Investment Q&A

Q: We are typically buy and hold investors. It has been suggested that we sell our Capital Market Weighted Index VTI (unregistered) and purchase RSP which is Equal Weighted (unregistered). Apparently, the larger companies in VTI are getting very expensive and have started to under-perform since November 2020. Other than capital gains from the sale of VTI what are the advantages and disadvantages of switching?

Q: Can you suggest an US Equal Weight trading on TSX or on US Exchange? BEP.UN or BEPC for non-registered account? Thank you

Q: I listened recently to a discussion involving Cathy Wood and the principal of the Van Eck fund. Cathy Wood said that she thinks possibly fifty per cent of the s and p 500 could be negatively affected because they failed to invest in innovation. A bit scary when you own rsp or voo. On the same interview was van Eck, who seemed to agree with her. And partially for this reason they have developed MOAT. He seems to think that with these companies he circumvents the problem. Perhaps this is my reading into his comments. Wondering whether you might think it would be worthwhile to trade out of rsp and voo and into most
Thanks as always

Q: So I'm a lot less diversified than I thought and have something like 35+% of my investments in Tech. I have a good deal of money in XUS, XUU, and XAW. I thought I was getting diversification, but I didn't realize how heavily weighted in Tech (25% or more) these ETFs were. A few smaller investments (SKYY, IGV, GOOG) put me far more into the Tech space than I realized.

What's the best way to invest in broad ETFs without being so heavily invested into Tech? I feel like 20% is already a high weighting for this sector

Q: What would be the best equal weight TSX ETF (CDN $) and also S&P (US dollars) Low fees for both.
Thanks!

Q: Like an older Robin Hood I have been buying the fang stocks and selling covered call options since the Covid arrived. Well, not quire like the Robin Hood kids, I suppose. I have done quite well with this strategy. But, I have been worrying that the fang's are flying pretty high and might be ready for a fall. Especially with a volatile US election on the near horizon. I also wonder there might be a shift to value as the economy might start to kick in before too long. So, l am thinking about selling a lot of my Fang stocks before the election and waiting till after it is over and buy RSP, the equal weight S and P etf. Even if it doesn't work out as I have envisioned, this is pretty much the direction I had planned when l started buying and selling the tech stocks. I have always found it informative and usually profitable to get 5i's reaction to my plans
Thanks

Q: Good morning 5i,
I appreciated your recent article, as usual. I find them helpful to understand what is going on in the investing world. You mention that the fang stocks comprise most of the gains over the past few months and that much of the market hasn't kept up. Some people are talking about a rotation out of technology into I suppose, more value oriented stocks. I don't know if this thesis is true. The Fangs seem to keep going up. But, do you think it might be a time to start a switch for a cautious investor? If so, would rsp , an equal weight US market etf, and brk, probably the definition of value, be a good way to approach this change
thanks

Q: Thank you verymuch for your answer to my rather meandering question the ther day. I suppose the gist of the question was whether, given the dangers of these two etf's in the present context, whether i should move away from indexing and pick individual stocks. You say that if i pick a good selection of ten individual stocks, i should have good diversificatin and might not benefit that much from an etf. The big fear i have of individual stocks, though, is of one of them blowing up or being severely disabled. That is in my view the main thing that an etf would help me with. Now, i know that no one else can make these decisions for someone else. It helps me to clarify the problem by running it by knowledgable people like yourselves. Thanks

Q: I found your article regarding the difference between the Fang stocks and a small cap stock index very informative and interesting. Perhaps an even more interesting comparison, at least for me, is the difference in performance between VOO and RSP. One a market weighted US etf and the other an equal weighted. There is quite a large divergence between these two in the past while. VOO has the top five holdings as Fang stocks--over 20% of the total portfolio. RSP has no fang stocks in the top ten.
It has me thinking. But, what conclusion to draw? I have been wanting to move away from individual stocks to etf's, especially in my US holdings. But, this makes me wonder whether I wouldn't be a lot better with individual stocks, say the top ten that you mentionned in response to a question today. In that way I wouldn't be burdened down with a group of non performers, as in RSP, nor too heavily invested in Fang stocks, as in VOO, in the event of a future crash.
I know that it is not too good to change strategies often but I am quite perturbed by this. I don't know if you can offer a comment on this or not. But, I appreciate 5i as a sounding board and any comments you have are always helpful and useful
thanks

Q: You don't hear often about this one, but it was a solid performer over the years. Equal weigh and reballancing appeal to me .
Any comment'd be appreciated.

Q: Hi All at 5i! Any advantage to holding one ETF over the other. Which one do you favour? Cheers, Tamara

Q: I recently read your article "Cap-Weight vs Equal
Weighted Indices" in etf-mutual fund letter which generally concluded that equal weighted etf's out performed cap weighted etf's. However, I'm wondering if this is still true if higher MRE's and higher taxes (due to higher turnover) are taken into account. In other words what's the after tax comparison, say if you were in the 40-50% tax bracket? Do you have some idea or do you know some studies on this?

Thanks

Q: i currently hold rsp and voo in my rif account. Is this too much of an overlap and should I consolidate or just keep them as they are? If I keep them as they are and am planning to add more money which one should it be? I know that you have often mentionned that you like a market weighted approach. Thanks for a wonderful service

Q: Hi...In your opinion where is the best region in the world to invest right now with a 5 year outlook? Could you recommend a couple of ETF’s? Thanks

Q: Could I please have a few of your top Smart Beta ETFs recommendations. I was hoping to get a few ETF ideas that cover USA, global and international only. A few that trade on the TSX and in the USA would be great. Thanks

Q: I'm interest in reading up more about Guggenheim Invest S&P 500 (ETF) (RSP) as mentioned by you in an answer dated January 16, 2019. When I click on the profile link, it takes me to Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight (RSP:US).......are these ETFs one and the same?......Tom

ps....iTrade has no Guggenheim EFTs but many Invesco ETFs.

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: In an earlier answer you suggested that ryt might be more interesting than qqq, as it was an equal weight fund. I do notice, though that the top five holdings are quite different. But, that is beside the point--which is whether there would be n equal weight offering corresponding to voo? I searched but couldn't find any. Although i did come across the interestng information that Vanguard has switched its own employees pension funds ti vig, from voo.
Thanks and may you have the assorted blessings of the season

Q: I would like to get your thoughts on an equal weight approach vs a market weight approach with the S&P 500. This would be for long term performance holds of 10, 20 years.

Q: Gentlemen,
Can you please suggest 1 or 2 ETF with well Sectors balanced or equal sectors for each market Can, US, int'l, & emerging (in Ca$ and/or US$) ?
Thank You
Best regards.