Investment Q&A

Q: I own HHL and LIFE (two separate accounts). They aren't looking too healthy lately. What are the likely reasons? Trump, cover calls, interest rates, time of year, etc?
Thank You, Merry Christmas

Q: Could you recommend a few ETFs trading in CAD that would provide exposure to healthcare. A couple of ETFs for growth and a couple for Income using covered calls.

Q: Retired, dividend-income investor. Sitting on roughly 5-6% cash for topping up existing positions to, over time, hit Asset Allocation targets.

Candidates = BCE, GSY, HHL, HMAX, XST, ZUT. If I was deciding to deploy funds to create the largest total return over the next year or two, from their existing valuation, a) in what order would you deploy the funds and b) a short qualifier for each position?

My view = buy in this order:
ZUT = good momentum, room to run before hitting earlier peak
GSY = good value, $150-155 should be excellent value
XST = graph against 50 and 200mda...very tight chart....could buy anytime
HMAX = good value, banks should run
HHL = healthcare stocks should get over their fear of their new boss in a few months....or not. Give it some time.
BCE = last on the list. Just rebought after cap loss capture. Give it even more time.

Thanks for your help....Steve

Q: If I understand correctly, HHL is a Canadian ETF that holds US or maybe global Health Care stocks, and HHL.U is the same fund in US$.
For US$ Health Care covered call ETF, would you recommend the HHL.U or would some other similar ETF be more suitable?
Thank you
jerry

Q: Retired (70 yrs old), dividend-income investor. Been meaning to ask this question for a long time. We run a concentrated portfolio of roughly 10 ETFs and 10 stocks, plus fixed income on top. Our pro-rated MER for the equity ETFs is 0.64 and for the entire portfolio is 0.38.

I use the ETFs above that are sector ETFs (like HHL, NNRG, XIT) as my proxy for the sector and am ok with the trade off of paying fees for a sector ETF instead of having lots of stocks.

I then add my individual stock selections to achieve my targeted Asset Allocation for the entire portfolio (like AD, BCE, FTS, GSY, RY, NWC, PBH, TRP, WSP, etc). I weight each of these relative to my risk tolerance.

Does this make sense to you? Does my "sector ETF" make sense, especially with a potentially large weighting in one ETF. Virtually all of my ETFs are capped at around 7% of the equity portfolio and the stocks are capped at 5% max.

Your thoughts on my strategy and on my MER....thanks...Steve

Q: Hello 5I, could you give me your view on owning ETF HHL given that the upcoming US administration is not supportive on vaccines and has little faith in scientific medical research? Thank You

Q: Two questions - Could I have your take on SGML recent earnings please, and (2) HHL has diverged vigorously from its past consistent performance, presumably on the Trump policy on health care, appointees etc. I assume other sector participants will likewise take a hit but would appreciate your take on the matter. The issues affecting the sector appear to relate to policy, not politics.

Q: Being that the USD is quite high right now, what would be the best out of these three HHL ETFs to buy this fall? I have Canadian dollars so would be moving the money to USD to buy HHL.U. From their site it looks like the HHL.B is the best performer overall but I'm not clear how today's rates effect price etc.

Also would it make sense to have another fund like VHT or IYH to compliment HHL, which would give more upside over time? In one response you like VHT better - why is that?
Thanks so much!

Q: I currently just have ABBV in my portfolio so was thinking about adding an Healthcare ETF. You often mention IYH and XLV in your QandA; do you have any others that you would recommend with a higher dividend as I am an income investor who want some growth? IYH has a 3% div on 5i site, but 1% on most other sites - could you explain that? Was also thinking about adding MRK. Can you comment for a longer term hold. Thank you.

Q: In my TFSA I hold full positions in BNS and BCE to primarily generate income Want to boost the yield by adding HHL as a medium risk play. Does this make sense to you? Other suggestions for higher yield and medium risk?

Q: How would you compare HHL and LIFE for income

Q: Hello

Can you recommend fix income ETFs in international and USA markets for the following industries:

- Technology
- Industrials
- Healthcare
- Consumer cyclical
- Communication services

I have a large share of Magna Inc stock that had a very big devaluation in the last 2 years. What is the recommendation for this stocks? Hold, sell?

Thank you.

Q: Hi Group i am 74 with a 500k portfolio. I do not need to use this money for another 5 yrs. I would like to slowly convert to dividend / growth / value ETFs. I am looking for yield of 5% or higher along with a 10% growth/value profile. Can yo give me your top 2 picks in the 6 main sectors that fir this criteria along with a few words explaining your selections. Thanks with your help with this

Q: Dear 5i team.

Are the holdings in these two different enough to hold both? Is the lower mer of life good enough reason to only own it?
Understanding that they are covered call etfs, which non covered call etf would compliment them best to gain upside to sector rallies?

Thanks for your insights.

Q: Hello 5i,
So, retired, dividend-oriented investor looking to add to Healthcare in Canada for a RRIF. Our primary healthcare holding is a full position in HHL, for the yield. P.A. indicates that we are overweight U.S. and need to increase our Canadian holding while healthcare is underweight.
We were considering CSH.UN, but it seems to be classed as a REIT (real estate is also overweight), so that doesn't seem to be an option. The 2 remaining choices seem to be either SIA or EXE, both seeming somewhat problematic.
Since the latest questions I could find on either SIA or EXE date back to last fall, could you update your analysis on these two equities with a view to whether either would be a suitable investment for us and whether the dividends appear safe for the foreseeable future?
And, finally, are there any other suitable Canadian healthcare options that pay a dividend?
Where there is nothing suitable in Canada, my thought was to return to ABBV and suck up the geographical imbalance. Thoughts?

As always, many thanks for your awesome service!!! It is very much appreciated!
Thanks,
Cheers,
Mike

Q: I hold HHL. I saw your response to another question where you are not enamored of the C$ right now. HHL is CAD hedged and HHL.B is CAD unhedged. The distributions are identical. Is there any advantage in switching from HHL to HHL.B?
Thanks

Q: Hi Folks,
I am looking suggestions for my non reg account,
I currently have 7% weighting in HHL and 7% in ZWE. I am close to retirement age.
Also is there a website that indicates whether the income from etfs/ stocks are dividends or interest.
Cheers

Cheers

Q: So a lot of people think that interest rates have peaked and are set to go down, thus the market reacts positively. I believe that interest rates have peaked BUT will remain higher for longer. I anticipate that the market will initially react negatively to this but eventually will settle down to the new reality and continue to react to such metrics as earnings growth etc..
Recognizing that no one really knows the future, what would be the likely scenario ( short and long term ) for each of the sector ETF’s I am invested in : Canadian banks , American tech, American healthcare, Canadian large cap industrials/ utilities. Thanks. Derek.

Q: Hi 5i, we need to increase our Healthcare allocation.

Currently hold XLV in our non-reg account, and are satisfied with it.

We need to use CA$ funds in our RIF's to increase, and are looking
at HHL, XHC, and LIFE (little unsure with LIFE as their website has faulty info).

We are looking for income plus some growth.

Could you provide some analysis of these 3 options,
and any other suggestions that you might see.

Thanks as always for your assistance. T.

Q: I have incorporated these ETF’s into my RRIF with the goal of deferring taking capital from my principal ( mandatory and rising % withdrawal requirements ). They now represent 33% of total portfolio. My TFSA and cash accounts equal my
RRIF and are more growth oriented. The ETF’s give me a high yield, diversified portfolio of solid large cap, primarily low growth companies in Canada and the US. So I ask myself “ Why don’t I have my RRIF be 100% of these 5 ETF’s ? What say you ?

Thanks Derek.