Stock price when the opinion was issued
Remember that a GIC and dividend stock have different levels of risk. Consider preferred shares and covered call ETFs like ZWC which gives broad exposure to Canadian dividends with a covered call overlay. ZWU, too, which is an alternative to fixed income, but gives equity market risk.
In the area of the market that's quite stable, mainly because utilities are regulated by government. They do become interest-rate sensitive. Recently got caught up in the AI hype and all the power that will be needed, so got a bit ahead of themselves. Low beta. About as safe as it gets in the stock market.
When the sector outperforms, that's a warning signal. And we've had a couple of those days. Great place to hide, good yield, getting the covered writing premiums. Challenge is that because utilities are so low volatility, that premium is less.
ZWU holds Canadian utilities, writes covered calls on ~50% of the portfolio. Use it if you have a neutral or range-bound view of the Canadian utilities market. If you buy near market bottom, won't participate as much in the snap-back.
If you see growth and capital appreciation on the horizon, use ZUT -- almost the same basket, but with no covered call overlay. Lower yield. Money works for you over the long haul.
70% Canadian utilities, 30% US. Includes companies such as pipelines, telcos, and traditional utilities in the energy creation and delivery space like ENB. Holds about 15-20 stocks, but with the option overlay to get the extra yield. So it's a combination of that that makes up your 60 holdings. Not a lot of turnover.
He recently trimmed exposure. Very interest-rate sensitive. So as bond yield go up in the short term in the US, there are headwinds in front of us. The pipeline component is more sensitive to the energy space, which is coming under a bit of short-term pressure. Hurting performance in recent years has been the likes of BCE, formerly a $60 company but now $45.
A basket of really good companies, high yielder. A range trader, not a bond alternative.