Investment Q&A

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.

Q: Thank you for answering my question yesterday. You guys are the best. If you could choose 5 ETF's for a 40,000 RESP for a 8 and 10 year to hold and continual buy for the next number of years - which are they?
I appreciate it,
Brent

Q: Hello 5i,
I have just opened up a Family RESP (currently ages (-0) and 1.5 yrs) and have been going through the RESP questions as well other questions. I would like to contribute $2,500 this year for existing grandchild and $5,000 next year when #2 comes along.
I think you would agree that at this point it is probably best to start with an ETF? So, given that, could you please give me a couple of your top recommendations for this point in time/cycle/interest rate environment, etc.. Should you feel that some individual equities might work better solo or in combo, any suggestions would be welcome. Based on what I have read, I was leaning towards VGRO, but am not sure that would be your top recommendation, so a couple of ETF and/or equitiy suggestions would be much appreciated!!
Best to all - and, as always, Many Thanks!!!
Cheers,
Mike

Q: Good evening
A recent article in the Financial Times identified the simple ETF portfolio as having 3 equal components - global value ETF, global momentum ETF and a global small-cap ETF. The author provided statistical support. Please advise which ETFs [global or US] you would recommend for each one.
Thanks

Q: I have a index fund that covers the s&p 500
And looking to diversify a little
What other index fund that you would recommend
Thanks

Q: I am interested in purchasing 1 or more of these 4 active Vanguard, ETF's. Can you point me to some good articles and research which would help me determine the %allocation and in which market cycles one product may be most suited. I was thinking of allocating approx. 100K to a combination of these 4. In your opinion can you rank these from 1 to 4 where 1 is the product you think is the overall best.

thanks!

Q: Our 35 year old son parted ways with his financial advisor and I have been chosen to invest the sizeable cash balance in his rrsp. I get that you discourage market timing. Many are talking about a late 2019 correction; who knows. I can average in over 6 months, but that is little help if the above correction happens. I can average in over 18 months; is this practical. I don't want to be the one responsible if he suffers a large draw down.

Based on your years of successful investing, please help me benefit from that experience and comment what you would do in this situation. The etfs mentioned would be the investment vehicles.
Thank you for your input.

Q: My son was very disappointed with his financial advisor so I have been asked to assist in the setup of a retirement fund that will consist solely of a RRSP for now. He is very hands off right now, but I hope to change that.

I like Vgro for the diversification, automatic rebalancing and low mer. Can you suggest a companion multi factor or rafi global etf for further diversification. I am having difficulty finding something with reasonable daily volume. Thank you.

Q: Please give me your opinion of the Manulife Mutifactor ETFs, sub-advised by Dimensional Fund Advisors. Which would you recommend among the Manulife Mutlifactor Int'l Equity ETF (MINT), HXDM, HADM or other International Equity ETF in a taxable account?
Thanks,
Gerry

Q: I have a well diversified portfolio in Canada. I have little direct exposure to the US market but I have about $25k in a US cash account right now. I have about a 5 year horizon when I believe I will have to close this account. I am interested in buying some companies or ETFs that are difficult to cover with my Canadian holdings. Could you please name 3 ETFs/Companies for a fairly conservative but not completely risk averse investor to check out.
Thank you for your invaluable help.

Q: Capital preservation and sustainable growth at reasonable cost is key for us . Not looking for income . Long term timeframe . Don't do momentum . Have portfolio of Canadian large caps that have significant operations outside of Canada . For more diversification , we need exposure to U.S. large caps (not financials or commodities ).U.S. estate taxes major consideration for us. Directly held U.S. equities would be U.S. situs assets . Current U.S. deliberations re Federal Estate Tax will not eliminate this concern in the longer term . We plan to add a portfolio of sustainable U.S. large caps that have significant international operations .Mawer U.S. Equity Fund (MAW 108) is a possibility. The 1.19% MER is a factor, given the amounts involved . Could you identify one or more "Canada-Domiciled " ETF/s that would reasonably align with our objectives ? Could you also identify pertinent sources we could access . Thanks.

Q: My TFSA is worth about 26000. I do not need the money and have a long time horizon - say twenty years. I intend to maximize the annual contribution limit. Currently I have roughly equal positions in ZLU, VMO, VVL, and VGG. Plus a smaller position in CBL, which has tanked, but pays a dividend.
What do you recommend for a TFSA makeover, if any, in this case?

Q: Hi, are there any etfs that appeal to you now (for value and/or momentum)?
Thanks

Q: Hi, do you of some Canadian listed ETF's that strictly combine value and momentum strategies, thanks?

Q: What is your opinion of adding VVL & VMO in equal weight for a global value/ momentum strategy to my portfolio? Or adding just VVL... also could you comment on currency risk here since these products are not hedged to CAD.
Thank you.

Q: Hi, I plan to create a small portfolio by combining both global momentum and global value stock etfs in equal proportion. For the etfs, i plan to use vanguard momentum etf(VMO) and vangurd value factor etf (VVL). My time horizon is 12 years. My aim is to get better result than the bench marks while getting global exposure. Is this a sound strategy? Thanks

Q: Questions and answers often refer to "positions" half or full. Can you define that please.
Also what ETF's would you recommend for muscular gains. I see some resource units have year performances of over 60%

Q: Good Morning
Last summer Vanguard issued the above four Factor ETF's. The funds are still small; but have attractive MER's. I have very little non Canadian equities. Would you suggest any of the above four at this time? They would account for about 5% of the portfolio.
If not the above what would you recommend?

Thanks as always