Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, I notice that in Canadian Wealth Advisor you recommended the SPDR S&P 500 ETF. Why would this be better than the iShares XSP, which is hedged to the Canadian dollar. Are they not the same?

Article Excerpt

A: No one can consistently predict currency movements, but we still feel that most investors should remain invested in U.S. stocks. Note that even if the U.S. dollar should fall against the Canadian dollar, your U.S. stocks can still appreciate in value even while the currency sags. But addressing your question specifically, if you want to buy U.S. stocks and hedge against currency movements, you can buy a hedged ETF. Hedged funds are ETFs sold in Canada that hold U.S. stocks. They are hedged against movements of the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar. That means the ETF’s Canadian-dollar value rises and falls solely with the movements of the stocks in its portfolio. For example, if an ETF rises 10% on, say, the New York exchange, but also rises a further 5% for Canadian investors due to the rise of the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar, a holder of the hedged version of that ETF would only see a 10% rise in…