Investment Q&A

Q: I currently hold both VTI and VSP in my RRSP for US exposure.
VTI is my only US holding (i.e. trades on US exchange) in my RRSP, so it is the only holding that forces me to occasional exchange currencies (US dividend).
Which of the following options do you prefer (feel free to suggest an additional option):
1) Do nothing (continue converting the US dividends to CDN$).
2) move VTI to VSP. (CAD hedged.)
3) move VTI to VFV. (not hedged)
4) move VTI to VUN. (not hedged, broader index)
5) move VTI to VUS. (hedged, broader index)
Thanks.

Q: Hi 5I,
I am retired and living off my RIF. With the current volatility and market downturn, I am thinking of getting more defensive. My current holdings of ZWC, VVL, VUN and VEE are each about 8% of my RIF. I am thinking of switching ZWC for ZLB, switching VVL for VVO, switching VUN for VGG and switching VEE for VXC. What do you think of this strategy? Should I hold some and do nothing? Please explain your reasoning.
Thanks for your help and have a happy holiday season.
Dick

Q: Given the current market conditions, would you consider it prudent to invest in the USA market via Canadian ETF'S. If so, what ETF's would you recommend?

Q: If you were going to buy a basket of low cost etfs for long term (20-30 years) to hold in an rrsp what would they be? What weightings would you reccomend? Im looking to take advantage of the 8%+ annual market return for the long haul. Or would you use one of the one stop shop Vanguard ones? Could you also explain any reasoning?
thanks

Q: I have recently paid off a sizable chunk of consumer debt, and now have a few thousand bucks at my disposal each month. I want to invest most of this in my TFSA so that I can catch up to my lifetime limit, and thereafter invest at a monthly amount equivalent to the annual limit. I've been thinking of investing most of this money in ETFs, but am a bit confused about the advice I see online. In your view, what is my best strategy here? Invest in one or two solid ETFs? If so, which do you recommend? Often, the ETFs I see experts recommending don't seem all that appealing. They hover at the same price for years and years and typically don't have much in the way of other types of yield. Anyway, I'm a bit confused and just wanting to have a basic plan for moving forward over the next year or two in my TFSA.

Q: Good afternoon, looking to hold a 20% allocation of the American market through ETFs (CAD dollar preferred). Currently hold VUN, and I am looking to add another ETF to complement it - was thinking ZSP or VGG. Any opinions on either of these or any others? Thanks

Q: I am holding 5% in XSP. VUN AND ZQQ ETF. I am planning to increase to 10% in each. Plus I hold FTEC and SKYY ETF 2% each. Planning to increase to 5%. DO you think there is overlap and is any ETF holding is to high. If it is too high what percentage do you think is appropriate.

Thanks for the great service
Hector

Q: We are thinking of moving our US holdings to etf's rather than individual companies. Currently we own some VOO but notice that you recommend SPY often because of its volume and liquidity, i think.

The first question is whether there is a lot of differnece between the two and whether it is worth getting SPY as well as VOO?

Secondly, we notice that the top ten holdings for both etf's contain a lot of FANG stocks. So we were wondering if we needed other etf's to balance this weighting?
Do you think a total market etf like this is enough to cover the US market?
thanks again for great advice

Q: Please correct me where I am wrong, but these two ETF's track the same index (un-hedged US total market), but in spite of XUU having a lower MER, VUN seems to be the more popular choice, as well as seems to have a higher amount of daily trading volume. Any idea why?

Q: Hi 5i - I have some new money to put to work and would like to round out my Canadian portfolio with some US and International ETFs. Currently I have some XSP and nothing else outside Canada. Can you provide some suggestions and an example weighting for an investor looking 20 years out with tolerance for risk? Thanks, Neil

Q: Hi guys,
I hold one ETF and a mix of equities (selected from your portfolios) in my TFSA, with the following weightings:
COV 5.48
CSU 6.70
GSY 5.42
KXS 4.93
PBH 4.26
PHO 4.50
SHOP 7.57
SIS 6.59
TOY 6.05
TSGI 5.63
VUN 30.35
WEED 12.51
Everything is up from initial purchase (many thanks) but some have grown much faster than others. I am considering rebalancing and/or adding a new position. Is there a notable position that you would add/remove (e.g, VUN in exchange for equities)? I have VXC and VCN in my RRSP so maybe VUN is better located in there.
Thanks for the amazing service and knowledge base that 5i provides.
Mark

Q: HI Team
After 2-3 years in the making (getting a root canal would have been more pleasant), I finally convinced my daughters to start contributing to
their RRSP and TFSA accounts held at RBC Direct Investing. Aged 23 and 25 they really don't have much., just around 10 000 in RRSP. I was thinking equally splitting the money into XIC and VFV or VUN. RBC has started their own Robo Adviser service.Would that be a good idea for them since they can contribute monthly to those plans and have a more diversified portfolio? Do i stick to the original plan with the above mentioned ETFs and repurchase yearly to keep costs down? Thank you in advance. Sam

Q: I'd like to add some U.S. and emerging markets exposure into my TSFA. Could you please recommend a couple of ETF's (or other investment options) that would help me accomplish this. Thanks

Dave

Q: I very much appreciate 5i along with your ETF site. From your ETF site, I have been playing with the ETF sector balancer and have found it quite useful to see the % of the sectors my postions occupy .
My questions
1. I am considering a 1/2 position of XHC, XGI, and XCD and a 1/4 postion of VUN and XQQ. Is now the time to buy these or should I sit on my cash for a while or should I be considering some alternatives to these within their sectors?
2. If I execute #1 above, my overall holdings will be 57% CDA, 29% USA, 14% INTL and my portfolio will consist of 2% materials, 13% consumer cyclical, 5% financial, 3% communication, 10% energy, 10% industrials, 6% technology, 17% consumer defensive, 13% healthcare and 18% utilities.
I would very much appreciate your critique and observations.

John

Q: I guess I didnt make myself clear on an earlier question. I am looking for a US ETF that I can buy with canadian dollars, but unhedged. Preferably in the broad market, Technology, Financial and Health or a combination of all. I do not have a US account with my online brokerage.
Thanks again your service is supurb!

Q: Hello, you answered to a member today: "You might want to consider VUN, which covers the whole world for just 0.16% MER". Did you really mean the whole world Market? According to the Vanguard website, VUN covers the US Total Market. Thanks, Gervais

Q: What are you thoughts on buying these 2 stocks and can you recommend a good US divident paying ETF purchased with CAD - VUN ?

Q: I have very little invested outside of Canada and would like to increase foreign investments. What are the tax ramifications if any, of investing in index funds such as Vanguard or Ishares in a taxable account? I suspect that there may be a withholding tax.

What would your 3 favourites be for investing outside of North America?

Thanks
Ron

Q: In order to build some exposure to the U.S. Market I am considering investing 30% in VUN, 30% in VGG and the rest in VGG. Would you consider any changes to the above selections and allocations?

Thanks to the team
Merry Christmas to all.

Q: I have a 40% US weighting in all my portfolios combined, with the above four holdings comprising 75% of the 40%.
VGT 4.6%, VUN 7.7%, CIB590 10.1%, CIB595 7.1%- equalling 30% of total equity portfolio.

Could I have your comments wrt the overlap in these four holdings. Is there enough diversity to continue to hold all four or would you collapse and combine?
Thanks