STOCKCHASE

0.020

India has announced about a month and a half ago they would pick up on the IMF gold sale. He is bullish on Gold long term, but there will be a lot of volatility. If China changes their building codes, it will impact lumber sector. It could be 50% of the Canadian lumber industry, but he would not invest in timber companies directly. He is positive on lumber if building codes change in China. Gold is a global currency and an economic hedge and risk of US economy and dollar.

2009-12-02

Comment

0.020

Fixed Income ETFs: Look at the duration of the exposure (the average term). If you have a longer duration and interest rates rise, you will have more sensitivity and your price will fall. You want lower duration if you believe interest rates are going up. If outside an RRSP, look at CAB-T because it has a tax advantaged income to it. If it is inside, look at XBB, XSB (short term), CLF-T (gov’t bonds), or CBO-T (corporate bonds).

2009-12-02

Comment

0.020

Explain the movement patters of ETF’s: You have to look at what the ETF is investing in. For example in Commodities, there are really 3 baskets: Equity Commodities e.g. XGD-T (gold commodity stocks); Gold futures; and Physical Gold, stored in a vault (spot price). These gold ETFs will act very differently from one another. 1x ETFs mirror the index, but leveraged and commodity ETFs might be a little different.

2009-12-02

Comment

0.020

Two classes of shares – common and advisor. The advisor fund pays the advisor a trailer fee and has a higher management fee.

2009-12-02

TOP PICK

0.020

Rebalancing portfolio mix: There was a strong run in equity markets in the last 9 months. It is critical that investors look that they are balanced and not overweight in any equity class. Prepare in case of a market downturn.

2009-12-02

TOP PICK

0.020

Dividend Based Equity. Likes to see an equity position as a dividend-paying stock, since there may be a re-trenchment over the next couple of months.

2009-12-02

TOP PICK

iShares DEX All Govt Bond ETF

0.020

Gold: Will see $1300 soon. Gold is a very attractive asset. If we do see some re-trenchment and some US$ appreciation, all assets will come down, but gold will hold up much better. Loves the long-term fundamentals of gold.

2009-12-02

BUY

XGB-T

20.800

Longer duration bonds, more sensitive to rising interest rates. If you are looking at 1-3 years to invest, then lighten up this one and go CLF-T. If you are going 10 years and looking for income, XGB is fine.

2009-12-02

Comment

HBP S&P/TSX 60 Bear+ ETF

HXD-T

12.380

This is an inverse ETF and so there is erosion of capital when it re-calibrates.

2009-12-02

Comment

iShares Cdn Div & Income ETF

CDZ-T

18.060

Dividend Product with Russell Metals and banks.

2009-12-02

Comment

Horizons Alphapro Gartman Fund

8.150

Leveraged 2x daily return of natural gas commodity. It buys futures. At the end of each day, you re-balance the portfolio. There is a drag on it so when there is volatility; there is a drag on your returns if you hold long term. Use them for daily trading vehicles.

2009-12-02

SELL

HAG-T

9.160

It was a closed end fund that converted to an ETF. It is actively managed by Gartman. It is not performing.

2009-12-02

BUY

iUnits S&P/TSX 60 ETF

XIU-T

16.620

iUnits S&P TSE 60 E.T.F. Very low cost. This will give you the broad benchmark index.

2009-10-05

Comment

iShares S&P/TSX Capped REIT

XRE-T

10.670

iShares S&P/TSX REIT ETF. Gives you a handful of Canadian REIT companies that give tax efficient income.

2009-10-05

TOP PICK

0.020

Rebalancing portfolio mix. There has been a big run-up in the equity market and people have benefited from it. You should be looking at your portfolio and the asset mix to make sure it is in line.

2009-10-05

TOP PICK

0.020

Dividend biased equities. Dividends are an important part of any equity exposure. Equities have come very far and there is some downside risk. You want to focus on good companies that have a consistency of paying good dividends, have good cash flow and growing dividends.

2009-10-05

TOP PICK

iShares DEX Universe Bond ETF

0.020

Hard asset commodities. Consider currency risk of the US$ and inflation. Look at the diversification in your portfolio such as gold, silver and hard asset commodities. They can add a lot of value to your portfolio.

2009-10-05

Comment

XBB-T

29.710

iUnits Cdn Bond Market. A great bond exposure index. At some point over the next couple of years, interest rates will be higher so consider diversifying into shorter duration bonds and/or corporate or real return bonds.

2009-10-05

BUY

iShares Cdn Dividend ETF

XDV-T

18.310

IUnits Dividend ETF. Management fee of .6% or less.

2009-10-05

Comment

iShares S&P/TSX Preferred ETF

CPD-T

16.600

ETF that invests across Canadian preferred shares. Preferreds are attractive because of the tax efficiency of the dividend. Last year, spreads widened considerably so there was a big dip earlier this year but have now come back very nicely. Long-term, preferreds are fantastic for dividends but will not give you huge returns. Doesn't expect they will give you more than 5%-7% long-term. Wouldn't use in a registered account.

2009-10-05

Comment

iShares Canadian Financial Monthly Income E.T.F.

FIE.A-T

6.790

Canadian balanced financial ETF with banks, bonds and preferreds. Very high income that comes from the underlying portfolio as well as return of capital.

2009-10-05

BUY

iShares Cdn Div & Income ETF

CDZ-T

17.480

Canadian dividend and income ETF. Management fee of .6% or less.

2009-10-05

Comment

iShares Cdn Corp Bond ETF

XCB-T

20.410

iShares Cdn Corp Bond ETF. Great vehicle. Can be used in a registered account.

2009-10-05

BUY

iShares Cdn Fundamental ETF

CRQ-T

10.570

Canadian Fundamental ETF. Top ranked Canadian equity fund over the last 3 years. Management fee of .6% or less.

2009-10-05

Comment

HBP NYMEX Natural Gas Bear+ etf

HND-T

4.680

Global Mining Bear+ ETF. Based on the Canadian mining index. If you have a negative view of the mining sector, this will give you the negative inverse. Don't think of them as long-term but as less than a month or else you have deviations from your 2X return.

2009-10-05

Comment

iShares Natural Gas Commodity ETF

GAS-T

5.040

A short-month natural gas commodity product and is based on the Alberta Exchange Gas contract. It is basically a physical gas play. Realize you are investing in volatile commodity. You also have catango, which is the rolling of spot contracts from one month to the next. Right now natural gas and oil have high catangos.

2009-08-19

TOP PICK

0.020

(3 Top Picks theme is on rebalancing portfolios.) There has been a nice run on the markets including equity markets and Corporate bonds. You now need to make sure you have rebalanced your portfolio, which may mean selling some of your winners.

2009-08-19

TOP PICK

0.020

(3 Top Picks theme is on rebalancing portfolios.) Preferred shares have had a very strong run in the last 2, 3 months. These are very attractive tax effective dividend vehicles. These are great things to pick away at for the income.

2009-08-19

TOP PICK

0.020

(3 Top Picks theme is on rebalancing portfolios.) Hard asset commodities. Believes in the inflation story and a declining US$. In both of these scenarios, hard assets like gold and silver will benefit from that.

2009-08-19

Comment

iUnits Real Return Bond ETF

0.020

Uranium ETFs? There are no ETFs that are exclusively uranium. You could look at Uranium Participation (U-) that is really ownership of physical uranium. If you believe in nuclear energy, it is an interesting area to participate in.

2009-08-19

PAST TOP PICK

XRB-T

19.730

(A Top Pick Aug 19/08. Down 4.4%.)

2009-08-19

BUY

iShares BRIC ETF

CBQ-T

24.990

BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) ETF. The faster, and probably more developed countries in the emerging markets. Every growth-oriented investor should have exposure to emerging economies but shouldn't represent a major portion of a portfolio.

2009-08-19

BUY

iShares S&P/TSX Global Mining E.T.F.

CMW-T

16.850

Broad mining, which has gold and silver but also has base metals such as uranium, coal, etc. Nice rod mining play.

2009-08-19

PAST TOP PICK

iShares Global Agriculture ETF

COW-T

17.610

(A Top Pick Aug 19/08. Down 23%.)

2009-08-19

Comment

HBP Financials Inverse ETF

3.250

Natural Gas Bull+ ETF? Leveraged ETF based on twice the daily movement of the market on natural gas. Natural gas is volatile and you also have catango. In addition this is a leveraged product dealing with the daily rebalancing of gas. Volatility and catango, when very high, can really affect that leverage rebalancing so this has to be a day-trading product.

2009-08-19

Comment

HIF-T

10.730

Financials Inverse ETF. If you believe the financials have had an aggressive run, which they have had, this would be one you would consider taking a position in as a hedge against a potential downside. Basically a Short on financials.

2009-08-19

BUY

iShares Broad Emerging Market ETF

CWO-T

25.800

Broad emerging market ETF. This is hedged against the US$ so it eliminates some of the currency risks. Every growth-oriented investor should have exposure to emerging economies but shouldn't represent a major portion of a portfolio.

2009-08-19

BUY

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets

XEM-T

21.670

Broad emerging market ETF unhedged against the US$. Every growth-oriented investor should have exposure to emerging economies but shouldn't represent a major portion of a portfolio.

2009-08-19

BUY

Blackrock Silver Bullion Trust

SVR.UN-T

9.400

Pure physical silver and will trade based on premiums and discounts to NAV. A great product for investors. Hedged out the US$ risk. If you believe in the price of commodities going up and the US$ falling, this is a great way to take that exposure.

2009-08-19

Comment

iShares Natural Gas Commodity ETF

GAS-T

7.430

Natural Gas. If you like gas and you want to hold it in your portfolio for a few weeks this will give you that exposure.

2009-06-26

BUY

iUnits S&P Financial

XFN-T

19.810

iUnits S&P Financial. Includes many other assets besides banks. This is a good index for tracking Canadian banks. If you believe in an economic recovery, this could be not a bad place to be leveraged. It can also be a defensive play. 4%-5% in dividends plus 1% or 2% growth is not a bad return.

2009-06-26

Comment

SPDR Gold ETF

GLD-N

92.290

The problem is that when the US$ falls gold appreciates and your return in Cdn is zero. If you have a strong view against the US$ you should use the Claymore Gold Bullion Trust (CGL.UN-T). If you don't, you could use this either one.

2009-06-26

TOP PICK

0.020

High-quality corporate bonds. Single A, AA or potentially BBB is the right place to be right now. Spreads have come in a lot but if you're looking for fixed income this is the right place to be. Moving into the 4th quarter, moving into some of the lower investment grades for a little bit more risk but better yield is going to be coming in. Default rates have been increasing as expected but think they will peak out in the 2nd half, which should give a very strong opportunity.

2009-06-26

TOP PICK

0.020

Value Biased Equity. Thinks that the equity market still has some potential strong room for growth. Looking at the last 18 months growth has really outperformed value stocks. Consider any of the dividend ETF's.

2009-06-26

TOP PICK

iShares S&P/TSX Global Mining E.T.F.

0.020

Hard Asset Commodities. In the event of inflation and devaluation of the US dollar, hard assets will be a big rotation area for portfolios. Likes gold a lot but likes silver even more.

2009-06-26

BUY

CMW-T

16.270

Claymore S&P/TSX Global Mining ETF is a nice play on the broad mining sector including basic commodities and precious metals. He is quite bullish on equities going into the 2nd half and commodities are good place to be right now.

2009-06-26

BUY

iShares Canadian Financial Monthly Income E.T.F.

FIE.A-T

6.520

Balanced ETF that includes banks and all the financials as well as preferreds and corporate bonds.

2009-06-26

BUY

iShares Equal Weight Bank & Lifeco ETF

CEW-T

6.400

ETF that includes 6 banks and 4 lifecos.

2009-06-26

Comment

6.350

Natural Gas Bull+. Leveraged ETF’s have an objective of giving you daily returns 2X the daily movement (up or down). For a short-term trader and can take risks it could be a potential strategy you could use. If you like gas and you want to hold it in your portfolio for a few weeks you might prefer Natural Gas (GAS-T).

2009-06-26

Comment

HBP Energy Bull+ E.T.F.

HEU-T

6.110

Energy Bull+ ETF. Based on the physical oil crude commodity contract. If you are an investor, this is really not for you. Leveraged at 2X the market. Really for day trading. He would suggest the US Oil Fund ETF (USO-N) of the same oil commodity.

2009-06-26

Comment

iShares Gold Bullion ETF

CGL-T

9.050

Gold bullion closed end fund that is based on holding physical gold bullion. Actually a hedged exposure and a great way to play the US$. If you have a strong view against the US$ this is the one he would use. If you don't, you could use this or SPDR Gold ETF (GLD-N).

2009-06-26

Comment

HBP DJ AIG Gr Bull+ ETF

HAU-T (Dead)

21.250

NYMEX Oil Bull ETF. Based on the S&P/TSX Energy Index, which is energy stocks, energy companies across oil and gas companies. If you are an investor, this is really not for you. Leveraged at 2X the market. Really for day trading. He would suggest the iUnits S&P/TSX Energy ETF (XEG-T), which is based on the same index but not leveraged.

2009-06-26

Comment

0.020

There’s nothing surprising about any of the comments coming out of the IMF. We are a small cog in the wheel of the global economy. Everyone is getting a little ahead of themselves in the rally. There’s lots of negative scenarios – printing money, unclear earnings, all lagging indicators and the question is: what will it look like in 6 months. People are getting to a comfort level. Thinks we are at the stage where we see turnaround. It’s time to dollar cost average. Markets are picking up a bit.

2009-04-22

WAIT

0.020

Natural Gas: Seen a significant decline in Natural gas. At some point the price will increase. Would not play a leveraged product.

2009-04-22

Comment

0.020

There are active and passive ETFs. You have to buy them for the strategy that they use. Feels active management does not add a lot to performance.

2009-04-22

Comment

0.020

Inverse ETFs can be bought in registered accounts, but there are more sophisticated ways to do the same thing in a registered account.

2009-04-22

TOP PICK

0.020

High Quality Corporate Bonds: He is seeing spreads inching up over the last couple of weeks. Probably get 2-4% above government bonds. Your still early in this game

2009-04-22

TOP PICK

0.020

Value-Based Equity: Value stocks are beaten down more than the growth stocks. Growth area has higher valuations.

2009-04-22

TOP PICK

0.020

Preferred Shares: You have widening of spreads. They are trading well below their par values. Yields to maturity are quite attractive. Tax-efficient income.

2009-04-22

Comment

HBP Global Gold Bull+ ETF

0.020

Companies offering the ETF: When you buy the ETF you have no risk of the parent company going bankrupt or being bought out.

2009-04-22

BUY

iShares Cdn Dividend ETF

XDV-T

14.790

Dividend ETF. Pays a nice monthly income of 5%. Also see CDZ-T

2009-04-22

BUY

HGU-T

9.690

He is a bull on gold. Would not short it. It will increase regardless of recovery. Lots of other factors driving gold. Gold is an under invested vehicle and he sees it as a major part of portfolios.

2009-04-22

BUY

iShares Cdn Div & Income ETF

CDZ-T

14.350

Dividend ETF. Pays a nice monthly income of 5%. Also see XDV-T

2009-04-22

BUY

iShares Cdn Corp Bond ETF

XCB-T

19.290

Good product without buying corporate bonds at the retail level. Same for CBO-T

2009-04-22

Comment

HBP NYMEX Oil Bull+ ETF

HOU-T

5.250

You’re buying a leveraged product that is a daily leveraged structure. Reality is that if you are a long-term investor you will never get the same price. As oil goes up and you buy new contracts each month, you are investing in less and less oil and this puts a drag on your returns. You can’t look at spot price over the term of your investment. Don’t hold these products beyond 30 days. If longer buy the non-leveraged product.

2009-04-22

BUY

iShares 1-5 yr Ladder Corp Bond ETF

CBO-T

20.450

Inverse ETFs can be bought in registered accounts, but there are more sophisticated ways to do the same thing in a registered account. Same for XCB-T

2009-04-22

Comment

iUnits S&P Financial

XFN-T

14.170

Covers the S&P/TSX financial services Index. Banks make up the predominant share of the index along with insurance companies. You could also look at the Claymore Equal Weight Bank & Lifeco (CEW-T), which is probably a more pure play on banks and lifecos. They're going to give you a very similar exposure. If you like financials this is a good way to play them. Preferred shares might be a better way to play the banks in the short-term.

2009-03-13

Comment

0.020

Leveraging the US$ against the Canadian$ there is either the HBP US$ Bull+ (HDU-T) or HBP US$ Bear.

2009-03-13

TOP PICK

0.020

High-quality corporate bonds. The credit spreads in the marketplace are wider than we have seen in a long time. There is a fear in the market of default but if you stick to the higher-quality companies, it is a great opportunity. Bonds will lead the equity market.

2009-03-13

TOP PICK

0.020

Value-biased equities. If you are looking to get into the market and you like the valuations, the growth side has outperformed over the last 18-20 months to a point where the price/book ratio of value stocks to growth stocks is at its widest point in history.

2009-03-13

TOP PICK

iShares Equal Weight Bank & Lifeco ETF

0.020

Preferred shares. Great opportunity in terms of spreads, but also have precedence over common equity. Expect some spread tightening, which will give you, price appreciation.

2009-03-13

Comment

CEW-T

4.540

Equal weighted bank and lifecos. You could also look at the iUnits S&P Financial Index (XFN-T). They're going to give you a very similar exposure. If you like financials this is a good way to play them. Preferred shares might be a better way to pay the banks in the short-term.

2009-03-13

DON'T BUY

HBP NYMEX Oil Bull+ ETF

HOU-T

5.730

The problem with leveraged products is you can't guess where they are going. Don't give long-term performance, only daily. You have to be a day trader on these things.

2009-03-13

Comment

Currency Share Canadian Dollar ETF

FXC-N

78.540

Trades the US$ against the Canadian$. Not leveraged but are a one to one ratio.

2009-03-13

Comment

iShares 1-5 yr Ladder Corp Bond ETF

CBO-T

20.280

1 to 4 year laddered corporate bonds. The minimum rating of the bonds is A so there are no BBB bonds. It is staggered in terms of the maturity.

2009-03-13

DON'T BUY

HAP S&P/TSX 60 ETF

HAX-T (Dead)

8.780

Actively managed, not passively managed ETF. His concern is that he doesn't think the product will beat the benchmark. Very expensive management fee of 70 basis points plus a performance fee.

2009-03-13

TOP PICK

0.020

(His 3 Top Picks are sector based.) High-quality corporate bonds. When there is a market recovery, corporate bond spreads will tighten and they will benefit first and then you'll see the equity markets appreciate.

2009-01-07

TOP PICK

0.020

(His 3 Top Picks are sector based.) Blue-chip dividend equities. Valuations on some of the best companies are very low and attractive. If you are looking at 3, 5, 10 years down the road this is an opportunity to buy companies at extremely attractive valuations.

2009-01-07

TOP PICK

iShares MSCI Emerging Market ETF

0.020

(His 3 Top Picks are sector based.) Global agriculture. Great opportunity to take advantage of supply/demand fundamentals through the purchase of great companies.

2009-01-07

DON'T BUY

India Fund Inc.

IFN-N

17.560

This is a closed end fund, not an ETF. Good thing about a closed end fund is that it trades at a good discount but very illiquid so it may never trade at a premium or get close to its NAV. For an ETF of India, he would suggest Wisdom Tree India Earnings (EPI-N), which focuses on dividends. There is also PowerShares India ETF (PIN-N).

2009-01-07

Comment

EEM-N

25.540

Based on the emerging markets index. This is a great ETF but there is another one at a cost of only about one third, Vanguard Emerging (VWO-N).

2009-01-07

BUY

iShares S&P/TSX Preferred ETF

CPD-T

14.800

Based on the S&P/TSX preferred share index. While diversified. A nice way to get liquid exposure. Yield is probably in the 5.5%-6% area.

2009-01-07

Comment

Morgan Stanley India Investments FD

5.290

2X leveraged NYMX natural gas. If natural gas prices increased, this would give a leveraged exposure but on a daily basis. Good trades but only for short trading periods. Longer you hold it, the more off you are going to be because of daily re-leveraging. Natural gas is the most volatile asset class globally.

2009-01-07

Comment

HBP NYMEX Oil Bull+ ETF

HOU-T

11.650

2X leveraged NYMX crude on the daily movement. Very volatile. For these types of products, you want to make sure you have a very short time horizon.

2009-01-07

DON'T BUY

IIF-N

13.030

2009-01-07

Comment

iShares Growth Core E.T.F.

XGR-T

20.500

This is an ETF wrap that contains other ETF's. Great product. Growth portfolio. The only concern he has is that it has a lot of US exposure.

2009-01-07

Comment

iUnits S&P/TSX 60 ETF

XIU-T

12.800

S&P TSE 60. Use for long-term, low-cost Canadian equity exposure. You could also consider Claymore Cdn Fundamental (CRQ-T).

2008-12-12

Comment

iUnits S&P Financial

XFN-T

15.560

Covers the market cap weighted index. Banks are predominant. If you like financial services, this is a good way to play it. You could also use the Claymore Equal Weight Bank & Lifeco (CEW-T).

2008-12-12

TOP PICK

0.020

High Quality Corporate Bonds: Corporate bond spreads have increased so nicely that there is an opportunity to take advantage of quality companies paying attractive yields. Leave equities until the market starts to recover

2008-12-12

TOP PICK

0.020

Blue-Chip Dividend Growth Equities: Focus on quality, long-term companies that pay dividends and have sustainable growth.

2008-12-12

TOP PICK