Let’s talk. No, really. As I prepare to launch my new Canadian Portfolio Manager (CPM) podcast (together with the listener questions segment of the show, “Ask Bender,”), it occurred to me, we could liven things up with some live recordings of your actual “Asks.”
So, for starters, I want to know:
What are your questions about Vanguard’s Asset Allocation ETFs?
With the latest apps available these days, it’s gotten scary-easy to record your query, and send it my way. By sharing recorded questions, I can keep it real for you and the rest of our CPM community.
So, here are the steps to sharing your recorded questions from your iPhone. If you have a different device, the specific steps may vary, but the concepts remain the same.
- Step 1: Tap on the Extras icon on your iPhone, and then on Voice Memos.
- Step 2: Tap the bottom red Record button … and start talking. Please provide your first name and where you’re from, followed by your question (again, for now, about Vanguard AA ETFs, please). If possible, keep it under 30 seconds.
- Step 3: Once you’re happy with your recording, tap on the left-hand ••• icon.
- Step 4: Tap on the Share option.
- Step 5: Tap on the Mail icon.
- Step 6: In the To field, fill in my email address, jbender@pwlcapital.com. Change the Subject field to Ask Bender, and tap Send in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
That’s it! You’re now one step closer to being a big star if I share your recorded query in one of my “Ask Bender” segments. You’ll at least have my sincere appreciation for being willing to participate in our latest adventures (as well as a direct email response to your question, even if your voice recording is not selected for the podcast).
Good to hear we are waiting for it.
@Justin I read that Canadian equity ETFs is the first thing I should allocate to my taxable account.
Assuming it works for my overall portfolio, is it better to be 100% Canadian equity in my taxable account and use my other accounts for everything else? Is it it better to have a mix across both my taxable and tax-sheltered accounts for all my assets?
(I tried to edit my prior question – but I don’t think I can! Sorry for the double submission, feel free to reject both of these and I’ll just stick to this question or send a voice recording :-))
@Erin Kim: Depending on your tax bracket and which asset location strategy you are using (and other investor specific constraints, like cash flow requirements), Canadian equities could be the best asset class to hold first in your taxable accounts:
https://canadianportfoliomanagerblog.com/canadian-portfolio-manager-introducing-the-ludicrous-etf-portfolios/
Hi Justin! Are you still accepting voice recordings? I’d be happy to submit the following question…
I presently use one of your older portfolios with 5 ETFs, and I plan to stick with them. I am in the fortunate position to have maxed out my TFSA and RRSP, and would like to continue investing using my taxable account.
Would you recommend using the same ETFs or are there Canadian, US, and International equity ETFs that are ideal for taxable accounts?
ETFs are VCN, XUU, XEF, XEC, and ZAG
@Erin: We’re always looking for new voice recordings! Short answer though – you can use the same equity ETFs in taxable accounts (i.e. VCN, XUU, XEF and XEC), but consider using ZDB instead of ZAG, VAB or XBB.
Thank you to everyone that has submitted voice recordings of their questions so far! We’ve already received 5 great recordings from readers, and are still looking for more, so please feel free to send them in if you’d like your question answered :)
Excited for your podcast. I know this is going to seem very slow pitch, but in any case, here is my question: I am seriously having a hard time giving up my actively managed mutual funds for ETFs. I started investing in several Mawer mutual funds a decade ago and the MER isn’t all that bad. Can you please explain why even a 0.7 MER saving is worth the switch from mutual funds to ETFs? If it’s of importance, I am investing in my RRSP and am in the top tax bracket.
Submitted!
@Mark H: Thanks, Mark! I haven’t received an email yet though – did you want to double-check that it has been sent from your phone?
Looking forward to hearing/answering your question shortly :)
@Mark H: Perfect – got it now! I’ll respond by email tomorrow (another great question, which I think listeners will love!).
Hello Justin!
I hope you are well!
Thank you for this opportunity. I do not own a Iphone and i am too lazy to search how to record and send a recorded message on Android.
Anyway, my question would be : Why is Vanguard asset allocation allocating 30% of equities to canadian stocks as we know that Canada is around 3-5% in market cap. I’ve done research previously about that question and answers were about tax efficiency, and Vanguard’s own response to that question which was that it offered better risk adjusted return that way than a plain market cap index and it was closer to canadian investors current canadian holdings, which is usually larger than the real market cap and often too large.
I mean, this is against the principle of market efficiency and the basis of indexing. Now you are over allocating to a very small region of the world because canadians aren’t properly diversified and own too much canadian stocks/bonds ? If having a better risk adjusted return was the goal, then why not build a portfolio that is the best risk adjusted return based on the available data ? It doesn’t make sense to me to allocated 30% of cash to a region worth 3-5% at best and I have a hard time understanding why it would be ok to overweight with asset allocation and not for dividends or emerging markets based on historical data?
Also, even the model portfolio that you offer have this same bias toward canadian stocks and bonds. Why would you make a model which is market cap weighted, except when it comes to canadian stocks, which will be 5-6 times the real marker cap.
Thank you so much Justin for your time and help.
Jean-Francois
Hi Jean-Francois – this is a great question, and I would be excited to answer this in more detail on the podcast. “Easy Voice Recorder” is a great Android app to record the question – I’ve included a link to the steps below:
https://www.wikihow.tech/Record-Voice-With-Android
Looking forward to hearing from you!
I was searching for ‘Justin Bender’ the other day. This is really good news!
@Won: Glad you’re excited! I thought I was the only one who typed my name into search engines ;)
Thanks Justin!
I really love the direction you are going in! Helping make us financially literate is a huge undertaking but you have the ability to bring it all down to our questions and with direct and specific answers. Thanks for doing this. I may try to record this, but for now my asset allocation question would be: when is it time to switch from a high equity AA ETF portfolio (currently 70/30) to a more balanced 60/40 which could become an automatically rebalanced AA indefinitely? I am 56 and plan to work at least another 10 years or maybe 15 if I can. I do enjoy the job!
Thanks Justin
@Beverley: No cheating!;) But seriously, it’d be great to have your voice on the podcast, Bev. Please feel free to send me a recording with your question(s) when you have a moment :)
If possible, please make them more general in nature, as I can’t give specific investment advice on the podcast.