posed by Jacques - you point out that the Canadian ETF ZSP would be preferable to VFV since it holds the stocks directly and not thru the US ETF VOO....thereby avoiding WHT's for registered accounts. However - when you look at VOO - the yield is about 26 bp's higher than either VFV and ZSP....again why would you not just buy VOO.

Many thanks

Q: I currently hold the above investments in my non-registered account and will invest some additional funds before the end of the year. My plan is to top up my investments in approximately 8 stocks and 1 ETF. The investments will be a 5 to 10 year hold. Please provide a ranking for the top 10 stocks in my non-registered account. Which ETF fund do you suggest topping up for a 5 to 10 year hold? Thank you 5i

Q: Good morning,

Q1. With this year's high performance of US Large Cap ETFs such as VFV, would switching a portion of VFV into a best in class US Mid Cap ETF make sense at this point in time?

Q2. if so, I'm considering ZMID and XMC as potential candidates. Which of these two US Mid Cap ETFs would you recommend switching into and is there another US Mid Cap that you would consider preferable as the best in class?

Thank you and I'll await your sage advice.

Q: In a recent question you stated "Alternatively to VFV, we also like ZSP, which focuses on the S&P 500, and it has some tax benefits given that it holds the US stocks directly." Could you elaborate on the tax benefits? Thanks for your help.

Q: Most of my TFSA is in Canadian stocks (plus some US CDRs GOOGL, MSFT, AMZN). Now I'm thinking of adding 2 ETFs to my unregistered account. So far, my first choice is VFV, because I know you like it. But you mentioned another one that broadens out from the S&P 500. Not sure about that one: thoughts? But I want one more, particularly with dividend and some growth. If there is a USA one that, like VFV, trades in Canada TSX but pays dividends in US dollars, that might work nicely. Alternatively, maybe a Canadian one that is not too focused on Financials and Energy, one with which I could get dividend tax credit, may work. Between dividend and growth, I would lean toward growth and sacrifice some dividend. Between Canada and USA, I'd like USA, but only if I can buy on TSX. I'd like to stick to just two, but maybe three would work best? What say you? Thank you, yet again, for such a fabulous service.

Q: I am looking to sell $100,000 in VFV (it is up ~70%) in a NR account to pay off debt. My income this year is $250K and I have already have ~$40K in capital gains this year. Does it make sense to sell it now or wait until January 1st to defer capital gains tax?

Q: Watching Bermans call. He suggests the midcap space in the US will flourish with Trump.
I have done quite well with VUN. What is your opinion re the large cap space vs the midcaps in the next 4 years.
Do you think this is so and with extra cash in my RRSP, would you just stick with the large cap ETF or go with the small cap ETF.

Which of the large cap ETF would you choose, VFV with a lower MER over VUN?
Is XMC your choice for the mid cap ETF?

Thanks
Jeff

Q: I’m hopeful that 5i can help with sector rebalancing in our combined accounts. Portfolio Analytics currently indicates that Technology is now 20.85% of our portfolio, but recommends a target of 16%.

Of course, this is due to 5i’s recommendation of CSU, which in turn led to positions in LMN and TOI. We’re certainly grateful for this!

In addition to the three stocks cited above, we also have positions in these ETFs, followed by the percentage weighting in the Technology sector:
XCS - 4.68%
VEF - 10.37%
VFV - 33.77%

Is this overweight position in Technology something we should be concerned about? If this was your portfolio, what would you do? We are seniors (76 and 81), and both of us have defined benefit pension plans.

Thanks as always for your insight.

Q: A conservative investor has these three ETFs. For a non-registered account would she be better off topping up one of these, or is there another ETF that would complement this group. With or without a dividend.

Q: What are some ETFs that I can use to diversify my portfolio and have as a buy and hold strategy. 20+ year hold in TFSA. I want a portion of my portfolio that I don't have to look at at all. I currently have VFV and VEQT.

Q: What are your recommended non-Canadian equity ETFs?
Do you prefer US only ETFs, or worldwide non-Canadian ETFs, for a long term hold?
Is it more likely that US equities will outperform non-US, such as Europe and Japan, or is it too hard to tell?