TSE:ZWB

BMO Covered Call Canadian Banks ETF (ZWB.TO)

28.91
+0.02 (0.07%)
as of Jun 5, 2026, 7:58:02 pm Market Open.
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Investor Insights
star iconJun 6, 2026, 12:00 am

This summary was created by AI, based on 9 opinions in the last 12 months.

The BMO Covered Call Canadian Banks ETF (ZWB) has received a mix of reviews from various experts, highlighting both its benefits and drawbacks. The ETF, which is concentrated in Canadian banks and designed to generate income through a covered call strategy, has seen a notable increase of approximately 52% over the last year, albeit less than the equal-weighted counterpart, ZEB, which rose by 63%. While many experts appreciate the extra layer of yield that the covered call provides, they also caution against investing heavily at this stage in the economic cycle due to potential downturns affecting bank performance. Concerns about underperformance relative to the underlying banks, and the inherent trade-offs of call writing, such as capping upside potential, were also articulated. Overall, ZWB is seen as a long-term holding for those looking for income, but caution is advised regarding new investments given current market conditions.

consensus icon
Consensus
Cautious
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Valuation
Fair Value
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ZEB-T
WAIT

Canadian banks. 30 months without a 10% correction. 5 years into a bull market. Typically 4. There are examples in history with many more years before a meaningful correction. Likes ZWB which is an equally weighted Bank ETF with covered call strategy. It should not be more than a 10-20% correction. A healthy giveback. We won’t pull back as much as the US in a correction phase. Canadian banks should participate 70%

BUY

ZWB is a covered call and good for income. ZEB is good for growth. Banks are in good shape and he doesn’t have a problem here.

PAST TOP PICK

(Top Pick Feb 7/13, Up 16.19%) Not bought for growth. Really good yield.

COMMENT

Bank dividends have been going up but the yield on this has not. How long does this take? This should start being reflected at some point but remember, you are selling away the future growth of any bank names with covered calls. When Canadian banks rallied, you would not have gotten all of that rally.

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Feb 7/13. Up 9.16%.) This has 6 banks equal weighted with a covered call to enhance the income but they do it on each of the banks rather than the bank index. This gives you a better bang for your buck.

COMMENT

An ETF that gives a monthly stream of money but will be tax efficient? This is one that he likes, Covered Calls on Canadian banks, and the fundamentals are based on how well the banks going to do. You could also use the iShares DEX Short-Term Bond (XSB-T), which is straight interest. This can be combined with a couple of things like the ZWB. Or you could look at some street dividend plays such as iShares DJ Canadian ETF (XDV-T) or any of the dividend players from the major players.

BUY

Canadian Banks. If you like the dividend, ZWB-T is a better way to play because of the covered call overlay. Thinks banks will be range bound for the next 6-12 months and are fully valued. But good value in pullbacks.

DON'T BUY

He has never held or used this. Generally the premise is to add additional income by basically selling your upside in terms of the banks. Canadian banks are not that volatile, so the premiums you get for selling are not that high and you are giving away your potential upside.

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Dec 31/12. Up 12.54%.) With Covered Calls, you are Buying the stock and Selling the options. This one will only sell calls on roughly 50%-60% of the position and leave the rest as a Long position.

BUY

Average dividend is 3.2% in the banks, but this ETF has that exposure and a covered call overlay on half of the portfolio so yield is 5 to 5.5%. Valuation targets on banks are not for much more growth so you want to use this to get the higher yield.

PAST TOP PICK

(Top Pick Oct 26/12, Up 15.98%) He wanted the enhanced income from this one.

BUY

If you must be in the banks use this because of the covered calls. This will go down if banks correct but it gives you a higher yield while you wait. Go back to ZEB-T after the correction.

COMMENT

Likes this one but for diversification, you could look at the BMO Dow Jones Indus Avg Hedge ETF (ZWA-T). (See Past Picks.)

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick September 17/12. Up 14.89%.) 50% hedged with Covered Calls and 50% not. Still a Buy. Still has a way to go.

BUY

Likes this. The thing to remember is that when you are buying a Covered Call ETF, you are always giving up something through the sale of a Call. The Covered Call helps to protect you on the downside but it sort of evens out the volatility a little bit. Yields something like 5.5%-6%.

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