Investment Q&A

Q: Other than the price, what is the difference between these two ETF’s? What would a complimentary ETF which does not sell covered calls be?

Q: Hello!
Now that I’ve reached the age of RRIF withdrawals, I’m looking more closely at income and therefore at covered-call ETFs.
I understand that these instruments don’t fully share in the upsides, but the income of ETFs like EIT, TXF and ZWU is pretty solid.
I’ve also been looking at UMAX its unbelievable 14% yield, but I also see that the unit price has declined quite dramatically over the last few years.
So questions are, how do you feel about these ETFs for income? And if you’re okay with them, which would you recommend?
Thanks for all your help
Michael

Q: I am relooking at the Fixed Income portion of my portfolio. The bulk is bond funds, but it also includes a few GIC’s and a HISA. But what about Preferred Shares, EIT, FIE, TXF, and UMAX, all of which I hold STRICKLY for their distributions? I am currently grouping them in with my dividend stocks but maybe they should be included in Fixed Income? EIT and FIE have paid out the same distribution for ten plus years. Thanks.

Q: Thoughts on this ETF.

Q: Is this still worth holding? It is down like many type ETFs. CI Global Asset Mgt is to be purchased by Mubadala Capital. Not sure if everything will be "steady as she goes".

Q: With the substantial recent decline in technology stocks, do you think that now a good time to enter the sector, or do you think we have more downside ahead? I have been looking at 3 ETF's to gain technology exposure, TXF, HTA & QMAX. I know that there are similarities between them, but could you compare and contrast them re: holdings, risk, stability of payouts, tax treatment, etc. and rank them most favoured to least favoured with your reasons? Also, are there any other ETF's in this area that you prefer? I realize that there is more than one question here, so would you please deduct the number of credits that you require, Thank you.

Q: Which one do you prefer and which one has the better long term return?

Q: Hi 5i In a registered account
I've held TXF, TXF.B and HTA for quite a while, all at roughly the same cost base. In terms of total return HTA at 52% has outperformed TXF (10.3%) and TXF.B (38%) substantially, although I've got no real complaints about TXF.B's performance.
TXF and TXF.B have the same portfolio holdings, so I assume the vast difference in total return between them is solely due to hedging.
My questions;
Based on your view of the foreseeable future, do you think TXF.B will continue to substantially outperform TXF based on US vs. CDN currency differences? and
Would you endorse selling TXF and putting the proceeds 50/50 into HTA and TXF.B or in some other proportion? (TXF.B and HTA have quite different holdings so I was thinking that splitting TXF proceeds between them rather than all into HTA might be sensible ...).
Thanks - I look forward to your thoughts.
Peter

Q: I'm looking to add some tech exposure and am considering one of the following three ETFs: QMAX, HTA, TXF.
They're all pretty similar but which one do you feel is the best for long term growth and income and why?
I know QMAX's strategy is a little bit different than the other two in that they use "at the money" calls ... is this a positive or a negative?

Thanks, Rick

Q: Pls. compare and contrast TXF and HTA and secondly what straight equity ETF's would have a similar tech leaders approach to their holdings?
Thank you, Hugh

Q: Looking for an ETF that you feel would be a good candidate for growth plus a fairly high dividend (5% or more).
Thank you for your good service, looking forward to your answer.
Earl

Q: Hi team,

Following your response on TXF, what are your views on MAGS-Q ?

Otherwise, what is the best ETF for growth containing the Magnificent Seven ?

Gratefully,

Jacques IDS

Q: Would you trim or keep this ETF as is in view of active management and equal placement of these big tech companies in this particular ETF ? In view of high valuations of the seven largest tech companies would the decline of this ETF would be less then the NASDQ index?
Miroslaw

Q: There are a number of ETFs offered which has a policy of using Options of up to 30% of the investment. The management fees in general is higher as it attempts to provide higher yield as well as Capital gains. As I have a few of these funds in various accounts, where can I find how much are they making in Options, Dividends and Capital gains. Will appreciate the source of such information in general for these kinds of ETFs.

Q: I am an income investor. I believe that umax and zwu are similar.

Would umax (14% yield) not be preferred to zwu at 8.2%

Same for qmax (11.8%) vs. txf at 8.3%

thank you for your comments

Q: Hi 5i,
I hope you might help with my education ...
I have trouble getting my mind around the concept and basis for owning hedged vs unhedged. I know it has to do with currency valuations but beyond that I'm afraid I don't really understand it.
As a real world example to work off, I've owned TXF (the hedged version) for a long time and have noticed that it's pretty consistently been out-performed by its unhedged counterpart, TXF.B. I bought some TXF.B thinking to at least even things up and ironically since then the hedged version has been doing somewhat better.
My problem is that I really don't understand the mechanics of how it works, and why hedged is better in some circumstances but not in others - and even what those circumstances are.
I know hedging is something i should understand better, and I hope you can give me a primer, even though it's likely a pretty basic concept and also likely not that difficult to understand. I just seem to have a block and don't feel like I've grasped the concept or the important factors to consider when thinking about it.
Thanks!
Peter

Q: Hi,

Given the unknowns and volatility of the market would you rather hold TXF or XIT in the next 5 years for a 2.5% position? I'm will represented with US tech but only have CSU in my CDN fund.

Q: TXF Vs EIT.UN. Which would you prefer for overall total performance ( appreciation and dividend) over a holding period of 3-5 years. Or if any other preferences. Thanks

Q: Hi 5i,
I have a few of questions about a few tech ETF's - please deduct as many points as you think appropriate.
In comparing XIT to TXF.B I note that XIT has a better 5 year annualized return (16.03% to 7.87%) but TXF.B has outperformed XIT over the past 3 year annualized period by 10.23% to 8.38%. In addition, TXF.B pays a very healthy distribution (over 9% annually) while XIT pays none. And then finally, XIT is all Canadian and has over 75% of its NAV wrapped up in 4 names - CSU, SHOP, CGI and OTEX.
All that being the case, I wonder:
Is XIT too dependent on just a few names that are all in one geography to have the safety one expects (hopes for at least) in an ETF, both looked at in isolation and also when compared to a name like TXF.B?
XIT obviously hit it big with those 4 names (and especially CSU I'd think) but is its good return likely to continue into the future with so much reliance on so few contributors, all of which are in Canada?
Is there a site that does the hard work of comparing the actual returns of ETFs by analyzing the combination of capital gain combined with the contribution of distributions so that it's possible to get a true idea of the performance of an ETF like TXF.B with its 9% /year distribution compared to XIT's zero payout? and finally:
Between a hedged ETF like TXF vs an unhedged ETF like TXF.B which have identical holdings, which would you expect to do better over the next 3 years or so, and why? I note that unhedged TXE.B has outperformed hedged TXF over the past number of years, and I wonder if you think this trend will continue.
Thanks 5i, I look forward to reading your thoughts.
Peter

Q: THESE ETFS HAVE VERY ATTRACTIVE DIVIDENDS DO YOU THINK THE DIVIDEND IS REASONABLY SAFE,