Balancing Your Dividend Holdings
One problem with the two leading Canadian dividend ETFs is that they are not very well diversified across sectors. The iShares Dow Jones Canada Select Dividend (XDV) is half banks and financials....
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Dividends: Not As Tax-Friendly As You May Think
If your investments include RRSPs, TFSAs and taxable accounts, asset location is an important consideration. The returns of various asset classes—such as bonds, Canadian stocks, and foreign stocks—are...
View ArticleTax-Efficient Investing With ETFs
If you’re investing outside of tax-sheltered accounts like RRSPs and TFSAs, you need to choose your investments carefully—otherwise you risk giving a big slice of your returns to the good people at the...
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A New Dividend ETF With Secret Sauce?
Last June, a new ETF provider appeared in Canada with little fanfare. I didn’t write anything about the launch of XTF Capital at the time, because their first lineup of products was a series of covered...
View ArticleWhen “Buy What You Know” Makes Sense
Last week, My Own Advisor wrote an interesting post about whether investors should buy companies they’re familiar with. He was responding to a recent article by Larry Swedroe, which argued that “Buy...
View ArticleDid Your ETF Just Get Riskier?
One of the problems with actively managed mutual funds is that you can never be sure that the risk level will remain constant. In an income fund with a mix of government bonds, high-yield corporate...
View ArticleApple and the Dividend Puzzle
As loyal readers will know, I’ve been critical of the zeal with which some investors approach dividends. Based on countless blog posts, emails and conversations, I feel that many investors’ preference...
View ArticleUnder the Hood: First Asset Morningstar US Dividend Target 50 (UXM)
This post is part of a series called Under the Hood, where l take a detailed look at specific Canadian ETFs or index funds. The fund: First Asset Morningstar US Dividend Target 50 Index ETF (UXM) The...
View ArticleForeign Withholding Tax: Which Fund Goes Where?
My previous post on foreign withholding taxes included a lot of information for investors to puzzle over. But unless you’re an accountant, you probably don’t care too deeply about the finer details....
View ArticleAsk the Spud: Do I Have Enough for a DRIP?
I’m planning to use my 2013 TFSA room to purchase a bond ETF. How can I make sure I’m investing enough to benefit from a dividend reinvestment plan? – Phil B. Dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs) are a...
View ArticleCalculating Your Adjusted Cost Base With ETFs
Being a DIY investor is easy when all your accounts are tax-deferred. As the April 30 tax deadline approaches, pretty much all you need to do is gather your RRSP contribution slips. But if you have...
View ArticleWhy You Should Avoid DRIPs in Taxable Accounts
Last week’s post about calculating your adjusted cost base with ETFs drew some interesting comments. It’s clear that many DIY investors who use non-registered accounts were unaware of how much work is...
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ETF Dividend Dates Explained
This post is excerpted from The DIY Investor’s Handbook, coauthored by myself and Justin Bender, and available exclusively to clients of our DIY Investor Service. Occasionally when you buy an ETF you...
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Looking for Value in Canadian Equity ETFs
Monday’s post about factor analysis was, I admit, too technical for most readers’ tastes. At least that’s the conclusion I drew when the two most enthusiastic comments came from a professor of...
View ArticleWhy Has VRE Outperformed Its Rivals in 2013?
It’s been a marvellous year for equities, but 2013 has not been kind to real estate investment trusts. Like other income-producing investments, REITs are sensitive to rising interest rates, and the...
View ArticleInside the RBC Quant Dividend Leaders ETFs
In January, RBC launched the Quant Dividend Leaders ETFs, a family of dividend-focused funds covering the Canadian, U.S. and international markets. I recently had a chance to speak with Bill Tilford,...
View ArticleThe High Cost of High Dividends
In our recent white paper, Asset Location for Taxable Investors, Justin Bender and I argue that most investors are better off keeping their bonds in an RRSP, while equities should be held in a taxable...
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Ask the Spud: Why Do ETF Yields Differ?
Q: The Vanguard S&P 500 (VFV) currently has a dividend yield of 1.44%, but the US-listed version of the same ETF has a yield of 2.01%. How can these two funds have such different yields when their...
View ArticleAfter-Tax Returns on Canadian ETFs
When you invest in a non-registered account, you need to be concerned about more than just your funds’ performance: you also need to know how much of your return will be eaten up by taxes....
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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....
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