Mike Philbrick

ETF inflows have reached their highest lever since 2021. History says that 7 out of the last 9 times we've had so many new highs on the S&P in a year, what happens is that the next year is on average -6%. Though, not every year. Secondly, there's lots of momentum in crypto ETFs and he's bullish.

Real return bonds are often misunderstood. They offer inflation protection, because they offer both an inflation and interest rate component (tracking both). So, if inflation ticks higher, these go higher. However, they underperform during low inflation. There's much talk of Trump's tariffs being inflationary, but part of his plank is deflationary. If you predict the former, you want some of ZRR.

Is more diversified that XEG; ENCC spreads the energy bet more. There's talk of Trump wanting to reduce oil prices, but natural gas prices are probably much more bullish. So Canadian energy companies here offer more nat gas than oil exposure vs. the US.

This holds US inflation-protected bonds. Maybe USD will outperform CAD. This could be a good diversifyer if you already own Canadian bonds (ETF).

Holds large cap healthcare stocks. Shares have fallen due to Trump's plans. This sector will be challenged given regulatory risk. This offers covered calls (which provides downside protection) in addition to dividends and capital gains. 

Utilities are a very low-volatility sector, so the premiums are lower compared to oil/gas. He suggests holding both this and XUT-T. Utilities are a top sector, because valuations are so reasonable (hard to find that in this market). ZWU will give you covered calls, but XUT will give you upside. So, own both, half and half.

Utilities are a very low-volatility sector, so the premiums are lower compared to oil/gas. He suggests holding both this and ZWU-T. Utilities are a top sector, because valuations are so reasonable (hard to find that in this market). ZWU will give you covered calls, but XUT will give you upside. So, own both, half and half.

If Bitcoin doubles to occupy 6% of the portfolio, then sell half of that to restore 3%. Rebalance. If Bitcoin slides by, say, 70%, then rebalance again to return to the 3/97 split.

Preferred shares are popular in Canada because you get a dividend tax credit. Preferreds don't give you the growth, though. The risk/return isn't there. But preferreds offer that after-tax benefit and that may be attractive.

Covered calls portfolios have underperformed. Financials are fully valued after a big, recent run. He suggests buying part of this and part of an equal-weight bank ETF.

The chart is bumpy, though you could have rebalanced along the way for upside. It's a volatile asset class. QETH does staking with Ethereum, which provides a bit of a yield. Continue to be exposed to cryptos.

It gives exposure to large-, small-caps and actual uranium. Tailwinds are the shift to nuclear power and demand for power to power AI data centres.

Gives exposure to markets beyond the US, a good way to diversify away from an S&P-centric world.

A covered call on T-bills. This distribution of 17.21% is suspiciously too high. A few things to consider: you cover-write the bonds here, so you won't capture a bounce in bond prices.

US banks have been on fire, though valuations are higher. Interest rate margins are good. Do you expect banks to outperform? He suggests holding 25% in ZUB and 75% in the diversified S&P. It depends on how confident you are about the US banks.