Investment Q&A

Q: What is your favorite momentum ETF? I like the Vanguard one because of its MER but is it the best one to own?
Thank you

Q: can you name a few mutual funds that are similar to VMO and let me know how they compare in terms of fees to VMO which charges a .39 MER and .08 TER for a total of .47%?
thanks

Q: I am following the ETFMU Balanced ETF Model Portfolio. WXM has a high MER at .66. Could you recommend another ETF from one of the model portfolios that would give me about the same level of potential and risk? It could be either Canadian, US, or international.
thanks

Q: Hi Guys
Is VMO to illiquid to own? . I see it traded mere 100 shares today, reflecting no percentage gain. would not the average weighted gain of all the holdings today be up at least 3%
Total net assets of 63.8 million and only 1.5 million shares outstanding.
Is it correct to say the NAV is calculated by adding up the per share dollar value of each underlying holding ( in this case 871 holdings) then dividing by the 1.5 million shares outstanding. In this case Scotiabank shows a NAV of $43.20 which happens to be equal to the price the 100 shares traded at today for a Zero percentage gain
I thought the NAV would have been much higher considering todays gains in much of the holdings?
Thanks Gord

Q: I want to reduce my foreign investments to less than $100,000.

I'm interested in momentum strategies and now own MTUM. Is there a TXS listed ETF which gives me the same result? How about a momentum ETF that replicates the world's stock momentum?

Q: Would you switch one (or both) for IWO etf for a 3 year hold
thank you 5i

Q: Dear 5i Team,

Thank you for your customary clear cut answers to my earlier questions on Energy sector. Your cautious approach has tempered my enthusiastic embrace of energy stocks and overweighting them in my portfolio.

Which in turn leads me to ask this question:

Which sector at this time you see having positive momentum? How to play that sector via an ETF? I am looking at 1 to 2 years. Should I just buy an ETF like VMO or its equivalent and forget about fine tuning? If possible please suggest alternatives to VMO. (See below!)

Also along the same lines, do you see a sector rotation, from momentum to value? (VVL) I see the 1 yr return on VVL 49% is better than VMO's (32.5% )! Am I missing something here? I thought the last year was a banner year for the momentum stocks.

Thanks in advance.

Mano

Q: Hey there! I'm 29. I have my RRSPs maxed out in index funds, TFSA maxed out in more growth companies (many of your picks and US growth stocks). I'm about to sell my rental property and should have about $100,000 in cash to invest. Looking to grow the money as much as possible, and then turn it into an income source. Will be working for another 2-3 years in a high paying job and then will work part time and pursue other interests and live off my investments. Any ideas on how to invest these funds?

Q: What etfs cover the high growth stocks? I was reading some place that these etfs were pulling out of the tech sector and gravitating to what is now growing.

Your thoughts please.

Q: 23 year old starting RRSP. Have made small initial cash contribution and now doing monthly pre-authorized cash contributions, Given long time horizon, small current balance and ongoing monthly contributions, I’m looking for a 100% growth-focussed equity ETF that I can have set up to auto-contribute to on a monthly basis and wonder what you might recommend.
Thanks.
Brian

Q: My two main holdings are QQQ and VIG in the US and ZQQ and VFV and ZQQ in Canada. I'm looking for two medium risk etfs that will balance these with CD, OIL, Financials, health, and industrials . I'd like reasonable growth expected in the next few years but with a manageable lower risk beta?
1) Can you suggest 2 CDN ETFS
2) Can you suggest 2 US ETFS
3) Can you suggest 2-3 emerging markets ETFS

PS can you also explain why TDOC seems to have a beta of .15??? Considering its growth, that seems impossible?

Q: Hi Guys,

I would like to add one more eft to my balance (75%) and growth (25%) portfolio, what would be your top North American pick for a 3 to 5 year hold? I already hold Arkk 3%, Dxg 7%, Arkg 2% and Tan 3.5%. Or should I just add to one of the ones already inside my portfolio.

thanks
Jim

Q: I have too much exposure to the CAD market and too less internationally.

Could you provide me with 2 etfs that have caught your attention the past 12-24 months. One which is A growth oriented etf with more risk as well as another which is a slow boring low MER etf with a 2-3% yield which less risk.

Thanks for the recommendations in advance.

Q: My daughter is looking to invest about $4,000 in an RRSP. She has an investment horizon of about 15-20 years and her current employer provides a secure DB pension. What growth oriented ETFs would you recommend at this time? If she were to add a dividend oriented ETF to the growth choices, what might you suggest? Thanks.

Q: May I please have your opinion of CI Frist Asset U.S. Trendleaders index ETF (SID). Thank you.

Q: Through the pandemic I have decided to remove certain names from my Canadian portfolio that I was less confident in. I am now down to 19 positions from 25 originally. Also with this I have built up more cash than I would typically have. I know you guys advocate being mostly invested, but I am having a hard time finding names that I am bullish on through the pandemic that I do not already currently own. The portfolio is roughly a mix between your growth and balanced portfolios. Would you continue to hold approx 10-15% in cash or add in some sort of growth ETF for the short term until we are through the pandemic and things return to normal where I can expand my portfolio again. If so, which Canadian etf would you add for the short term considering the details i have shared?

Q: Hi 5i, Is it time to switch from Momentum to Value investing, if so could you name a couple of ETF's in each of Canada and the US. Your opinion is always appreciated.
Thanks.
Ivan

Q: I would appreciate an update on your views about VMO. In the past, you have indicated support for the momentum factor strategy, but recommended that investors avoid ETFs with less than $100M in AUM. Given that VMO has an inception date of June 2016 and only $29M in AUM to date, do you still see this ETF as a good investment or is there another international momentum ETF which you prefer? Also, would this ETF be appropriate for a TFSA account?

Thank you for your insightful advice.

Q: Hi,

When I read this article in this morning's Globe and Mail, I thought of an excellent question by Dale on August 6th and your equally excellent answer. In some ways I was surprised by your answer. You chose "momentum" as the single most important factor in investing and pointed out to difficulties in defining "quality". (I thought you would choose Value and management as the most important factors!!)

With this in mind, and reviewing today's article in the Globe, would you say VMO.TO or XAW.TO, VXC.TO are good choices for a 10% position to cover this "momentum" factor? Or any other ETF that you feel is superior to these? Not sure if these are covered in ETF Mutual fund newsletter. I have to look the past articles up.

Here is the link to that article.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/investment-ideas/number-cruncher/article-nine-global-equity-etfs-to-augment-your-portfolio-and-reduce-home/
Thanks in advance.

Q: For RESP investments for my 3 grandchildren (ages 7, 9 and 11), I am pretty sure I'd like to choose XIT, partly because it's Canadian and I recognize the names of the top 10 holdings. I would like to be fairly aggressive. But I also would. like to complement XIT with another ETF without being overweight in (any?) energy or financials. In fact, probably no energy and underweight financials. Something fairly balanced without technology, but still growth tilted. I'd like it to be TSX traded in Canadian dollars, but it does not have to hold all Canadian stocks. Another option would be to complement XIT with one or two individual companies but not sure I could get the diversification that way. Would like to keep it simple, if possible. Is there a Canadian equivalent to IWO or an equivalent that trades in Canada in Canadian dollars? Or would that type of ETF already be overweight technology, minimizing diversification? In short, diversified with a growth tilt and in Canadian dollars but not too much technology overlap with XIT. Thanks for your help on this. Much appreciated.