Terry Shaunessy
BMO Mid-Term US IG Corp Bond Index
ZIC-T
COMMENT
Dec 16, 2016
This is investment-grade corporate bonds in the US. The yield is basically 60%-70% higher than on Canadian corporates. What he likes about US investment-grade corporates is the array of underlying credits. In Canada, it is roughly 50% of the corporate bond market which are financials. In the US, you get a broader array of industries.
He would avoid most of the fixed income ETF’s at this time. There are some potential rate changes in the US. The returns are significantly lower than what you would get by simply buying a high-quality dividend paying Canadian ETF.
This corporate bond ETF still holds some equity risk as it has corporate exposures. You have to be careful as bond markets have shown limited liquidity lately. The US has announced another $700 billion in assets, but sill be careful, but you could consider a partial buy here.
ZLC-T & ZIC-T. You have a little bit of credit risk in corporate. When you want safety the best bet is government, not corporate as you get exposure to corporate earnings. Do you want it for the yield or for the protection? Don't sell either one at the moment.
The interest rates should stay low and may even go lower. There is probably a couple more years of low interest rates anchored at 0%. He would look to exit this holding, especially since he expects the Canadian dollar to firm up next year.
This is investment-grade corporate bonds in the US. The yield is basically 60%-70% higher than on Canadian corporates. What he likes about US investment-grade corporates is the array of underlying credits. In Canada, it is roughly 50% of the corporate bond market which are financials. In the US, you get a broader array of industries.