Investment Q&A

Q: You are recommending etfs based on my analytical profile. What is a US HEDGED ETF.
Does it mean if the Canadian dollar goes up agai st the US dollar I would lose money. I am having a hard time buying the etfs at all time highs with small dividends. The one I want to buy is vun or zsp since they hold a lot of US technology, I think.

Q: This is a follow up to a question XGRO by Andrew. I see the MER as 0.84% not 0.18%, whihch is the management fee. Further since a fund like this holds other funds, are they not paying fees on those funds as well, with those charges being 'invisible'?

Q: Can you suggest the cheapest (but safe) gold bullion ETF in Canada or US?

Q: Hi 5i
I am completely new to the world of ETFs but, according to Portfolio Analytics (and I did know it was a good idea before being told, really I did) I need to add US and International exposure to my portfolio. I think the only reasonable way for me to do that given I don't/can't follow non-Canadian equity markets is through ETFs.
I would like to place 55K in US ETFs and 45K in International ETFs and this will, for now, comprise the entire non-Canadian portion of my portfolio.
I am not adverse to some above average risk and while I'd like income I'm more interested in growth.
In researching where to place this money I've concluded that I might not have the candle power necessary to make rational decisions about ETFs because of the distinct possibility of purchasing ETFs that hold the same or similar underlying equities from the same or similar geographies in the same or similar sectors (assuming I'm not just concentrating on discrete sectors). Left to my own devices I feel that I could very possibly purchase a little bundle of different ETFs that are all essentially but unintentionally quite similar.
My question is two-fold:
1. Is my concern about concentration valid or have I misinterpreted the lay of the land, and
2. Could you suggest 4 or 5 US ETFs and a similar # of International ETFs that I can consider and that won't have the type of overlap I'm worried about.
I realize this is a broad and general (and perhaps rambling) question - so please deduct as many credits as you think is warranted.
Thanks a lot!
Peter

Q: I would like to buy this ETF in American funds,, I can’t seem to find its symbol or US listing. Can you help,,HMUS.U doesn’t work.

Q: when the chevron deal was announced i bought anadarko stock and anadarko options the august 65s, so now with oxys bid i am sitting on huge gains but i am reluctant to sell because i think this will be a huge bidding war and with chevrons balance sheet they are unlikely to lose,
. do you agree, should i keep holding or take my money and run. dave

Q: Hi Gang, owned the above for a couple of years and purchased at 81$, do you think the earnings on May 1st could be a catalyst to move this up. Thank you
Anthony

Q: Hello Peter, who will you consider other possible potential candidates.
Thanks

Q: Hi 5i,

Portfolio Analytics is telling me to lighten up slightly in CDN exposure and add to International.

I hold First National (up 25%) and Corus (down God knows how much but bouncing back recently). Both in my TFSA. These were literally the first two individual stocks I ever purchased.

Just based on the fact this is a TFSA and my time horizon is decades, the answer is probably a no-brainer but I've got to ask your opinion anyways - should I dump these and roll the $ into an Intl ETF?

I've got lots of exposure (XAW) to developed markets but much less so to emerging. I am considering both VEE and XEC. Thoughts on either, or a better option?

Please deduct credits as appropriate for the multi-part question.

Thanks!

Ryan

Q: I'm 61. I'm getting to the point in my life where I want to spend less time following stocks and just start to enjoy my life more. I have 5 accounts, 4 are registered. I'm thinking to just sell everything in all of them and buy XGRO in all of them. One fund across all accounts. No more following stocks or rebalancing and the MER is just .18. I realize I'll lose some tax advantages by putting certain investments in registered or non registered accounts, but I'm willing to give that up for the simplicity and hands off approach of a one fund portfolio.
Problem is one of my RRSP accounts is in USD, so I'm looking for a US domiciled equivalent to XGRO. Any ideas? Thanks

Q: Sandpiper Group led by the previous founder of Amica, Samir Manji has acquired 9% of Extendicare and taken seats on the board. Do you think this development significantly changes the outlook for EXE.

Q: What are you're thoughts on WBA's earnings. Given the recent selloff would you still hold it for the long term or sell. I do not mind volatility. If it is a sell what US stock would you replace it with for growth. Thanks Chris

Q: If DRM the top parent company of DIR.UN, DRA.UN, D.UN does DRM get income from dividends from actually holding some shares in those other dream publicly listed companies? If that is the case can you tell me roughly how much the parent company holds of each please? Thanks

Q: Any chance this company might shoot the lights out







Any chance this company might shoot the lights out?
Thanks for any insight.

Greg.

Q: Hello,

I am currently looking to increase my fixed income exposure by $70,000. I currently hold the above 4 Fixed income ETF's. Each one represents less than 5% of my overall portfolio. I am looking for growth. Your suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks.

Q: I have a $12000 GIC maturing in June at our local Credit Union. GIC's are fully taxed on interest every year. As our CU can only sell mutual funds and GIC's, can you suggest a mutual fund or two, or strategy that would minimize our taxes but still provide some funds. I was thinking of Mawer as one possibility.
Regards Gord

Q: I ZEM, VEE, and XEC. The yield on ZEM is approximately 1% but the others are approximately 2 - 2.5%. My thought is to migrate from ZEM to XEC, for the improved yield.
1. Are there any significant differences between the 3 (eg tax treatment)?
2. Do you think it is worth migrating for that bit of extra yield?
3. Or there other reasons why ZEM would be good to hold? I will still have some diversification with the VEE.
thanks for your great service.

Q: Could I get your opinion on this small co. Thanks

Q: Please comment on the quarter.

Thank you!

Q: Hi,

My wife's group RRSP has Manulife AllianceBernstein Canadian Core Plus Bond as one of the options. How does it compare with CLF. Should I instead invest in MAW102 in the group RRSP and buy CLF in her regular RRSP account as part of bond portfolio allocation.

Thanks
Ninad