Vanguard FTSE Cdn High Div Yd.VDY.TOBUYOct 10, 2024Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Nov 04, 2026. Market Open.
Doesn't like it because it's so heavily weighted to the banks, almost 50%. Just buy banks instead. If the economy softens, the bank sector is pricing in a lot of good news right now. Also, if the wars end, then energy prices will fall. So, there's a high risk among Canadian dividends for these two reasons.
Better places to be. Dividend growth is more interesting than high dividend payers, especially in an inflationary world. He wants companies that grow their dividends more quickly, even if the dividend is lower to begin with. A rising stream of income offsets a rising cost of living.
Take a look at RDVY.
As long as you have 4-5 years before the home purchase, you can be in an equity strategy. Equities can be volatile.
For Canadian exposure, VDY or XEI makes sense -- high dividends tend to do well in Canada. Lots of options in the US, but he'd stick to equal-weight (not market-weight) ETFs. S&P 500 is still 45% tech and communications, and that's a bit risky at this point. Consider RSP.
For European exposure go for a broad-based approach such as in VIDY.
He likes XEI and VDY. Both pay ~5% yield. VDY is about 45% Canadian banks. XEI is a bit more diversified, with 23% Canadian banks as its top weighting.
For income, he prefers these to a covered call strategy. Though the covered call strategies look very attractive, they tend to underperform the underlying securities, especially in a rising equity market. Great if you need the income, but you'll get a better total return with the other.