# ETFs to buy now



## flygirl (Apr 28, 2010)

Hello,
I want to add $5000 to my TFSA and buy etfs through questrade, but I have no idea which ones to buy. I am 30 years old and am a saver but I have ALWAYS been burned by investing (since I was 18 in 2000, I have only lost money, never gained), I already own XRE, XSP, XDV and ph&n balanced fund. Any suggestions on what is good to add to this or buy now would be appreciated!
Thanks!


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## Soils4Peace (Mar 14, 2010)

Next would be emerging markets or developed x-NAm. VEE or VEF respectvely are low MER alternatives.

Or read up on Fama and French and decide if you want some value (CRQ) or small cap (XCS) exposure.


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## Belguy (May 24, 2010)

Just my personal thoughts but I would first work on your asset allocation and set one up that is appropriate for your circumstances and risk tolerance. When selecting the actual ETF's to include in your portfolio, I would stick to the lowest fee, broadest based versions perhaps those from Vanguard such as VCE, VUS (XSP is OK 2), VEF, and VEE for your equity choices. Buy, HOLD and rebalance as required.


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## Zeeshan Hamid (Feb 28, 2012)

flygirl said:


> Hello,
> I want to add $5000 to my TFSA and buy etfs through questrade, but I have no idea which ones to buy. I am 30 years old and am a saver but I have ALWAYS been burned by investing (since I was 18 in 2000, I have only lost money, never gained), I already own XRE, XSP, XDV and ph&n balanced fund. Any suggestions on what is good to add to this or buy now would be appreciated!
> Thanks!


IMO the first step would be to figure out why you've "always lost money, never gained". Are you "investing" or "trading"? I have an account that I don't add extra money to, so it's a good "test" account. The value did go down substantially in 2008 but it's has regained everything it lost and then some. And I don't trade there either, just couch-potato style funds sitting there.

Before figuring out your asset allocation, we'll need to know your investing style, risk tolerance (do you freak out when market goes down and pull money out?), investment goal (retirement or downpayment 3 years from now) etc.


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## gibor365 (Apr 1, 2011)

For TFSA canadian ETFs are preferable... check out ZQQ, I hold it and like it


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

Isn't there a commercial that says something to the effect of.....'the investments I pick keep losing money....well...stop picking your own investments'. 

All of the etfs you mentioned are a fair choice, but the advice may be better if we knew how your other holdings are balanced/positioned.


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## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

your portfolio seems odd to me ..
why would you pick a dividend stock etf, a reit, the s&p and a balanced fund ?
the purpose of a balanced fund is to cover all the bases with one stop shopping
plus, you are paying a high mer for the balanced fund
i would sell the balanced fund and buy a portion each of cdn, usa and international equities and a small amount of bonds in a phn bond fun
the couch potato page is a great place to go to look at low cost funds with different mixes 
good luck


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## Oldroe (Sep 18, 2009)

So you've only lost money never made money!

Think you need to find out why?


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## flygirl (Apr 28, 2010)

Hellom,
Thanks for all your advice! I am just about to buy another $5000 for my TFSA this year and still not sure what to buy but it will definitely be ETFs through questrade. As to why I have never gained I am not sure, but I am definitely discouraged from saving and investing. I am a great save but don't have much to show for it. I bought global tech in 2000 before it crashed so that was bad, then went to university for 5 years and so didn't invest between 2000-2005, started again in 2006 and it crashed in 2008, it is about even now to what I have put in (I have a paper loss of $200 currently but no gain). I hold ETFS and PH&N balanced fund so really don't know what I am doing wrong! I don't trade, just buy but m,ay use my TFSA in the next 2 years or so to put an addition on my house so it would be nice to finally make some money
PS to fatcat's question....the reason I have a balanced fund and a dividend stock etf, a reit, and a S&P ETF is I bought the PH&N stuff first then decided to go on my own to get lower fees, but I am not confident in my investing skills and haven't sold anything yet so I kept the PH&N stuff....


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## Belguy (May 24, 2010)

I have invested mainly in ETF's for many years now but still own a few managed funds which I have been happy with and which have a history of consistently beating the indexes over time. I will pay the higher management fees for a few managed funds where the results justify. Check your PH&N returns against comparable indexes. Disclosure: I do own the PH&N Bond Fund D as a core bond holding for the long term.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

An ETF I like is GASZ. It exploits contango in natural gas futures.


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## ffej49 (Apr 6, 2012)

Belguy said:


> I have invested mainly in ETF's for many years now but still own a few managed funds which I have been happy with and which have a history of consistently beating the indexes over time. I will pay the higher management fees for a few managed funds where the results justify/QUOTE]
> 
> I would love to know what your funds are that are consistently beating the markets...and the MER's (although I could probably find that on my own).


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## Belguy (May 24, 2010)

In truth, I am down to less than a handful of funds which include the RBC Cdn Equity Income Fund D, the McKenzie Cundill Recovery Fund, the RBC Global Precious Metals Fund D, the PH&N Bond Fund D, and the Renaissance High Interest Savings Account and that is about it aside from my ETF holdings.


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