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? The U.S. dollar’s rise against the Canadian dollar this year has me thinking it could fall.

Article Excerpt

A: No one can consistently predict currency movements. However, a hedged fund pays that fee whenever it has a hedge in place to avoid currency losses, regardless of whether the hedge produces a gain or a loss for the fund. Note that even if the U.S. dollar falls in relation to the Canadian dollar, your U.S. stocks can still appreciate despite the change in currency values. 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 include 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, without regard to changes in the exchange values of the two currencies. For example, if an ETF rises 10% on, say, the New York exchange, and the U.S. dollar rises 5% in…