Q: I have a question about hedged/unhedged versions of the same ETFs. There are a number of these, and they often have very different market values, as in TD's Global Technology Leaders ETF - TEC (unhedged) and TECX (hedged). In this case, the unhedged version has a mere 8.7m assets compared to 3.5b for TEC.
I would normally think an ETF with such a small AUM unstable, but given this is a TD ETF and mirrors its vastly larger brother, would that necessarily be the case? And isn't the rise and fall of an ETF simply a reflection of the stocks it holds?
What brings this to mind is the way hedged ETFs of American stocks have outperformed their unhedged counterparts this year. There is an administration in the US determined to drive down the US dollar by hook or by crook. So it seems to me that hedged is the way to go for now.
I would normally think an ETF with such a small AUM unstable, but given this is a TD ETF and mirrors its vastly larger brother, would that necessarily be the case? And isn't the rise and fall of an ETF simply a reflection of the stocks it holds?
What brings this to mind is the way hedged ETFs of American stocks have outperformed their unhedged counterparts this year. There is an administration in the US determined to drive down the US dollar by hook or by crook. So it seems to me that hedged is the way to go for now.
5i Research Answer:
To hedge or not is essentially a currency call. The C$ has been strong this year so hedge has worked out better. If one believes the US$ will be weak then hedging makes sense. But, it is a call on currencies, and can be right or wrong. Everyone dislikes the US dollar right now but that could change. When looking at the two types of funds, we would not be concerned with the size differences. They own the same thing and the smaller version is just a 'carve out' of the larger fund with a different currency overlay.