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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...
View ArticleAre Preferred Share Indexers Dumb Money?
It’s hard to keep a straight face while arguing for active strategies in asset classes like large-cap stocks or government bonds. Those markets are so liquid and so well covered by analysts that it’s...
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How Taxes Can Affect ETF Performance
In our recent white paper, After-Tax Returns, Justin Bender and I introduced a methodology for measuring the effect of income taxes on ETF returns. Justin also created a downloadable spreadsheet you...
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Taking ETF Trades to the Next Level
Experienced investors know the theory: ETFs are supposed to trade very close to their net asset value (NAV). And most of the time they do. But this week my PWL Capital colleague Justin Bender and I...
View ArticleVanguard’s VXC Gets a Facelift
The Vanguard FTSE All-World ex Canada (VXC) allows Canadians to get access to US, international and emerging markets equities with a single ETF, and it’s one of the ingredients in my model portfolios....
View ArticleAsk the Spud: My ETF Is Shutting Down
Q: I received a notice that an ETF I own will be closed within the next few months. Is it better to sell it now or wait until the termination date? – S.H. ETFs are now available for just about every...
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The ETF Volume You Can’t Hear
Most investors prefer using ETFs that are bought and sold frequently. Although thinly traded ETFs are not always less liquid, experienced investors will tell you that they do tend to have wider bid-ask...
View ArticleVanguard’s New World Order
If you follow my model ETF portfolios, you may have noticed that one of your holdings has a new name. The Vanguard FTSE All-World ex Canada (VXC), launched in the summer of 2014, is a simple, low-cost...
View ArticleDecoding Vanguard’s New International Equity ETFs
This year has been another reminder of why international equities are such an important part of a diversified portfolio: in the first 11 months of 2015 the Canadian market was down almost 6%, while...
View ArticleHow Long Will You Wait for Smart Beta to Work?
In my last post I shared some insights from Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense, which argues that investors are generally better off keeping their portfolios simple and straightforward. This idea...
View ArticleThe Curious Case of the BMO Discount Bond ETF
When the BMO Discount Bond Index ETF (ZDB) was launched back in February 2014, it was unique: the first broad-market ETF in Canada made up primarily of bonds trading below their par value. By avoiding...
View ArticleCost Versus Convenience in “ex Canada” ETFs
I used to own one of those one-piece cutlery tools designed for hiking and camping—the kind with a knife, fork and spoon that all fold into a single unit. It was hardly ideal for eating, especially if...
View ArticleForeign Withholding Taxes Revisited
It might be the most eagerly anticipated sequel since The Force Awakens. Justin Bender and I have just completed the second edition of our popular white paper, Foreign Withholding Taxes: How to...
View ArticleUnderstanding the Momentum Factor
This is Part 5 in a series about smart beta ETFs. See below for links to other posts in the series. In this installment, we look at the momentum factor: the idea that stocks that have recently risen or...
View ArticleAre Preferred Share Indexers Dumb Money?
It’s hard to keep a straight face while arguing for active strategies in asset classes like large-cap stocks or government bonds. Those markets are so liquid and so well covered by analysts that it’s...
View ArticleAsk the Spud: Reverse Share Splits in ETFs
Q: I noticed the unit price of some iShares ETFs changed radically last week. For example, the iShares MSCI Singapore ETF (EWS) shot up from around $10 to $20 overnight on November 7. Another fund went...
View ArticleMaking Sense of Capital Gains Distributions
Imagine you’re part of a group of 10 friends at a restaurant to celebrate the holidays. Everyone else arrives on time and enjoys cocktails, appetizers and a main course, while you get stuck in traffic...
View ArticleModel Portfolio Update for 2017
After two years with no changes to my Couch Potato model portfolios, the 2017 edition comes with an update to the ETF version. Before I get to the details, I feel compelled to stress that if you’re...
View ArticleAsk the Spud: Can I Make Taxable Investing Easier?
In Episode 4 of the Canadian Couch Potato podcast, I answered the following question from a listener named Jakob: I’m currently investing with all my ETFs in RRSP and TFSA accounts. This year, however,...
View ArticleA New ETF Structure for Accumulators
ETF launches are generally unexciting these days: most new products focus on increasingly narrow niches or exotic strategies. But last week BMO unveiled an innovative ETF structure that may just have...
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