BMO Equal Weight US Banks ETF (ZBK.TO)

US Financials ETF? Banks insurance companies, etc. The list is too long to mention. The US financial regional banks have underperformed relative to the broader market. Get an ETF like ZUB-T that is hedged. He thinks these are attractive. ZBK-T gives you exposure unhedged in US$.

There were 2 boosts to the sector. First was the Trump boost and the 2^nd was when they did the capital tests, which most of the banks passed with flying colours. It has been moving sideways now because everybody is not so sure if rates are going to be rising as much as had been hoped.

2 ETF’s holding US bank stocks? He holds BMO Equal Weight US Banks (ZBK-T). Thinks that conditions in the US are very positive for their banks, because he expects there will be loan growth. If the federal reserve decides to tamper a bit with the longer and of the yield curve, there will be an upward lift in the 10-year. He is bullish on the US banks and this is a way he would go.

(Top Pick Mar 14’16, Up 45%) He likes the American Banks. He likes them even if they were a bit soft. Probably interest rates will rise. He is using the unhedged version of the ETF.

An equal weight of US banks and includes some regional banks along with some of the big banks. He would prefer to own the larger market cap weighted ETF’s, such as XLF-N.

(A Top Pick Sept 23/15. Up 35.44%.) Thinks this will continue on. It is a core holding for him.

The US banking sector has been the most unloved sector. Thinks it is going to get more interesting. The big pressure on margins has been a flat yield curve, and it is hard to loan out and make any money. Thinks an overweight in banks is going to be the way to go.

US banks were hit very hard in the 1^st quarter. Because his families are over the $5.5 million level, they can’t really own US stocks directly. This is a great compromise. It has more of a bias towards super regionals in the US, but still has some money centres. Thinks that in the next 3-5 years, you are going to see a lot of the big banks divest themselves of their investment bankers, and even maybe some of the asset managers.

(A Top Pick June 29/15. Up 5.83%.) Likes the US banks and thinks they are going to lead next year. This sector and some of the momentum tech names are probably going to be the places to be next year. Still a Buy. Continue to hold for another year.

With every marginal dollar he is investing, he is starting to look for hedged positions. Has been unhedged on purpose for 2 or 3 years and it has worked really well. Continue to hold, but keep an eye on the currency. Still has a lot of momentum.

US Bank equal weight ETF. He is out of it at the moment. It has exposure to US dollars so he would prefer ZUB-T which hedges the currency out. He does not like the US banks right now, however. He would get back in when it gets back to the bottom of his range.

(A Top Pick June 29/15. Down 4.95%.) Banks have had a very poor year in general. You are going to have higher interest rates. When interest rates go higher, the banking sector is one of the best ways to hedge that. If you own, continue to Hold.

You should be in American banks because their housing market is recovering and the Fed is going to raise interest rates. When that yield curve steepens out, everybody will be back to American banks.

This dropped down to the 200 day moving average and has bounced up a little. He likes financials, and is one of the sectors he is focusing on in the US. As interest rates start to move higher, a lot of the legacy issues in terms of litigation, etc. are now behind some of the big money centered banks. He likes the space and will probably start accumulating shares in the banking sector.

This is the equal way to play the banks and it is unhedged. If you like US$’s and exposure, which he doesn’t, this gives you the same holdings as the equal weight bank index (ZUB-T). Right now the Cdn$ might get a couple of cents weaker, but if looking for an investment for the next 5 years, and you like the US banks, the Cdn$ is almost certainly going to recover when oil recovers, you want to hedge the currency, and ZUB would be the way to do that.