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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: I am helping my niece set up with ETF. She is holding the below funds right now. Can you please advise their fees and which ETF would you suggest replacing them with? Is there a site where you can check the mutual fund fees and performance?

PH&N LifeTime 2045 Fund
RBC Canadian Equity Fund
RBC Balanced Fund
BLK Balanced Index
Capital Global Equity
BLK US Equity Index

Thanks for your help
Hector
Read Answer Asked by Hector on November 12, 2020
Q: Hi team
I am looking to start a position in global value ETF fund; I am looking at the above
VVL; I already have some exposure in International through the Mawer International funds
could you recommend one more ETF similar to VVL ?

thanks
Michael
Read Answer Asked by Michael on July 27, 2020
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
Read Answer Asked by Brent on April 30, 2020
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
Read Answer Asked by Mike on November 12, 2019
Q: Hi 5i team,
Group A: XCV 35%, VVL 35%, VEE 10%, VAB 20%
Group B: VSB 15%, ZPS 15%, XSB 15%, XIU 30%, VCE 20%, XAW 5%
For short term 2-3 years, which group would you pick? or any better idea?
Read Answer Asked by Eli on September 30, 2019
Q: Hello,
I was wondering if there are one or two diversified ETF's that cover all sectors and all geographies. Could these ETF's replace a well diversified portfolio of 30 different ETF's which cover the same/similar sectors and geographies. This would simply the maintenance of my portfolio. I would also appreciate your opinion on the effectiveness of such ETF's if they exist.
Read Answer Asked by Mauro on June 27, 2019
Q: I have the above international ETF's in my RIF at a total allocation of 39%. I am interested in your assessment of my choices. Any duplication? Should I delete any? What should I add in it's place? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for adding analytics. It's a great assist.
Read Answer Asked by Richard on April 30, 2019
Q: Are there ETF's out there that employ both Active and Passive investing under one roof, or do I have to buy one active and one passive to create my allocation to both strategies ?

Read Answer Asked by darcy on April 22, 2019
Q: Hi.

Almost finished transitioning from (50 Stocks, 5 ETFs) to (11 Stocks, 15 ETFs).
Much easier to manage; performance has improved already over one-month. Sleepin' better... ;-)

About to purchase my last ETF in the mix: VVL, but it makes me a bit nervous:
- Age: Only 3 years
- Market Cap: Only $82M
- Volume: Very low trading
- $0.10 Bid/Ask spread (i.e. an immediate loss of ~ 0.3% on buy & sell = -0.6% right off the bat?)

I would appreciate your thoughts on the observations above. Would you recommend another ETF instead?

Thank you as always from great useful timely advise.

Paul [2019-03-21 - 10:43 AM]
Read Answer Asked by Paul on March 22, 2019
Q: Hi 5I,
I am retired and living off my RIF. With the current volatility and market downturn, I am thinking of getting more defensive. My current holdings of ZWC, VVL, VUN and VEE are each about 8% of my RIF. I am thinking of switching ZWC for ZLB, switching VVL for VVO, switching VUN for VGG and switching VEE for VXC. What do you think of this strategy? Should I hold some and do nothing? Please explain your reasoning.
Thanks for your help and have a happy holiday season.
Dick
Read Answer Asked by Richard on December 27, 2018
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
Read Answer Asked by sam on October 09, 2018
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!
Read Answer Asked by Ian on July 03, 2018
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.
Read Answer Asked by Richard on June 18, 2018