David CockfieldVangrd Dividend Appr. E.T.F.VIGPAST TOP PICKDec 05, 2014

He used two US dividend ETFs: VYM-N and VIG-N. VYM screens companies for their absolute yields, thus overweights financials VIG looks for companies that have increased dividends for the last 10 years and overweight them, which is more cyclical. It's a decent, long-term core holding. Nothing exciting.

VIG vs. VGG in a non-taxable account? And will the CAD go down? The USD won't go down, but he won't speculate on currencies' directions. It's impossible. But BIG is great. VGG is the Canadian one and you can buy it, but there's an extra cost with it. He prefers VIG, the USD one.

(A Top Pick April 10/15. Up 2.27%.) This holds a number of big US companies that have a record of steadily increasing dividends. This is a good way to get into the US market on a conservative basis.

(A Top Pick April 10/15. Down 1.64%.) A little bit of a disappointment, but it has had a reasonable yield. Since then, he has shifted his emphasis to BMO Low Volatility US Equity (ZLU-T).

(A Top Pick Jan 22/15. Down 0.08%.) He is moving out of this because it hasn’t given him much of a kick for the US.

(A Top Pick Oct 10/14. Up .04%.) This hasn’t performed as well as he had anticipated. Once there is the 1^st increase in US interest rates, he thinks dividend stocks will do better. Most of his investments in the US are through ETF’s. Thinks the Cdn$ will continue to be weak.

These are companies that grow their dividends, and in this case, he is showing a little bit of bias towards the US markets. This has a significant number of stocks. Their largest weightings are consumer goods, services, industrials and healthcare. Has a small dividend. A very conservative type of investment.

Thinks the Canadian dollar will continue to be weak. You should have some US participation in your portfolio. It has all the big names in it.

Dividend appreciation is a thing that is a little bit gimmicky, but it is broadly diversified, low cost and doing exactly what it is supposed to do. This can be used as a long-term hold.

He sees the US market as offering specific opportunities at specific times. The dividend appreciation is one that he has used extensively with his clients who want exposure. A very high quality company. Well diversified and quite a conservative portfolio. A good place to have a piece of the US market. Yield of 2.45%.

(A Top Pick June 7/13. Up 14.67%.) These are people that increase their dividend on a regular basis. Yield is not that high, but the names in the list are all very good, long-standing dividend payers in the US.

(His 3 Picks are all ETFs and a good way for the average investor to get into some part of the market with a fair amount of safety and diversification.) A good way to participate in the US market. Thinks the US market is going to continue to make good headway. This consists of companies that have shown a good ability and the desire to increase their dividends on a regular basis.