Does Your Portfolio Need Preferred Shares?
Last week’s blog introduced a new white paper, The Role of Preferred Shares in Your Portfolio, coauthored with my colleague Raymond Kerzérho, director of research at PWL Capital. That article looked a [...]
The Role of Preferred Shares
Preferred shares are often considered a hybrid security, since they share characteristics of both common stocks and corporate bonds. Like bonds, preferreds typically have a predictable income stream. [...]
When Discount Bonds Are Hard to Find
Everyone loves a discount, but if you’re buying bonds these days you may be out of luck. Just over a year ago, the BMO Discount Bond (ZDB) was launched as a tax-efficient alternative to traditional bo [...]
Which Bond ETF Is Most Tax-Efficient?
Back in September, my colleague Justin Bender and I published a white paper entitled After-Tax Returns: How to estimate the impact of taxes on ETF performance. Justin has now updated his Excel calcula [...]
Taxable Consequences of Norbert’s Gambit
Norbert’s gambit with the Horizons US Dollar Currency ETF (DLR/DLR.U) is often the most cost-efficient way to convert Canadian dollars to US dollars, or vice-versa. Many investors perform the gambit i [...]
iShares Expands Its Core ETF Lineup
iShares shook up the ETF marketplace last March when it launched its Core family of low-cost ETFs in the major asset classes. This week iShares announced some new additions to its Core lineup, includi [...]
Rebalancing With Foreign Currencies
In my last post I argued that Canadians should avoid currency hedging in their equity portfolios. Not only does exposure to the US dollar and other foreign currencies add a layer of diversification, b [...]
Stepping Back From the Hedge
We’re not quite in “northern peso” territory yet, but the Canadian dollar has taken a beating over the last couple of months. And any time there is a significant move in the markets—whether it’s stock [...]
The Wrong Way to Think About Withholding Taxes
If you live in a big city, you can save a few cents per litre on gas by travelling to the boonies. But you also understand that it doesn’t make sense to burn $10 of fuel driving out of town so you can [...]
Tracking Error on International Funds
I recently received an email from a reader, J.W., who wanted to know why the tracking error on some popular Vanguard international equity ETFs were so high in 2014. He noted, for example, that the Van [...]
