Investment Q&A

Q: Hello!
Now that I’ve reached the age of RRIF withdrawals, I’m looking more closely at income and therefore at covered-call ETFs.
I understand that these instruments don’t fully share in the upsides, but the income of ETFs like EIT, TXF and ZWU is pretty solid.
I’ve also been looking at UMAX its unbelievable 14% yield, but I also see that the unit price has declined quite dramatically over the last few years.
So questions are, how do you feel about these ETFs for income? And if you’re okay with them, which would you recommend?
Thanks for all your help
Michael

Q: Can you please suggest US equivalents to these two CDN covered call utilities etf's ?
Thx

Q: Two part question:

What are the major differences between these two covered call utilities etf's? Wondering why/how UMAX has ~2X dividend yield?

Would it be possible to suggest equivalent covered call etf(s) for US market?

Thank you.

Q: This is a follow-up to the Sept. 11th question where you mentioned other funds that are similar to this. Could you name a couple that you would recommend please? Thanks.

Q: Do any of the utilities held in these ETF’s offer the same kind of energy power support for the mega computers running AI applications as something like VRT in the US?

If not are there any Canadian companies that do so and would be an attractive investment in this area?

Q: Hello, would like to know for total returns of these ETFs (ZWC, ZWU, CNCC, HCAL, ZSP, VCN, VE, XGRO, VEQT, XBAL) which is your favorite in order for each and in which account type is each best suited for. Also please give me your number 1 top pick of all Canadian listed ETFs for each account type.

Thank you

Q: What do you think of this holding for my sons FHSA? I would say he will deploy the money to buy a house within 5yrs. so a conservative investment is important. He has a total of $11000 to invest after a previous 5% yeilding GIC expired. Do you have any other suggestions? Thank you. John

Q: Hi, what is your preference in order of these ETFs UMAX, ZWU, ZWC or is there other covered calls that you prefer. Please place in preference order. Also in which account type would each be best suited for including your picks.
Thank you

Q: I would be interested in your professional opinion on covered call ETF's within a non registered account for a duo objective of maintaining principal and generating an income. I have ample growth investments in registered accounts. One draw back I see from. this approach is the tracking of ACB for tax purposes etc, which you don't have in registered accounts, If you have 2-3 recommendations you feel comfortable with, that's appreciated.
Thanks
As a tag on to my recently submitted question about covered call, what is your opinion and recommendations within in an RRSP?

Q: Hello,
What do you think of switching Telus to ZWU.
Telus is in my TFSA account and i am currently down 10%.Also, what is the risk of ZWU ?
Thanks!

Q: Non-resident tax, I'm considering to reduce my percentage of U.S. contents gradually, since nobody knows what to expect from donald...
Hopefully, this eventual new tariff policy wouldn't affect RSSP .
As you notice, some of the ETF posted are all U.S, companies in the case of XHY and NHYB, they both are mainly Bonds or gvt.Bonds,how tariff could affect the two.?

Thanks again to the team

Dan

Q: I normally keep individual stocks to a limit of 5% of my portfolio in a registered account. However, with ZWC being an ETF, how high do you think I could go, given that it is diversified in many stocks?

What would be an attractive price to buy into ZWC?

If ZWU is also held in the same account, how high could you go for that ETF (as a percentage of the account)? And would that affect the amount of ZWC held in the same account?

Thank you.

Q: Do you have any insight into whether ZWU might increase or decrease its dividend going forward please? What factors might influence this, and if able to gauge or guess at it, what timeline might we see for a decision to update it? Thanks!

Q: I have money to invest in a registered account and do not need the funds for at least 5-10 years. I was planning to buy a GIC, but the rates for 1 to 5 year terms are only in the 3% range. Instead, I am thinking of buying ZWU with a 7% return, realizing that there is no guarantee on the ETF price, but the rate of return is significantly higher than the GIC. My understanding is that the utitilies sector is quite stable and the price of this ETF does not tend to move much.

Do you see this as a good strategy to get a higher return with relatively low risk to the erosion of my investment value, given the long time frame?

Also, what would be an acceptable price to purchase ZWU?

Q: Nonresidents withholding tax tariff ,there could be a window to Donald to increase the percentage from the actual 15 % to 20-25 ??
How will this affect the dividends to ETF with some US exposures? Are Rsp totally exempted ?
How could such a move jeopardize the U.S. economy,
Did diverting some fund to. ZWE or other alternative could represent a good defensive move.

Q: I target Utilities holdings at 8-10%. Is there enough difference to hold both ZWU and UMAX as my only Utilities holdings?

Thank You

Q: I went to a large cash position in my rrsp a few weeks ago, and now I’m interested in putting part of my retirement portfolio (I retired Jan 1) into high interest etfs that I can buy and forget while they generate income via yield. I’ve added a few I’ve been looking at to the ticker box. I’m looking at bond etf’s but I don’t fully understand when to get in and out of bonds - can an investor buy and forget? I’m also looking at covered call leveraged etf’s based on the S&P and Nasdaq indexes. I realize an investor has to have a strong stomach for the volatility associated with high interest leveraged etfs, but for purely an income vehicle, can you provide a few names based on the above criteria? Assuming about 10-15% positions, what percentage of a retirement portfolio would you invest in high interest etf’s, Hoping to generate 8-10% annually from the portfolio. The remainder of my portfolio is mid cap large cap US and Canadian equities. The usual suspects.

Q: Are those funds advantageous to hold in a rsp account regarding on the withholding of US dividends? I am never sure if those dividends get charged fo all holders, or just the cash accounts. So if these do not shelter the rsp from the tax, which equivalent would you suggest.?
Thank you

Q: I hold a significant position of ZWU ( less ZUT) for stability of the sector during crisis and stable dividends .ZWU holds around 40% of US stocks .In a non registered account, considering various factors: 1) NAV of ZWU is normally dropping over time 2) dividends are higher 3) no dividend tax credit for the US proportion 4) having a US proportion offers some kind of diversification : Alltogether would you consider one of those ETF a better choice for value + dividends? if not ,any ideal proportion of the 2 ? Many thanks ,JY

Q: What's your view of ZWU now with tariffs coming. I'm downsizing risk in my portfolio but would like to keep it for income. Would you add, hold, or sell. Thanks, great service.