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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: What is your opinion of Invesco International Fund Series F or other Invesco International Fund Series?
Read Answer Asked by Donald on February 09, 2021
Q: I want to build an American ETF portfolio of 5-6 ETFs that pay a decent (4%-5%) yield. I have historically bought Canadian hedged ETFs for that purpose however I think there is a possible currency advantage to be had. I have looked at many many ETF questions in the 5i ETF folder and they seem to be very Canadian based. Would you be able to suggest 5-6 US based ETFs or more if you want to add a few more.
Thanks
Norm
Read Answer Asked by Norm on January 29, 2021
Q: Would this portfolio held in RRIF have withholding tax on dividends. Does this look like a good portfolio?
Read Answer Asked by Burke on January 15, 2021
Q: Can you please recommend a couple of ETFs for an RESP with a six year time frame? Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by Susan on December 28, 2020
Q: ETFs
Can you suggest your top 1-2-3 ETFs traded on the TSX for Canadian, USA and International markets that should perform well (after fees) over the next 1-2 years and have good trade volumes? Also, would this be a good time to purchase hedge or unhedged ETFs?
Read Answer Asked by David on December 10, 2020
Q: Ishares US REAL ESTATE ETF (not in your data base)
can you comment on this ETF for a diversified real estate play. Do you view this as a decent entry point.
What's your view of starting a portfolio of these 5 ETFS with a 20% weighting in each, then rebalancing every year back to the original 20% weighting. Im hoping maintaining the 20% cash position will help smooth out the portfolio in these uncertain times, maybe it will outperform the more popular 60/40 portfolio.
thanks Gordie
Read Answer Asked by Gordon on October 28, 2020
Q: I have read about Vanguard Index Funds and would like to pursue.
I have excess cash that I would like to invest long term in the broad US stock market. I DIY via Questrade - my current portfolio follows your Income Portfolio.
Which of the Vanguard funds would you suggest and could you provide the symbols for such? I'm assuming I could purchase these thru Questrade.
Thanks for your help.
Read Answer Asked by dave on October 05, 2020
Q: Hi Team,
Is there a ETF similar to VGRO but sold in $US without converting to Cdn? I have some cash on the US side of my RRSP and like the set up of VGRO but would rather not convert back to Cdn at this point.
Read Answer Asked by Todd on September 08, 2020
Q: Hello 5i Team
I am comparing two ETF from Vanguard Canada and from Vanguard USA.
Vanguard Canada – US Total Market ETF (CA:VUN), trades in Canadian dollars on Canadian exchange, tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index. The MER is equal to 0.16 %. The 2019 distribution was composed of $0.99538 foreign income, $0.00076 ROC and $0.1593 foreign withholding tax (approximately 16 % of the total distribution, applied by Vanguard).
Vanguard USA – Total Stock Market ETF (US:VTI), trades in US dollar on US exchange, tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index. The MER is equal to 0.03 %. The 2019 distribution was US$2.8747 with no withholding tax applied by Vanguard.
Questions are:
1 – Are these two ETF essentially the same (one trades in C$ on Canadian Market, the other trades in US$ on the US Market) as they both appear to track the CRSP US Total Market Index?
2 – If I hold CA:VUN in a non-registered account, will there be withholding tax applied by my broker to the distribution?
3 – If I hold US:VTI in a non-registered account, will there be withholding tax applied by my broker to the distribution?
4 – Is the difference in the MER (0.16 % vs 0.03 %) essentially the 15 % withholding tax applied to US dividends?
5 – Which is the better ETF to hold in a non-registered account, ignoring the cost of currency conversion to purchase US dollars in order to buy US:VTI?
Thank you
Read Answer Asked by Stephen on September 03, 2020
Q: Would you know a particular ETF that might contain many of the above tech companies?
Thanks, Murray
Read Answer Asked by Murray on June 16, 2020
Q: Hi Peter/Ryan, my 20 year old son wants to get into Vanguard ETF's. He has a TFSA stock account and now wants to add a Vanguard ETF. What is your opinion of Vanguard and is there one you would recommend. Thanks, Nick
Read Answer Asked by Nick on June 12, 2020
Q: Hi Peter & 5i,
Which of these 2 ETF's would you prefer and why, or if you have any other that is better, would be much appreciated. Thanks for your wonderful service. Stay safe. Ivan
Read Answer Asked by Ivan on May 28, 2020
Q: International ETF overlap query. I have the first four above now (more or less equal amounts) constituting 9.72% of total portfolio. Considering adding some more international exposure for geographic and currency diversification objectives, i.e. either VXUS or VIGI but wondering about the overlap with current holdings or should I just increase current holdings. Generally attempting to increase sector holdings in USA (fdn, ihi, hack, fivg, ipay, vbk), under-represented in Canada and more international geographic exposure. All are/will be in CDN & USD non registered accounts. Views?Suggestions?
Read Answer Asked by William Ross on May 01, 2020