Investment Q&A

Q: Retired (70 yrs old), dividend-income investor. Been meaning to ask this question for a long time. We run a concentrated portfolio of roughly 10 ETFs and 10 stocks, plus fixed income on top. Our pro-rated MER for the equity ETFs is 0.64 and for the entire portfolio is 0.38.

I use the ETFs above that are sector ETFs (like HHL, NNRG, XIT) as my proxy for the sector and am ok with the trade off of paying fees for a sector ETF instead of having lots of stocks.

I then add my individual stock selections to achieve my targeted Asset Allocation for the entire portfolio (like AD, BCE, FTS, GSY, RY, NWC, PBH, TRP, WSP, etc). I weight each of these relative to my risk tolerance.

Does this make sense to you? Does my "sector ETF" make sense, especially with a potentially large weighting in one ETF. Virtually all of my ETFs are capped at around 7% of the equity portfolio and the stocks are capped at 5% max.

Your thoughts on my strategy and on my MER....thanks...Steve

Q: Retired, dividend income investor. NRGI (the income ETF of Eric's) has been around since March 07/22. I've owned it since Oct 2022 and am basically flat.

The last question on NRGI was roughly a year and a half ago. What are your current thoughts on it's performance since inception and how it looks going forward?

For perspective, this is a smaller position for me, while I have a very full position in Eric's NNRG ETF (which has done incredibly well for me).

Thanks....Steve

Q: Retired, dividend-income investor. I hold AQN in my RRSP, bought it in 2011 at $5.60 (not a typo) and have trimmed it multiple times due to asset allocation. Not that it matters, but I am still up 15% over my ACB.

Looking forward is what really matters. AQN is up roughly 20% from it's low of around $9/share. Q#1 = Do you think AQN can continue their short term performance?

I hold AQN, FTS, TRP, NNRG, NRGI, and utility-energy stocks held within CDZ, ZLB, ZWC. Q#2 = What conservative utility or infrastructure stocks should I consider that might "fill the gap" in my current holdings? Please list 4-6 stocks for me to do further research on.

Q#3 = Should a component of "renewables" be a consideration? That was one of the reasons for holding AQN. Ideas?

So the bottom line is = what's done is done. AQN appears to be starting to recover and there is always the chance of being bought out.
1. Hold of sell,
2. Replace with what,
3. Include renewables?

Thanks for your help....Steve

Q: Hi group i presently hold CVS - 20% loss,- UNH - 11% loss Buy sell or old ? + if sell what would you replace with (these are my only holds in health sector this sector is really struggling - your comments on the sector + these 2 stocks in general

I also own NRGI - presently a 20% loss I also own ARC in this sector presently 5% loss - your thoughts on the sector in general + But sell or Hold

thanks for your help with my portfolio

Q: I need income. I'm bullish on oil. I'm trying to decide between encc & nrgi. Nrgi holds mostly US stocks which could be a tax problem. I don't mind giving up some upside for a covered call strategy.

Maybe a combination of both?

Thank you.

Q: For my wife's Cash account. Ignore asset allocation...I already own all of these and have some top-up monies available and assigned towards each of these 4 = BNS, FTS, NRGI, NWC.

I have designated monies to invest/month over the next 3 months (I am roughly half way into my re-investment strategy).

In terms of upside potential, what order would you buy these? My thoughts => NRGI, then BNS, then FTS, then finally NWC.

Thanks...Steve

Q: Can I have the beta #'s for NNRG and NRGI?

I am doing an overall portfolio beta rating.

Thanks...Steve

Q: My wife's Cash account. As funds become available, I plan to initiate a position in NRGI and top up 3 existing positions = BNS, FTS, NWC.

Due to the war, NRGI could be a good addition if the war carries on, or possibly negative if the war ends (I'd gladly lose some money if it helped end the war). NWC has had a good run lately, so my thought was to do it last if at all. I currently have a large paper loss on BNS and a large paper gain on FTS. With interest rates still probably rising, that might help BNS and hurt FTS, but the market might be looking past the remaining interest rate hikes.

My thoughts on the sequence of buying when funds are available are = NRGI, BNS, FTS, NWC.

Your thoughts on sequence and why please...thanks.
Steve

Q: Thank you to David for thinking he was correcting the USA-Canadian split in my NRGI question.

However, he was quoting the NNRG ETF, not the NRGI ETF.

Just so nobody else makes the same, easy-to-do mistake, here are the splits (effective Aug 31/22) for both ETFs, taken directly from the Ninepoint website:

NNRG = 83% Cdn and 9% USA

NRGI = 17% Cdn and 82% USA

Thanks for posting this...Steve

Q: In question you responded to today, the information in the questions was not correct. According to NRGI website, this in the correct information
Geographic Allocation as of 08/31/2022
Sector Weight
Canada 83.04
United States 9.32

Q: Hi...further to my recent questions regarding Eric's NRGI ETF, I just want to make sure I understand the tax treatment of this ETF before I purchase it.

According to his website, NRGI is 82% USA and 18% Cdn as of Aug 31/22.

Please correct me if I am wrong:
1. Any share price appreciation will obviously be taxed as Canadian capital gains.
2. Any dividends from a Canadian company will be taxed as Canadian dividends and received the dividend tax credit.
3. Any dividends from a USA company will be taxed as interest income.
4. Any "covered call" dividends from either a USA or Canadian company will be treated as Canadian capital gains (not 100% sure on this one).

So, ignore the share price appreciation aspect for now. Eric has stated the target distribution is 7%.

My conclusion is that the distribution could then be split into roughly 5% dividend (82% of which would be taxed as interest income) and 2% covered call (taxed as capital gain).

Q#1 = So, is it safe to say that the ETF would be taxed with roughly 4% being interest income tax, a negligible amount of Canadian dividends, and the vast majority being taxed as capital gains (share price change plus CC-dividend impact)?

Q#2 = So, I believe it still makes sense to buy this in a Cash Account...do you agree?

Thanks for helping me understand this one....Steve

Q: Retired, dividend-income investor. I own a full position in NNRG in my TFSA account.

I am looking to add an energy income ETF in my wife's Cash account. Because I am a huge Eric fan, I had naturally gravitated to NRGI, not even thinking there might be other alternatives to his income ETF. The question earlier today related to ENCC woke me up.

Could you please list some Energy Income ETFs that you think I should consider. I will then do some of my own research on each of your candidates. Is there one that stands out as head-and-shoulders above the rest?

NRGI is roughly 85% USA stocks. whereas ENCC appears to be very heavy (90%) to Canadian. Does this factor into the equation, related to income taxes and which type of account it should be placed in?

When overlaying ENCC and NRGI on your 6 month charts, they look virtually identical. ENCC has a 10% yield vs NRGI at 7%, although I suspect there will be special dividends in addition.

Your thoughts...thanks...Steve

Q: I own Eric's NNRG etf...full position, as my proxy for the energy sector, all of it in my TFSA. There are also energy contributions held within CDZ, ZWC, RBF646 plus AQN, FTS, TRP.

I am considering adding a smaller position in NRGI (Eric's income etf) for my wife. She insists on having dividends as a make-up of any equity position. I see NRGI pays a roughly 7% dividend (paid monthly), it also utilizes a covered call strategy, and the outlook for oil looks very good (in my opinion) for the next several years. I am not sure if you have had a chance to watch Eric's latest Ninepoint presentation on Sept 21/22.

Q#1 = what are your initial thoughts on this newer ETF by Eric?

Q#2 = could you rank in which account would be best to purchase NRGI => RRSP vs TFSA vs Cash and why?

Q#3 = it is roughly 85% USA. Does that influence the account choice, due to the 15% dividend withholding tax?

Q#4 = could you consider adding NRGI to your data base, as well as NNRG...thanks.


Thanks for your help.... Steve

Q: Good Morning,
NRGI does not currently show its holdings. Are ETFs required to show their holdings and should I expect to see this information on their website soon?
Thanks