Investment Q&A

Q: Any issues I should be aware of in switching from ZEB to HEWB in a taxable account other than taxable capital gains on the sale of ZEB? I am trying to lower taxable income which is impacting OAS payments.

Q: As concerns ZWC vs ZEB: I had assumed that the former's high return-of-capital component were accounting-speak for capital gains from the sale of covered calls - essentially, a way to defer capital gains taxes until the position were closed. So what's not to like about deferring capital gains taxes, particularly for an stable, NAV-appreciating, income-oriented instrument like ZWC, which we would expect to hold for a long time? I.e., what am I missing about why lower return-of-capital should be 'better' - or, more generally, is there a threshold above which high return-of-capital creates some sort of weird risk?

Q: HI!
In an income seeking portfolio, if one has a portfolio that is overweight financials, do you think it makes sense in the current environment to lighten up and add to pipelines and utilities due to the geopolitical events and risk of recession down the road. Thought in rate rising environment assets that benefit from rising rates were in favour but it seems telcos, utilities, and pipelines are moving more now. Obviously with price of oil, increase in pipelines is understandable and clearly yield curve is playing a role. What are your thoughts on whether increasing rates will eventually hurt utilities/pipelines. Thank you!

Q: Hi, Market drop in the morning, Today and complete reversal after President Biden's briefing about Russia invasion of Ukraine was simply Extraordinary. Nasdaq, of course was the huge winner. Banks, on the other hand, were really weak at the open and did not gain much traction, during the day. Could you try to explain the disconnect, please.

RBC results were quite impressive, but it did not help the stock, Today.

CNBC, Bob Pisani commented that US Financials have been under pressure, the whole week.

We added some CM,RY,TD and BNS in the morning, for dividends and additional exposure to financials, to take advantage of market drop and due to expectations of the sector benefitting from rising rates. Do you consider it a wise move?

Thank You

Q: Hi,

I am interested in $Cdn ETFs that are designed for inflation and where the underlying securities have pricing power? If any, do you have a favourite? If you have a favourite, the reasons why?

Many Thanks,
Derek

Q: Hi,
There were a few questions in January 2022 about both the US/Canadian banks. Your answers seem to be favour holding some banks b/c of rising interest rates and more recent earnings results.

What are your favorite bank ETFs in Canada and in the US? (US ETFs are a lot cheaper to buy and hold). Do you still feel optimistic about this sector?

This is for my RRSPs. So, withholding tax is not a factor.

Thanks in advance.

Q: Can you recommend a Canadian ETF that holds only Canadian banks but does not write covered calls?
With appreciation,
Ed

Q: Hello Peter,
For an RESP today and future contributions with focus on Canada and USA, I was thinking of allocating more monies to indexes such as xic and xsp and less to sectors such as xfn or zeb , and xit. What are your thoughts? Also, i noticed that xsp has not done as well as SPY. i am assuming it is do to currency. In an RESP, I would think xsp on toronto and SPY on NYSE, both have withholding taxes.. Please comment. Thank you

Q: Hello Peter,
With rising rates, it seems that banks, commodities and industrials do well. Can you please suggest some etfs in Canada that would take advantage of those sectors? For the banks, i am thinking xfn and zeb but unsure of the others. Also, the US banks are taking small hits. Do you think canadian banks will follow suit or are they very different? Thanks very much.

Q: I currently have exposure to CEW, which has an MER of 0.61% and a monthly distribution yield of 3.03%. Are there any alternatives to CEW that have a lower expense ratio and higher yield?

Q: My wife has set up a small non registered account. She has chosen the above ETF's. She would like to add an ETF that covers the Dow Jones. Long term hold. Your suggestions. Thanks

Q: Hello Peter,
There is a lot of chatter about rotation to value stocks. Nuvei and Lightspeed are growth stocks, but after the short report, are they getting into value territory and if so, would you think this is a good time to enter those names with an initial position? Also, from your experience, why would a short report damage the stock for longer period (as in case of Nuvei and Lightspeed) when the market liked those at higher levels but now all of a sudden, institutions don't seem to be backing up the truck. Could this imply that the short report had some merits as i would have thought as a minimum, the leaders in these companies would have stepped up and bought more stock? Lastly, if inflation is a concern, would an etf for banks like zeb a better choice than individual banks? Thanks very much.

Q: Hi 5i
As the banks increase their dividends will ZEB automatically increase the monthly payout? Thanks

Q: My question is more about safety and minimizing some risk. Hypothetically, if there was a market correction of say 20%, which of the above would be the safest in terms of net change (dividends and share price) say 6 months and 1 year later? I realize there are many issues with this question (they are all different, the need for crystal ball or time machine, etc) but I really value your thoughts. Thanks again!

Q: Hi Team,
Could you suggest Canadian ETFs of the following sectors for Senior incomes :
1 /Reit 2/ Utility 3/Prefer 4/Bank/Financial 5/Energy.
Please deduct as many question credit as needed.
Thanks as always,
Tak

Q: Is the time right to buy all 5 CND chartered banks now or should I wait until all the prices come down? If wait, what approx % price decrease should I wait for?

Q: Is this ETF a safe way to invest in the banking sector in a RRIF account for income and some growth and do you believe the strategy used by this ETF can outperform other ETF such as ZWB or ZEB. Can you suggest a couple of alternatives ETF that are more appropriate for a RRIF or do you feel it is better to just own the individual banks.

Q: Good morning,
I own both ETFs (ZEB & ZBK) in my Non Reg account and would appreciate your thoughts and recommendation on which of these two ETFs you think will produce the best total return in the next year or two. Thank you.

Q: Good morning,
Q1. Is it reasonable to assume that ZEB ETF's total return would be the same as that of holding each of the individual bank stocks in the exact same proportion as in the ZEB ETF minus the MER (0.60%) + or - the tracking error?
Q2. Given, that the relatively high MER (0.60%) of holding ZEB, would it be better over the long run to simply own 2 or three of the best big banks and if so which two or three banks would you recommend buying and holding for ever.

Q: Hi Peter and Ryan

Understanding that timing the market can be difficult and trying to follow your recommendations for the most part has been very useful information. Thank you
I am looking to “lie low” through what I believe to be a coming correction and wish to invest in ETFs with some protection

I am looking at ZDY ZLU ZLB ZEB as a 20 % of my portfolio over the summer. Your comments please and so you have other etfs that might be of interest... Icahn comes to mind

Peter