skip to content
  1. Home
  2. >
  3. Investment Q&A
You can view 3 more answers this month. Sign up for a free trial for unlimited access.

Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: New retiree caught with pants down. Need to sell some stuff in RIF to cover current cash needs. Horrible position to be in with current market. Lesson learnt. Maybe (tough to be on the sidelines in a bull market)
Please help with sell sequence, which I guess should be based on which of these holdings is least likely to see near term growth from here OR which is most susceptible to further declines in near future??

Please list in order starting with the holdings you think should be sold first, ending with the holdings you think should be retained longest, and advise your rationale. All will need to be liquidated by mid 2023

Your crystal ball will be better than mine.

Thanks,

Jim
Read Answer Asked by Jim on July 21, 2022
Q: My son has uninvested $ in his RRSP, and no other investments at all. Can you suggest 3-4 positions to get him started? He'd like something that he doesn't have to pay too much attention to. Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Kim on May 26, 2022
Q: Dear 5i
The above noted ETFs are the ones i commonly use in my RRSP , TFSA and non registered accts .
CDZ and ZLB are used for CDN content and the rest for US content.
I believe there is probably some redundancy in these and was wondering which ETFs could be left out .
Which ETFs would you use for RRSPs , which for the TFSAs and which for the non-registered acct .?
Thanks
Bill C
Read Answer Asked by Bill on May 25, 2022
Q: Hello 5i Team,

We recently settled my parents estate and the 3 sons (me included) received a fairly large transfer in the form of 5 ETFs including ZAG (9%), XEF (11%), XUS (3%), XIC (13%) and VFV (12%). This now represents almost half of the total portfolio whereas the remainder is invested in diverse stocks and some other ETFs mostly on your advice. I think you like ZAG for bonds but I’d like to ask if any of the other ETFs seem problematic to you or would you switch any with a similar focus? We also own some XQQ, WXM, IWO and VUN (all at about 2% each). Looking to retire in 10-15 years and with a pretty good risk tolerance.

Thank you for your help!

John

Read Answer Asked by John on May 10, 2022
Q: Based on your reply to Paul on May 9th...."We think buying over a year will end up looking pretty good in two or three years". Of the following Companies that make up my portfolio what would be your TOP 3 conviction names to ADD to over the next year based on long term growth potential, good valuation, well run, good management, no brainer this will be a good investment type choice. There is opportunity here so don't want to miss the boat. Yes everything is down. Yes people are panicking. But it will go back up and simply want to focus my energy on the ones with more conviction. I don't need the money for the next 15-20 yrs but don't want to be a moron either and be happy with a bit of dividend here and there when I could see larger returns by making a good decision today. Thanks again.
Read Answer Asked by Marco on May 10, 2022
Q: The S&P 500 looks good in the current market and long term, with about 72% in the follow: big tech 26%, financials 14%, health care 13%, communication 10%, consumer defensive 6% and utilities 3%. 5i seems to prefer VFV, but its yield is listed at 1.12% on Yahoo and ZSP at 1.3%: is this because VFV has deducted the 15% withholding tax on US dividends? I assume the 15% would still be withheld in a registered account? Thanks!!
Read Answer Asked by Grant on April 11, 2022
Q: Hi 5i.
Thanks for your continuing great service.

I am trying to find a way to hold US stocks without being subject to US Estate Tax or the need for T1135 tracking.

Are CDRs on US stocks subject to US Estate Tax?

Are CDRs on US stocks subject to T1135 reporting?

Are there other vehicles, besides selected Canadian- company-managed ETFs, that enable ownership of US stocks without exposure to US Estate Tax or T1135 exposure?

Which Canadian companies managing US stock EFTs are not subject to these issues?

Are the Canadian branches of US companies that manage US stock EFTs deemed by CRA to be US or Canadian?

Any additional comments or suggestions that you may have on these topics would be greatly appreciated.

Please deduct as many question credits as appropriate.

Many thanks !
Read Answer Asked by David on March 31, 2022
Q: Hello. In reviewing my portfolio, I realize that I lack exposure to US markets. I am therefore thinking of purchasing an VFV ETF. I am 66 years old and receive a reasonable pension. While I have an RRSP, I have not contributed to it for many years, choosing instead to build my TFSA. Given that my TFSA is now topped up, would it make sense to add VFV to my RRSP (better tax advantages??) or add it to an open investment account that I currently hold?
Read Answer Asked by Heather on March 21, 2022
Q: If you were to sell any of the above, list in order your top 5 or 6. Or would you keep the portfolio as is for next 3 years.
Roy
Read Answer Asked by Roy on March 04, 2022
Q: Hi 5i team. Love what you guys offer here as I am a recent trial member who pulled the trigger and signed up. I currently hold ATZ, BAM.A FLOW GSY PRN SLF TOI VFV and WSP in a TFSA. I am looking at rounding out my portfolio to include one of: IIP.un, DIR.un, CAR.un for long term hold with focus on growth and ok with some volatility. So out of those 3 what would you suggest is the best one to choose? Also, any other suggestions you would consider adding to my portfolio for increased diversification based on my overall strategy? Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Marco on March 02, 2022
Q: I am currently heavily invested in Canadian stocks but have insignificant exposure/diversification to the US market. At 64 yo I'm favouring simplicity and considering a significant investment via an Index fund ETF (10 year + timeframe). This will not be in a registered account. I'm considering Vanguard, BMO, or iShares. Which would you suggest? And could you please provide the appropriate ticker symbol. Thanks for your valued assistance.
Dave
Read Answer Asked by dave on February 10, 2022
Q: I have roughly 15% of my entire portfolio within a Taxable account. The rest is diversified within my RRSP, TFSA( Maxed) and LIF. With regards to the taxable account I would like to keep it as simple as possible taking into consideration the tax implications. I am thinking of going with an ETF or ETFs for this account. What would be the best etf's to go with and what % breakdown. The rest of my portfolio is basically 50% fixed income 50% equities,
Read Answer Asked by Kim on February 09, 2022
Q: I have enough exposure to the Canadian market but I need additional global equity exposure for the next 10 years.

Would you please recommend an ETF for each of the following categories:
US
International
Emerging markets

Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Don on January 25, 2022
Q: I have made good profit by investing in these ETF's. Now as the S&P 500 begins to roll down, I see losing some of the gains made so far. Should I sell these ETF's and park the money in cash and wait for the S&P 500 to move up and then invest it back. Alternately , should I leave it invested in these two ETF's. This is part of my fixed income investment. Thanks for the excellent advice you guys have consistently provided.
Read Answer Asked by Vinod on January 11, 2022