Chris Heakes iSHARES SP TSX COMP HIGH DIV INDEX ETF XEI-T BUY Jun 30, 2025

Basket of high-dividend Canadian names. Both about 24-25% cumulative returns over the last 3 years. 

XEI more diversified with 30% financials plus 30% in energy. Slightly better MER of 22 bps. Yield is ~5.5%.

ZDV is 38% financials and 20% energy, so might make sense if you really love financials. MER is 39 bps. Yield is 3.8%.

The caller's question was on which of these ETF's to buy for a start-up portfolio for his 20-year-old daughter. He prefers more sectors to be covered in this situation so he suggested XEI. There are more multi-asset solutions as well. He also suggested lowering the risk tolerance for a beginner investor.

XEI will be a broader basket, while XDV would be more concentrated in the top 60 or so names. The question is do you want a bit more diversification away from the banks, energy names, and lifecos that make up the larger companies in Canada? He's always an advocate for broad diversification in portfolios. Each individual investor has to decide what they want.

Generally likes the dividend payers, depending on the investor. Good if you're looking for income and steady growth. Be aware that a lot of the weighting is bunched around the Canadian banks, with energy companies following. Steady performance, value play. Dividend is fine and growth will be there.

Both are great examples of an ETF with Canadian names. Between 4.9-5.3% dividend yield. VDY has more banking exposure, so it depends on how much concentration you want in the Canadian banks. 

Prioritizes dividend yield. MER is 22 bps. Yield is decent in the 4%-range. Nothing wrong with this one, though you may want to tilt away from energy right now. Energy exposure is higher than XDV. If Trump gets his way, there will be more oil and gas and the price will struggle. You'll want to be in an area that makes its money on volume, not on price.

Big names in banks, energy, utilities. Very nice dividend yield, about 4% and change (going forward, it's ~6% after recent drop in the market). Nice, balanced way to get good dividend yield. Not high growth, but more reliable growth in the 7-8% EPS growth range.

He likes high-dividend ETFs. Good for those seeking income or to hold in a RRIF. This mixes big banks and insurers, and is less volatile than the market. You can buy and forget and collects the dividend. Good exposure to Canada, whose performance surprises him this year.

Less exposed to financials than VDY, so you get more diversification.