Investment Q&A

Q: I have been looking but unable to find the names/tickers for US bank stock etfs. Would you please give me the names of the the large and mid caps etfs you recommend in US dollars?
Thank you. Cathy Further to my previous question re US bank stocks etfs, would you recommend buying them now?
Thanks, cathy

Q: I would like to invest in US banks. Can you recommend a USD bank ETF?

Q: i currently have almost $20000 in U.S. cash in my porfolio.
am looking to invest in the U.S. Banks.
would i be better off in investing in a U.S. bank etf or would i benefit more by transferring my U.S. funds to Canadian dollars and using either ZBK or ZUB??
or would you suggest a U.S. Regional bank etf?
these funds are not in a RRIF or other registered retirement account.
ed in Montreal

Q: I have owned the above US ETF's for several months in contemplation of the supposed TRUMP build out. It's not happening and I'm not satisfied. For a major change I am considering TJX, COST, V, DEO & AAPL. How would you rank & what other individual cos. would you recommend. Thank you.

Q: I own 4 Canadian financial institutions (BNS, CM, RY and TD). No exposure to life insurance companies or U.S. financials. I would like to avoid U.S. financials. I find it very hard to trust management and it seems like there is always a scandal at a major U.S. bank. I use to own Wells Fargo thinking it was best in breed and they couldn't even avoid scandal. With the advantage of the CDN dividend and BMO and TD's exposure to the U.S. I prefer to get exposure to the U.S. that way.

My question is whether I should sell CM since it is more exposed to the CDN economy than the others and purchase BMO instead for their U.S. midwest exposure? I am not opposed to getting U.S. banking exposure through an ETF like XLF perhaps. Which strategy do you favour? Each bank is currently 3-4% of my portfolio.

Thanks,
Jason

Q: Please provide two ETFs on US banks / llifeco that you think would do well in the next 2 years! Thanks!

Q: Hello Peter,
Given the issues with some world banks, I have decided to hold off buying XLF. Do you think i am overly concerned here? Second, Sienna Senior Living is either stable or goes down a bit where as Chartwell continues to grind a bit higher. Any idea? Lastly, ATD.B has pulled back a bit. Do you see this as a good opportunity? Alternatively, i was simply thinking of increasing my weights on Savaria Corp given the results and forward guidance and Knight Therapeutics as it seems like it is becoming a health care fund with great management. Please advise fo your thoughts. Thanks again.

Q: Hello Peter,
I forgot to add the question to my previous one on XLF. ON friday September 16, the ETF was trading in the $23 range. Today, Sept 19th it is trading in the $19 range due to the reasons cite above. Does this mean investors who bought it on Friday will get a special dividend to offset the decline in share price today (I am assuming the decline is approximately the same as the dividend). Please advise. ON another note, do you feel concordia healthcare is very cheap now given the recent decline or is it too risky. Thanks again.

Q: Hello Peter,
I was not able to find the symbol XLF (the US financial sector ETF) on your site so am hoping you can assist. The ETF contains Brk.B, BAC, etc Today, the index fell more than 15% and the news appears to be related to the following:
"Effective on the date of index reconstitution, the Financial Select Sector Index will include securities of companies from the following industries: diversified financial services, insurance, banks, capital markets, consumer finance, thrifts and mortgage finance, and mortgage real estate investment trusts (REITs). The Real Estate Select Sector Index includes real estate management, development and REITs, with the exception of mortgage REITs". If this is true, I am assuming the company that creates the ETF wants to make it more diversified. If so, why would the index fall so much? Is it because investors wanted a concentrated ETF as opposed to the diversified one. From my understanding the XLF before today is similar to the XFN for Cdn Banks and insurance. Thanks very much.

Q: Peter, I also noticed that my XLF has dropped over 17% today, with heavy trading. I verified this with Scotia Itrade. Can you tell me the reason for the drop?