Investment Q&A

Q: Which do you prefer currently - VOO or VTI - and why? Thank you.

Q: From a tax perspective, does it make a difference where I hold XUU? I'd like to put it in a non-registered account but I'm wondering whether there is a tax benefit to put it in my RSP.

Thanks,

Q: Hello Peter and colleagues
I am trying to develop a simple but effective portfolio. What would be your opinion and recommended percentages on a simple portfolio including these ETFs: XIC, VFV, VXUS
Would you recommend adding more ETFs while keeping it simple? and if so, what would be the percentage of each. Do you recommend replacing VFV with VTI? and why?
Please deduct as many points as needed.
Thanks

Q: What are your thoughts on a pure indexing strategy? Jim collins suggests investing exclusively in VTI to build wealth and become financially independent. Thoughts?

Q: Hello 5i team,

My 33 year old son is looking at rebalancing. He has a defined benefit pension. He would like to use VTI and VXUS for non cad exposure. What percentage would you propose for cad, Vti and Vxus? And is there any ETFs that trade in canada that you would consider replacements of those two?

Thanks for all you do!

Wes

Q: Hi Peter & 5i,
I have these US ETF's in an RRSP, is there any duplication here, if so, could you suggest an alternative. As always
I do appreciate your input.
Thanks
Ivan

Q: I would appreciate your recommendations for the most tax-efficient ETF's for US equities in non-registered , RSP & TFSA accounts .
Thank you.

Q: Can you please advise which ETF you prefer and why: VTI or DIA?

And secondly, why is MSI rated as a hold? I'm up 40% over the last year...and it comes with a respectable dividend of 2.54%. What am I missing here?

Thank you.

Q: Hi 5i team,

I am wondering if you can compare VUN to VTI. Which is better to add to my portfolio? Since the holding of VUN is VTI, are they the same ? Are them both tax efficient in RRSP and TFSA accounts?

Thanks,
Alice Liu

Q: In reading Jason Heath's article in the Moneysaver he comments that there is no US withholding tax on US ETF's held in an RRSP, but there is withholding tax on the Canadian equivalent. I am in the process of rearranging our RRIFS and have been switching to more ETFs, including US based ones. Many ETFs have both a Canadian dollar and a US dollar version of the same fund. For convenience, to avoid opening a US dollar RRIF component, I elected to go with the Canadian equivalent.

Does the withholding tax also apply to RRIFs as well as RRSPs. If so it follows that perhaps I should convert a portion of our RRIF to US dollars and then purchase the US based ETFs in that account. It is not difficult to do, just a bit inconvenient.
Your thoughts please.
Russell

Q: I don't have any U.S. exposure other than IWO as suggested in the growth portfolio.
Can you recommend an ETF group to give me proper broad exposure to this market ?
Thank you.

Q: 10,000.00 to invest one year, looking for Dividend income and growth
Which would you purchase and why?

Q: Hey there guys. Wondering about appropriate allocation for my rrsp for longterm holdings (using etfs). Focused on low cost, and good diversification, geographically especially. Keeping in mind my tfsa will be almost exclusively Canadian stocks and ETFs. So for the rrsp 50% VTI, 40% SPDW, 10% HXT. I know spdw holds a bit of Canada too. Thanks for your amazing work, it is very much appreciated,
Jer in Ottawa

Q: Hello Peter and Team
my question pertains to my US trading account invested in all stocks. I have done well so far. Now I want to switch to all ETFs portfolio for more stability and less maintenance in the medium and long terms. I intend to buy the above for 20% each.
Please let me know if my strategy and choices make sens and do not hesitate to provide suggestions and adjustments.
I value your opinion as always.
Raouf

Q: Hi team,

My foreign exposure is held in VTI 14% of my portfolio, VEU 9% ( these two are my largest holdings) and SPOT 3.75%. Everything else is held in canadian stocks and etf's.

Since VEU also holds some canadian would you still hold this or look for one that doesn't have any cnd holdinds?

Second, is there one etf that does the same job has VIT and VEU combined?

Tks,
Rino

Q: Good morning 5i,
I want an etf to cover the US market in an easy to manage way. Given that objective, which of the above etf's would you choose and why? I noted in an earlier question that Vanguard had switched from VOO to VTI for its own pension plans, I presume because of the wider market: large caps, medium caps and small. Then we have RSP, which is similar to VOO but weighted differently. Once again, thanks for the great service

Q: I currently hold both VTI and VSP in my RRSP for US exposure.
VTI is my only US holding (i.e. trades on US exchange) in my RRSP, so it is the only holding that forces me to occasional exchange currencies (US dividend).
Which of the following options do you prefer (feel free to suggest an additional option):
1) Do nothing (continue converting the US dividends to CDN$).
2) move VTI to VSP. (CAD hedged.)
3) move VTI to VFV. (not hedged)
4) move VTI to VUN. (not hedged, broader index)
5) move VTI to VUS. (hedged, broader index)
Thanks.

Q: I have recently taken over managing a 401K that is comprised of many ETFs. I have never owned an ETF prior but am wondering if this setup is reasonable. It feels like too many ETFs with a fair bit of overlap. Currently equal weights of: XLV, XLI, XLY, XLK, XLRE, XLU, XLP, XLF, XLC, XLE. Your thoughts - some of these the fees are a bit high as well!

Q: I'm looking for some US exposure. Is this ETF suitable for a RRSP account. Other US ETF's suggestions ? Thanks

Q: In our RRSP we hold the above etfs for US exposure. Does 5i see any sector not covered with these ETFs?
Or would you recommend selling any of these ETFs due to too much overlap? We are approaching retirement, but I don’t think that would be a factor in this question. Thank you