Investment Q&A

Q: Could I get your suggestions for some $CDN ETFs to invest for a toddler's RESP. I was thinking maybe a split between a tech-based ETF and a general North American-based ETF, but am open to any other ideas. There is not too much in the RESP at the moment, but it does have years to go, so growth is the main goal.
Thank-you

Q: Modest amount of funds in trust for teenagers. Plan to sell Alteryx at small loss. What would you suggest for USD purchase please? I was looking @ VTRS. Not keen on debt levels but will it provide downside protection in this volatile market? Time horizon 1.5 years. Could you also please identify growth oriented names. VEEV already owned. Also ETF ideas to look @ please. Please deduct question credits as appropriate.

Q: S&P 500 High Beta ETF (SPHB). What is your opinion of SPHB vs VOO? The fee is .25%, but it seems to perform better long and short term to make up the fee. Can you add SPHB to your database?

Q: Which Canadian ETF would be the best S&P 500 to buy for a 5-10 year hold and why? Thank-you very much.

Q: Hi,

keeping in view the US Withholding tax on canadian investors.

If one has to hold US S&P 500, US mediam &small cap, US IT/technology ETF in canada.

Then which ETF would be be the best for a TFSA and cash account. ( I believe in a RRSP it does not matter ).

I currently hold SPY,VFV, IWO, VGT and QQQ in my TFSA and cash account. Do you think they are OK, or will you recommend some equivalent more efficient ETF's for exposure these sectors.

Keeping in view the difference between a TFSA and cash account, please suggest suitable ETF's for each, which would mirror SPY, VFV, VGT, IWO and QQQ.

Thanks
Harry

Q: What unhedged C$ S&P500 etf do you recommend?
Following up on my recent question.

Q: I am hoping you would be able to make some suggestions for my Grandsons RESP. $20,000 dollars. The boys are 1 and 4 years old.
Thank you.

Q: Hello,
I am opening a RESP account for my 6month old son. In your opinion, is it better to invest in Stocks or ETFS? Can you please also provide me a top 3 stocks or ETFS in your mind?

Thanks!
Kelly

Q: I have balanced stocks in RRSP (mainly from your BE portfolio) and growth companies in TFSA (mostly our picks). Its very well diversified in different sectors. Thank you for your help

I still have ~50 K Cash (from recent clean up) in RRSP which I would be investing in this summer. Since majority of my stocks are Canadian, to balance out I am looking to add mostly US ETFs.

These are the ETFs have got my attentions from your questions answers. I am looking for maximum growth and also a hold and forget for 10 + years. This question applies to RRSP

Please provide me with 3-5 suggestions from below. Would you add anything else here or suggest otherwise?

IWO, IWM, VB, VUG, VFV, VGRO, QQQ, ARKK, ARKG,SPY

Thank you for your excellent service!

Q: I am thinking of investing in VXC (or maybe XAW) in my RRSP. I understand that since this is a fund of funds and some of the underlying ETFs are US based, that there will be foreign withholding tax of some amount. To avoid the tax, am I better off to invest in the underlying ETFs (Canadian versions only) specifically VFV, VIU and VEE? (small cap I could not find). How much of an issue is the foreign withholding tax? Is it small enough to not bother buying all these underlying ETFs directly? Your thoughts please.

Q: This is a confusing time as I watch equities in the growth and value camps move up and down depending on the news of of the day. Seems to be related to the threat of inflation and the Fed's reaction to it. Which US/Global companies/ETFs would you suggest I buy in both VALUE and GROWTH camps to give me a balanced exposure to this dilemma? If possible 5 suggestions in each area would be helpful. As always, thanks for the guidance.

Q: For a 10+ year passive hold of approximately 25% weighting of total equities investment (mix of registered and non-registered accounts), do you see an advantage of holding EQL vs a straight S&P 500 index like VFV including taking into account the fees differences. And for non-registered accounts- CAD hedged or non-hedged?
EQL feels a little better to me even with the fee but maybe I'm overthinking this one. Thank you.

Q: I'd value your suggestion (and reasons) for equities for my 22 y.o. grandson for his TFSA. He has room for $19,000.00. He does not need the money for at least 5 years. Thank you, Fooklin

Q: What is the difference between
QQQ vs VGT
VFV vs VGRO

From a pure growth perspective, if you had to choose one from each groups, which would you choose.

Q: What might you suggest for the following situation?

There is $27,000 held in registered accounts with an expectation to augment those savings at a rate of about $1,100 per month to address two prime objectives. The first is to accumulate sufficient funds for a down payment on a condo within five years. The second is to adequately augment savings for retirement, hopefully, 16 years from now.

A financial advisor is suggesting investing in a low risk, balanced fund with a MER of 1.9%. The management fee seems high and the expected return from the investment not particularly exciting. We have a relatively low threshold for risk, especially for those funds earmarked for retirement, but are willing to try something other than a balanced fund to improve returns. Taking on additional risk is especially palatable for that portion of the savings earmarked for the condo purchase, likely about 50% of the overall savings.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Q: Hello, given the current US$ exchange rate and the loses still incurred on a handful of CDN stocks, I'd like to hear your thoughts on selling the decent dividend but significant double digit % loses to acquire more US$ and move it into GOOG & FB. Alternatively I have considered adding to VFV or starting a position in VGRO and leave it as CDN$. I am ~25% in USD of which I plan to use so I am not concerned with adding a few more points of USD. Thank you for your opinion.

Q: Could you give your thoughts on this mutual fund.I like to know what companies it has in the fund past the top 10
We’re to find that info ?
Is there a etf you like better in the same area
Thanks for the help

Q: "President Biden's plan is expected to call for a 39.6% top tax rate on long-term capital gains, up from the current 20%. The tax would apply to returns on assets held more than a year and to taxpayers with more than $1 million in income." If this proposal becomes reality, do you expect an impact on stock markets?

Q: Can you recommend your top one or two ETFs for S&P500 exposure. Do you recommend CAD-hedged or unhedged?

Q: I have recently transferred my RSP as cash to a LIRA account in another institution. This is a substantial number waiting for investing. In less than 2 years I will need to start transferring to RIF.
I have a few questions
1. What is a period of time you recommend to spread the purchasing of investments.
2. In the meantime, I would like to park cash buying a short-term ETF. Should I get one such an ETF or more to reduce the risk? Which ETF or RTFs would you recommend: ZCS, XSB, VSB, or other?
3. I am looking to have a 50/50 mixture of growth and income. Can you list several stocks, bonds, ETF etc. you would recommend to purchase at this time?

I appreciate your recommendation.
Casimir