Mike Philbrick

The main market driver is hope for some kind of a Fed pivot based on a possible improving inflation picture and also a hope for a soft landing. However inflation is being quite stubborn and this includes a strong jobs market so he feels a little doubtful of a continuing rally in equities. His advice is to remain calm, be conservative and consider alternative strategies such as those in the commodities trading space like trend and systematical macro strategies. Before 2022 bonds and stocks complimented each other and acted inversely. But in 2022 that wasn't the case - there was higher volatility in both. Concentrate on building an all terrain type of portfolio.

It is down about 30% and market cap weighted so a few stocks can prevail over the rest the holdings. An alternative is QQEQ.F which equal weights the 100 stocks in the NASDAQ and therefore gives broader exposure. It is down 20%.

It is all equity with 74% being in the U.S. as well as 13% in Europe, both large and small caps. It has good diversity so you could stay with it. Or you could consider XMW for more global exposure, with only half of the stocks being U.S.

It uses some leverage and owns covered call writing ETF's of other providers so is diversified across covered call writers. Since it adds extra value it is worth the higher fees, but the yield cannot be entirely counted on. It is OK as a part of your portfolio.

It is not great to hold in the long term and should be considered a trading vehicle, not an investment. You have to manage it on a day-to-day basis. If you have big gains then trim or sell. It is an 'all-in' type of investment.

The question was on his suggestion for a Canadian High Dividend ETF. You need to see a metric that looks at quality companies and not just companies with high dividends due to their share price falling. The companies in this type of ETF should have strong underlying financials and strong balance sheets. One suggestion is HXH which has a corporate set-up. The dividend is re-invested, not paid out. It includes REIT's. It is diversified and limits the percentage holdings of individual stocks.. Another suggestion is XDIV, a Canadian quality ETF. It is more heavily weighted to financials (50%) and doesn't have REIT's It also screens for negative price momentum. You could buy both.

(A Top Pick Jun 27/22, Up 3%) It has been a rough year for bonds but the losses in this ETF are lessened due to the appreciating USD. You may want to come back to Canadian holdings.

(A Top Pick Jun 27/22, Up 2%) It has inflation protected holdings. Longer term bonds went down but holdings in the 0 to 5 year duration did better.

(A Top Pick Jun 27/22, Up 4%) It tracks low Beta (low volatility) indices. You get almost full market returns with 80% of the risk taken out. You should continue to look for low Beta ETF's

It is low Beta and skewed toward the more conservative sectors. It follows sector allocations and uses a checks and balances system for individual stocks.

It is composed of frontier asset classes with huge volatility so keep your exposure minimal. It is in a period of doldrums so you could accumulate with an eye to risk. No rush to buy - buy a bit when it's down, sell a bit when it's up.

The question was on a recommendation for a metals and mining ETF. Large global mining companies are good in the secular sense but not good in the cyclical sense. If banks continue to squash inflation this will diminish growth. Best approach is to have a core holding, buy small amounts and re-balance.

There are good underlying fundamentals and there is a good long term secular trend in demand for lithium. It is up now so hold off or buy in small amounts.

It is a large ETF with competitive fees. If you want to sell calls, having professionals do it is worth the cost. You can buy if you want to be in Canadian financials.

Preferred shares act like equities during bear markets. Preferred shares are a challenging asset class - many are callable as rates go higher. He prefers to keep it simple with laddered preferred shares such as with BMO