iShares S&P/TSX Preferred ETF (CPD-T)

Adding preferred shares to bonds and GICS to a portfolio? HPR or ZPR? Great idea and either of those ETFs is fine. CPD is a basket of reset-preferreds is another idea or buy the individual preferreds like BCE or the banks. Preferreds are good to buy now because rates are so low. Preferreds are now yielding 120-200% of what 1o-year bonds are paying.

Changing from GICs and a savings account? He would suggest you buy some preferred shares. Preferred shares are undervalued relative to interest rates. You can buy this ETF. 70% of the portfolio is in floating rate preferreds, which means if interest rates rise, the value of the preferreds will hold their own because the interest they collect will rise. It pays a monthly income and has a 4.8% yield, significantly better than you would get on a bond portfolio.

A basket of preferred stocks, a lot of them being resets. He has been a net seller of the BMO version late last week. He would continue to be a seller into strength. You could buy into pullbacks. It is unlikely we will break out of the range.

If interest rates are going to go up (he doesn’t think that is going to happen in a big way), then reset preferreds make a lot of sense. If interest rates are going to go down, reset preferreds don’t. The BMO S&P/TSX Laddered Preferred (ZPR-T) has more reset preferreds in it, while this one is a combination of traditional type preferreds and the resets. Either one is fine right now, but he has been a net seller of these in recent weeks. If this one dips back to about $12.50, he is going to start buying again. He would be a seller above $13.

It is a big position of his in his global dividend fund. He has been a net seller in the last couple of months. He would be nibbling away here.

BMO S&P/TSX Laddered Preferred (ZPR-T) or iShares S&P/TSX preferred (CPD-T)? The only difference between these 2 is that ZPR probably has a little bit more in the rate reset preferred shares, which are the shares that will do well when interest rates start to move higher. The both are very similar though. This one gives you about a 5% dividend yield, and you are basically investing in preferred shares. There is going to be some volatility in the preferred share market.

This has a few more perpetuals in it. It depends on what your objective is. If looking for a trading vehicle or that the preferreds are going to come back, you could be waiting an awfully long time. If looking for some yields that are pretty attractive, then it could be fine.