Larry Berman CFA, CMT, CTAVanguard FTSE DevelopedHigh Dividend Yield Index ETVIDY.TOHOLDJun 12, 2023

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.

A nice way to diversify away from North America. Dividends tend to downrisk a bit in a portfolio. Cheap. Simple dividend methodology. High allocation to European financials. Less on growth. Dividend yield is not super high, so don't expect big income gains.

ZDI uses the MSCI World Universe International Developed Markets index, which does not include exposure to South Korea. VIDY uses the FTSE series, which does include South Korea. That's the main difference, along with a slight difference in MER (ZDI slightly more expensive).

Focus on the exposure, not the MER. You have to make a call whether there are enough good dividend-paying stocks in South Korea to want to choose VIDY. Remember, these dividends don't get preferential tax treatment, it's all income. So if you're looking for income in your taxable portfolio, you get a much better tax experience with capital gains from the covered call overlay.