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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 notice that XQQ does not seem to have the same performance as compared to ZNQ and HXQ over the last week, month and 3 months according to Globe and Mail.

XQQ seems to track the NASDAQ or QQQ "better" .

Can you help me understand this please.
Read Answer Asked by Ernest on January 20, 2022
Q: The above is for a long term hold in a non registered account.

1.Please provide a break down of MER, AVERAGE TRADE VOLUME daily or monthly, Assets under management (is this the best indicator of safety)
2. Are they all tracking the nasdaq 100?
3. What are the differences between them? (I believe them to be unhedged purchased in Canadian dollars)
4. What should influence me to purchase one over another?

thanks

Ernie
Read Answer Asked by Ernest on January 09, 2022
Q: We have set up a RESP for our new grand daughter, we are looking to invest in a growth ETF. Considering the unsettled markets at this time would it be advised to invest in a ETF like HXQ or would you have some alternative suggestions
Read Answer Asked by Gord on December 17, 2021
Q: Good morning,
I'm looking at adding a QQQ equivalent component two my Cdn$ Non Registered portfolio.

HXQ and XQQ are among the ETFs currently under consideration.

Q1. At this point in time, would you recommend a hedged or unhedged Canadian version of QQQ?

Q2. Not limiting yourself to HXQ and XQQ, what would be your recommendation for a Canadian QQQ equivalent?

Thank you

Francesco
Read Answer Asked by Francesco on September 27, 2021
Q: I would like to hold a NASDAQ 100 ETF long term in a non registered account.

1. is there a tax / bookkeeping advantage for holding one of the above over the other? (some websites imply that you have to keep records closely for American dollar ETFs, I believe they are referencing adjusted cost base at time of future sell.)

2. Is there an alternative to HXQ.CA that you would recommend? Or do. you think this is the best one at the present time?

3. Do any of your answers change if held in a TFSA?
4.Do any of your answers change if held in a RRSP?

Thanks
Ernie
Read Answer Asked by Ernest on August 18, 2021
Q: Could I get your suggestions for some $CDN ETFs to invest for a toddler's RESP. I was thinking maybe a split between a tech-based ETF and a general North American-based ETF, but am open to any other ideas. There is not too much in the RESP at the moment, but it does have years to go, so growth is the main goal.
Thank-you
Read Answer Asked by grant on July 26, 2021
Q: Do you have a preference between HXS.CA vs HXS.U and HXQ.CA vs HXQ.U and could you comment on HXX - would it be the same as the others with the exception of the focus on Europe?
Thanks for your service
Read Answer Asked by Ozzie on April 02, 2021
Q: Thanks for your previous response confirming these etfs cover major asset classes and geographies for an RSP with 5 years to retirement. Could you please suggest a couple of etf alternatives that could be added to provide a little more torque with a 5 year timeframe. A brief explanation for each would be appreciated. Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Warren on February 16, 2021
Q: Happy New Year!
I currently have no US exposure, Looking for some Canadian Based ETF US Tech exposure. Interested in XQQ. It has risen a lot the past year with the rest of the market. Is it buyable today? Do you have another preference? Is it suitable for a non-registered account?

Secondly, if I want to build up my US exposure using Canadian ETFs, can you give me some names I could start with?
Read Answer Asked by KEN on January 07, 2021
Q: Dear 5i,
Do you think the CRA will have any concerns with Horizons change from a Total Return Swap structure to a Total Return Corporate Class structure implemented in Nov. 2019?
I understand that Horizons changed all their Total Return Swap ETF's to this new structure late last year. I would like to avoid any future CRA tax issues if I purchase one of these Total Return Corporate Class ETF's. Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Ian on August 04, 2020
Q: On July 2, 2020 John asks for tech oriented ETF suggestions; you mentioned a couple but not TEC or HXQ. Are these tech oriented? Any particular reason why you would not want to consider them? Also, I am thinking of taking positions in these ETFs as and then selling some of the large US tech names I hold directly and then diversify into other US areas; would these be a good strategy? Last, about ETFs generally, does the price of an ETF depend solely on the values of the underlying securities, or can the price also be affected by the demand for the units? thanks for your excellent service.
Read Answer Asked by Leonard on July 06, 2020
Q: Is it better to own QQQ and pay the extra fees for converting Can to US dollars through my broker ( TD ) or buy hxq, znq even though they have small market caps and have low trading volumes? Both seem to have better performance over the last year than QQQ.
Thanks, Michael
Read Answer Asked by Michael on May 13, 2020
Q: I would like to purchase QQQ but in Canadian funds and not hedged. I think that QQQ.F.CA or XQQ are options. But I notice that QQQ shows about 10% better price increase over the last 3 years than the CDN options.
Are there other pros and cons of purchasing say XQQ instead of converting my cash to USD and buying QQQ?
Read Answer Asked by Elliott on April 17, 2020
Q: Good morning, stay safe and keep up the good work.
My question is on hedged vs unhedged funds.
My son is 27 and his time horizon for any investment is long term.
Now that our Canadian dollar trades at an all time low against the USD, (last time we hit similar lows was in 2016/2017) and the chances that our CAD trades lower are relatively slim, wouldn't it be preferable to invest in a hedged fund version of the Nasdaq-100 indexed ETF. The reason being is that the return of an investment in a USD equity (when converted back to CAD) decreases in a strengthening CAD environment. On the flip side, in a weakening CAD environment, the same USD investment's return, when converted back to CAD, would be increased.
To recap: My assumption (might not be a valid one) is that our CAD can only increase in value against the USD. In this strengthening environment, isn't it better to purchase a hedged ETF ?
Read Answer Asked by Elaine on April 01, 2020