
TSE:ZWB
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.
ZWU or ZWB? Add more to both? Utilities and banks, covered call. Wouldn’t add more, and be especially careful with the utilities one in a rising rate environment. Might want to use the Vanguard VXC, world index excluding Canada. Inexpensive, liquid. Encourage people to look outside Canada for growth.
ZWB-T vs. SU-T, which to sell. There is nothing wrong with Canadian banks long term. ZWB-T is his preferred way to play it. He got out of it when it retested last year’s resistance. He thinks we will test last year’s lows and then he would be a buyer. SU-T is a bellwether of the market but will underperform a lot of global oil plays. He would trim exposure and then look to buy it 10-15% lower. He would trim both here and look to buy them back.
He uses a lot of the ZWB-T. He is always looking at keeping the cost low. When looking at covered calls or managed ETFs, all of a sudden prices spike. He’s looking to buy from 5 to 15 basis points. But there are times when he will look at a different products like ZWB-T or the whole series they have, ZWH-T, ZWA-T, etc. But the different thing with the covered calls is that the persons sitting at the trading desks are actually making a difference and he thinks it’s worth paying for. When you buy a covered call you are giving up some of the upside in exchange for cash flow. With interests rates being so low, covered calls are a good way to get the flow of income. He uses covered calls to enhance the income of a portfolio. He’s been holding this for years.
A sector play just on Canadian banks, which he likes better than a broadly diversified portfolio. His concern on a broadly diversified portfolio is the movement of different sectors in the course of a business cycle. You lose the sectors as they are rising, and you end up continuing to hold the sectors that are declining. This one is only one sector. The banks are averaging about 4.25% dividends, and about half the income comes from dividends and the other half comes from capital gains on the sale of options. They only write options on about 50% of the portfolio, so you are getting some upside anyways as banks continue to rise. A good ETF.
Own both Canadian banks and ETF like this? He has clients who've owned both, so holding both is okay. You can make income off the covered call. He likes Canadian banks, because they've diversified outside Canada, such as TD and Royal.