Vikash Jain, CFA

Markets: Perception is that markets are weak and so we continue to see weak volumes until people think that economic recovery is sustainable. Correction? Don't fight the fed. Just about every central bank is doing quantitative easing: Japan yesterday, plus UK. The other problem is the fiscal cliff that is expected in January, but he doesn't think that will happen. Raising the debt ceiling is a political issue. He takes a balanced approach. US$ is a good bargain and there is some downside risk of US dollar devaluing more but not a big one. Probably a good time to buy US valued assets.

Covered Call ETFs: They have all struggled this year. Their underlying holdings get called away. If you are looking for a little bit of income on top of your equities this could be a good one. It has nice covered call writing of just 25% so you get some nice protection on the downside.

Mexico has been one of the better stories. Emerging markets have been weak but Mexico is propped up by oil and consumer sectors. It is one of the better emerging markets to have. Good quality ETF.

If it is part of your bond mix then you should think again. This is part of your equity portfolio. US economy is still weak and has higher than average bankruptcy rates. This ETF will do badly if there is another financial crisis. You might want to go to higher quality companies and dividends.

Brazil: You don't need Canadian dollar hedging because emerging markets have undervalued currencies. When you hedge you are giving away some appreciation. He has some Brazil exposure for the long term.

They are un-hedging because the demand from investors is for un-hedged ETFs. Instead of investing in the local securities, they invest in depository receipts. It is not as diversified as those that don't restrict themselves to depository receipts.

Insurance is the biggest sector in this ETF. ZDV has a beta of slightly more than one, so it is higher risk. It holds just the Canadian Market and you should be more diversified than that.

Like an all in one balanced fund. 2/3rds of the bond exposure is in lower quality bonds so they are more like equities. That is a nice fit into a lot of portfolios. When interest rates increase they will have an impact on this ETF. Spread on corporate bonds is quite high right now. Hold this ETF until you think interest rates will rise.

With all this stimulus money being pumped in around the world there IS infrastructure spending all over the world. Sell if you meet your cost point.

(Top Pick Mar 26/12, Up 3.40%) Mar 26 was the high for the year but he owned since the beginning of the year and he is up.

(Top Pick Mar 26/12, Down 0.67%) Mar 26 was the high for the year but he owned this since the beginning of 2012 and he is up.

(Top Pick Mar 26/12, Down 11.69%) Mar 26 was the high for the year but he has owned it since the beginning of 2012 and he is flat on it.

US house prices are just hitting bottom and resales have picked up along with new home building over the last couple of months. US REITs are best positioned to benefit at this time. A number of Canadian REITs have raised money in recent weeks to go into the US.

Energy has higher than 1 beta and will respond more significantly to stimulus. Believes Canadian energy will benefit during this period of stimulus. Nat. gas is not included in this as there seems to be endless supply.

Inflation is not the issue but rather all this stimulus. Whenever we increase the money supply, value of gold should rise as currencies are debased. Will go on through the first half of next year. This is not a long-term buy and hold, however.