Richard OrrellVanguard Retirement Income ETF Portfolio VRIF.TOWEAK BUYJan 29, 2026
Very broad. For asset allocation, it's ~33% equities and 67% fixed income. He used to own for clients, but then moved out and started putting the blocks together himself -- mainly because this offering had too much home bias to Canada.
Good product, depending on the level of income you need. You might need to sell some units periodically. It could definitely work for a retiree.
Excellent long term investment. Low MER. Safe option for retired investors. 30% stocks and 70% bonds. Good mix of stocks and bonds. Mostly Canadian bonds.
The challenge with the typical balance portfolio is that when you take the yield from bonds and yield from equities like dividends, it is very low. You do not have the same protections as you used to have from bonds in terms of the bonds. Because yield is so low, interest rate risk is higher than it's ever been. He has no problem with the ETF but with the whole asset class.
It's a new ETF and he needs to study it. He can't endorse these one-stop portfolios. True, it's a good starting point, but their asset allocations are static and don't move according to market conditions. VRIF appears to have little emerging market exposure (he'll check though), but retirees need EM exposure. Instead, buy a collection of ETFs which cover various regions.
Very broad. For asset allocation, it's ~33% equities and 67% fixed income. He used to own for clients, but then moved out and started putting the blocks together himself -- mainly because this offering had too much home bias to Canada.
Good product, depending on the level of income you need. You might need to sell some units periodically. It could definitely work for a retiree.