Reference no: EM133322710

Harsh and Julie are coupes living in Toronto. Harsh has a total of $ 325,000 in his RRSP with the following holdings.
• $ 130,000 in Alpha Canadian Balanced mutual fund, MER 2.3 %
• $ 85,000 in Alpha Canadian Small Cap mutual fund, MER 2.5 %FINA704 The Financial Planning
• $ 110,000 in Alpha Canadian Dividend mutual fund. MER 2.1 %
Harsh also owns two stocks (market value $ 24,000) in his non-registered account:
• 1000 shares of Manulife Financial currently trading @ 15 a share
• 500 shares of Tech Communications currently trading @ 18 a share.
He says that he purchased the Manulife shares @ $ 10 a share three years ago and the Tech shares @ $ 9 last year. These purchases were made at the advice of his good friend Deval who spends a great deal of time researching the markets. He has heard from some colleagues that ETFs is the way to go now and he wants to hear your opinion on these type of investments.

He also has $ 6,000 in a 1-Year GIC earning 1.5 %, maturing in 3 months from now.
Finally, he has $ 25,000 in a Savings account earmarked for emergencies earning an interest rate of 0.2 %.
Harsh has contributed $ 5,000 to a spousal RRSP for Julie for the past 4 years. Julie has accumulated another $ 30,000 over the years and they are currently invested in an RRSP with the ALPHA Investment Company as follows:
• $ 25,000 in ALPHA Canadian Conservative fund, MER 2.3 %
• $ 10,000 in ALPHA US Large Cap Equity fund, MER 2.6 %
• $ 15,000 in ALPHA Canadian Bond fund, MER 1.8 %
Julie tells you that her grandmother Camille left her around Euro 50,000 which is equivalent to about CAD $ 70,000 (at an exchange rate of 1.40 EUR/CAD). The money is currently in a deposit account at the BNP Paribas bank in Paris earning around 1 %. She is asking for advice on what to do with that money. She is thinking to leave the money in France and use during their vacations there. Julie notes that she is
considering about investing the money with an advisor in Paris since she does not have to pay any taxes on the investment income. She is asking for your advice if this is good idea.

Question 1. Explain the current situation regarding their investments (ie. asset allocation)

What is your recommended asset allocation? Provide your rationale.

Question 2. Discuss various investment options for Harsh & Julie.

Question 3. Provide your comments for ETFs and crypto investments

Question 4. Summarize your recommendations