John HoodBMO EQUAL WEIGHT BANKS INDEX ETFZEB.TOTOP PICKSep 16, 2011

Low MER, but not a good performance the past few years. Banks hit by rising interest rates. Good time to buy given low valuation. Would recommend adding slowly. 

Only the big 6, nothing simpler. Bellwether, the biggest. BMO did cut the fee a bit to 28 bps, but there are cheaper ones. If you're considering starting a new position, try HBNK, which has a fee waiver for the next little bit. No need to swap out of ZEB if you already hold it.

Before jumping in to either, consider how much bank exposure you may already have in your other index funds.

Attractive prices for Canadian banks. Believes price levels of banks becoming attractive. Good time to buy. 

Not a bad idea to start nibbling at the Canadian banks now. Doesn't know the MER offhand, but it is relatively low. You're better off owning the banks themselves, which will eventually rebound to new highs. Prefers TD and RY.

6 largest Canadian banks on a fairly equal weight basis. Likes the Canadian banks, decent growth rate. Canadian banks have cheap valuations, especially on price to book. Not as exciting as tech or cyclical names, but you'll get more of a stable ride. Pretty good yield of 5.1%.

HBNK is an alternative. Pretty much the same makeup as ZEB, but offering 0% management fees until next summer.

Banks are down 20%+. This is what he'd buy, without the covered call, because he wants the growth at this point. Yield is around 3.5%, instead of 6%, but he doesn't care as he wants the growth, and we're going to see that with the Canadian banks despite headwinds in terms of US real estate. Canadian banks have all kinds of buffers in place. Loan loss problems in Canada are actually pretty small.

We would be quite comfortable owning Canadian banks today. The Canadian financial space continues to be one of the more robust across the globe, and their lending standards are considered to be quite high. While challenging economic events are putting downward pressure on earnings, we feel that an eventual turnaround in the macro outlook will be a benefit to these names down the road. Canadian banks continue to pay high dividend yields and have long track records of returning value to shareholders. While there may be some near-term or intermediate downward price pressure on these names, for an investor with a long-term timeframe, we would be comfortable owning the Canadian banks here.
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Banks now may not be star performers as in the last 30 years. Interest rates are rising now and could stay this way for a while. Loan loss provisions will increase in a weakening economy. But of this class, he likes ZEB and ZWB (a covered call one for income) which he prefers, because he expects banks to be sideways and the covered call will enhance returns. You could buy a combination of the two.

Canadian banks due well over long term.
Banking at top of cycle - as a result- banks not performing.
Financial sector concerns weighing on share price.
Hold on shares.

Offer good value now. Multiples are still past book value, but not 2x+. Also, they pay attractive yields. Our banking system differs from the US which has many regionals. He owns individual banks, not ETFs.

Good way to get exposure on Canadian banks.
Relatively stable and defensive name.
Large banks are safe.
Not as much volatility.