Q: Hello Pat: Could I have your opinion please on CGFX, a gold ETF containing the largest gold miners. It pays a distribution yielding around 9%. They do this by writing covered calls on the portfolio. Too good to be true? Thanks.

A: The CI First Asset Gold+ Giants Covered Call ETF, $9.59, symbol CGXF on Toronto (Units outstanding: 13.3 million; Market cap: $127.5 million; www.firstasset.com), holds an equal-weighted portfolio of the 15 largest gold and precious-metal companies as measured by market capitalization. Each is listed on… Read More

Here are new ETFs for Canadian investors

This month we feature a very high-yielding financial services ETF from Hamilton Capital Partners, and a top-performing North American value equity ETF from RBC.
HAMILTON CANADIAN FINANCIALS YIELD MAXIMIZER ETF $13.12 (Toronto symbol HMAX) invests in the top 10 Canadian financial services companies as measured by their total… Read More

A Yield to Caution: Canoe EIT Income Fund

CANOE EIT INCOME FUND $13 (Toronto symbol EIT.UN; Units o/s: 171.4 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; Divd. yield: 9.2%; www.canoefinancial.com) is a closed-end fund that invests in a portfolio of dividend paying stocks. Canadian stocks account for 56.1% of its holdings, followed by the U.S. at 41.3%.
Canoe… Read More

Q: Pat: Could I have your recommendation on Harvest Healthcare ETF (HHL): The ETF has a very high dividend. Is this ETF a good choice for income?

A: Harvest Healthcare Leaders Income ETF, $7.79, symbol HHL on Toronto, (Units outstanding: 156.0 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; www.harvestportfolios.com), holds a portfolio of 20 large-cap global healthcare companies. The fund’s manager selected them based on their perceived potential to provide attractive monthly income and… Read More

A Yield to Caution: Brompton Lifeco Split Corp.

BROMPTON LIFECO SPLIT CORP. $5.74 (Toronto symbol LCS; Shares outstanding: 8.2 million; Market cap: $47.0 million; Dividend yield: 15.3%; www.bromptongroup.com) holds shares of Canada’s four largest publicly listed life insurance companies .
These are Sun Life Financial, Manulife Financial, Great-West Lifeco and iA Financial. The company holds the… Read More

The risks and rewards of high-yielding ETFs

Exchange-traded funds offering regular income have grown in popularity lately, especially during the low interest rate years of 2020 to 2021. But with interest rates moving higher over the past 18 months, ETF managers have to become more creative in their efforts to offer appealing… Read More

High-yield ETFs—two buys, one avoid

High interest rates mean dividend-paying stocks must increasingly compete for investor interest with bonds and other fixed-income instruments. However, focusing on sustainable dividends still offers an attractive and growing income stream for investors—as long as you avoid the riskier strategies that some ETF managers use… Read More

A 12-point checklist for finding quality ETFs

The best ETFs offer low fees and diverse exposure to several companies operating in an economy or a specific industry or region. They don’t, however, eliminate market volatility, although their diversity usually cuts your risk of permanent loss. ETFs can also cut down research time… Read More