On another note ..any idea who bought the shares @ spb in the dump?
On SPB, the amount traded would have required disclosure, if it was one buyer. But nothing has been disclosed as of yet. Our guess would be Brookfield, but this would require disclosure early next week if it was.
ZWB is a covered call ETF holding Canadian banks. It buys securities and sells call options on them, and then distributed both the option income and dividend income to unit holders. This allows for a higher yield. We do not consider it more risky than a regular ETF, but in a big sector rally its performance will lag a bit. In a down market, it should fall slightly less than a regular ETF because of its ongoing option premium income. It owns seven banks so this offers a bit of diversification. The dividend was raised in January and we would consider it reasonably secure. But if Canadian banks lower dividends (not likely) and option premiums decline (they do vary) the dividend could be adjusted accordingly. We would put odds low on this, however, at least in the short term. Banks have been raising dividends and volatiity in the sector is high vs historical levels (which is good for options premiums).
Authors of this answer, directors, partners and/or officers of 5i Research and/or affiliated companies have a financial or other interest in ZWB.