SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images What Is ZSP:CA? The BMO S&P 500 Index ETF ( ZSP:CA ) is a passively managed exchange-traded fund (also known as an ETF) with a NAV of $24 billion CAD that invests in large-cap American listed stocks, with additional minor exposure (under 3%) in global equities outside of the U.S. BMO, and most of the 5 banks, try to provide the same scale of offerings that Amer...
SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images What Is ZSP:CA? The BMO S&P 500 Index ETF ( ZSP:CA ) is a passively managed exchange-traded fund (also known as an ETF) with a NAV of $24 billion CAD that invests in large-cap American listed stocks, with additional minor exposure (under 3%) in global equities outside of the U.S. BMO, and most of the 5 banks, try to provide the same scale of offerings that American fund managers like Vanguard and BlackRock do, and I think they provide cleaner ways to do so in one's portfolio in Canada. BMO's passive offering is very liquid, tracks the S&P 500 very closely, and has a small expense ratio, making it an easy way to get U.S. exposure in Canada. This article seeks to compare this offering with some other larger American fund offerings. ZSP:CA's benchmark target is the S&P 500 ( SPY ). The fund has not materially deviated from its benchmark while also presenting less volatility during selloffs, with a beta of 0.99. The Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF ( VFV:CA ) or the iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF ( XUS:CA ) are other similar hedged alternatives, while ZSP:CA is not. I rate it a Hold because it's unhedged, and I anticipate the Canadian dollar improving given oil strength and geopolitical shifts away from U.S. dominance, so the fund would drag a bit in performance. Additionally, the S&P 500 feels a bit stretched, so I believe there are other tailored, sector-focused, and geography-focused ETFs that may be better fits. Fund Breakdown ZSP:CA was launched on Nov. 14, 2012 , by BMO with a plan to create a diversified, easily tradable fund that invested in highly liquid U.S. companies with growth upside. The ETF has successfully tracked the S&P 500 for over 13 years now, showing almost identical returns with a slightly lower beta. The fund has an expense ratio of just 0.09%, in line with VFV:CA and slightly above XUS:CA, which is at 0.08% . Additionally, the fund has lots of liquidity, with daily volumes averaging over 116,000 shares traded, whic...
S&P Dow Jones Indices will keep its existing eligibility requirements for the S&P 500, rejecting proposals that would have made it faster for mega-cap companies such as SpaceX to gain rapid entry into the benchmark after going public. The index provider in a press release Thursday said it will not shorten the 12-month seasoning period for newly public companies it currently has or waive existing p...
S&P Dow Jones Indices will keep its existing eligibility requirements for the S&P 500, rejecting proposals that would have made it faster for mega-cap companies such as SpaceX to gain rapid entry into the benchmark after going public. The index provider in a press release Thursday said it will not shorten the 12-month seasoning period for newly public companies it currently has or waive existing profitability and public-float requirements based on a company’s size, diverging from a broader industry shift embraced by rivals Nasdaq Inc. and FTSE Russell . The decision follows a consultation launched earlier this year on whether the rules should be relaxed for exceptionally large initial public offerings in what has become known as the “fast entry” in industry parlance. Read more: SpaceX IPO Forces Wall Street to Reorganize Around It The outcome means SpaceX, which is preparing what could become the largest IPO in history, would not be eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500 until at least one year after its listing. The company would also need to satisfy the index’s existing requirements for profitability and public float. “I am genuinely surprised,” said James Seyffart , ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “But S&P is the market leader and they can buck the trend.” Nasdaq changed its rules recently so SpaceX can join the Nasdaq 100 Index, a cohort of the largest non-financial companies listed on its exchange, in just 15 trading days, down from a three-month minimum. FTSE Russell adopted a similar approach, shortening the waiting time to five trading days. The changes highlight pressure on index providers to adapt as companies stay private longer and go public at much larger valuations. The push for faster inclusion has raised concerns among some investors, who say adding IPOs too quickly could expose passive funds to greater volatility and force them to buy shares before reliable market pricing is fully established. Meanwhile, supporters say indexes should include m...
Offerpad Solutions ( OPAD ) announced on Thursday a 1-for-10 reverse stock split of its Class A common stock to support continued NYSE listing requirements. The split will become effective at 5:00 p.m. ET on June 8, 2026, with split-adjusted trading expected to begin on June 9, 2026, under the same ticker “OPAD.” Every 10 existing shares will be consolidated into 1 share, aiming to lift the per-sh...
Offerpad Solutions ( OPAD ) announced on Thursday a 1-for-10 reverse stock split of its Class A common stock to support continued NYSE listing requirements. The split will become effective at 5:00 p.m. ET on June 8, 2026, with split-adjusted trading expected to begin on June 9, 2026, under the same ticker “OPAD.” Every 10 existing shares will be consolidated into 1 share, aiming to lift the per-share price to meet exchange listing standards. Post-split, the company will adjust equity awards, incentive plans, and warrants, including proportional changes to share counts and exercise prices. Following the stock split announcement, shares crashed over ~19% at ~$0.60 in after-hours trading. Source: Press Release More on Offerpad Solutions Offerpad Solutions Inc. 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Offerpad Solutions Inc. (OPAD) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Offerpad targets 300 to 350 Q2 transactions as it builds toward ~1,000 per quarter in 2026 Offerpad Solutions Q1 2026 Earnings Preview Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Offerpad Solutions
Key PointsiShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF provides a higher trailing-12-month dividend yield than State Street SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF while charging a higher expense ratio.
Key PointsiShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF provides a higher trailing-12-month dividend yield than State Street SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF while charging a higher expense ratio.
China accused the United States of using “invented allegations” to justify its terrorism case against Cuba, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio told senators he needed no new evidence to tie the island to violent leftist groups across the western hemisphere. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Thursday that Washington could not justify its blockade and sanctions against the island, addi...
China accused the United States of using “invented allegations” to justify its terrorism case against Cuba, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio told senators he needed no new evidence to tie the island to violent leftist groups across the western hemisphere. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Thursday that Washington could not justify its blockade and sanctions against the island, adding that the decades-old embargo had wrecked Cuba’s economy. “China firmly supports Cuba in...
Nu Holdings (NYSE:NU), a digital banking provider in Latin America, closed Thursday at $12.12, up 4.12%. The stock moved higher after the board approved a new $1 billion share repurchase program. Investors are watching how the buyback offsets recent leadership and credit-risk con
Nu Holdings (NYSE:NU), a digital banking provider in Latin America, closed Thursday at $12.12, up 4.12%. The stock moved higher after the board approved a new $1 billion share repurchase program. Investors are watching how the buyback offsets recent leadership and credit-risk con
Jonathan Kitchen/DigitalVision via Getty Images FINN:CA Overview The Fidelity Global Innovators ETF ( FINN:CA ) is an actively managed exchange-traded fund listed on the CBOE Canadian exchange with a NAV of around $2.7 billion CAD. The fund invests in globally listed equities of companies that Fidelity believes are positioned to benefit from disruptive innovation and emerging technology, with a ma...
Jonathan Kitchen/DigitalVision via Getty Images FINN:CA Overview The Fidelity Global Innovators ETF ( FINN:CA ) is an actively managed exchange-traded fund listed on the CBOE Canadian exchange with a NAV of around $2.7 billion CAD. The fund invests in globally listed equities of companies that Fidelity believes are positioned to benefit from disruptive innovation and emerging technology, with a mandate that is more flexible and allows it to go beyond the typical large-cap U.S. tech playbook. Its benchmark is the NASDAQ Composite Index, and since launching in May 2023, it has beaten that benchmark convincingly. I own the TD Global Technology Leaders Index ETF ( TEC:CA ) and have written about it positively, but the more I look at FINN:CA, the more I think it's a really good vehicle for Canadian investors looking to ride the current market recovery with a broader mandate that still incorporates heavy tech themes. FINN:CA is one of the few examples where the active mandate has been unambiguously additive. Since its inception in May 2023, the fund has delivered a 35+% annualized return , which is a remarkable number for a fund this young. And while the market slid in March as the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, this fund was the first to start a sharp recovery as ceasefire hopes started to materialize. I wrote about this fund in April and felt that it was a compelling way to play the bounce and overwhelming fear in the market. I like the fund makeup, and if you're looking for a high-growth option, this has been a good fund recently, and I rate it a Buy. Fund Breakdown FINN:CA was launched on May 19, 2023, by Fidelity with a mandate to identify companies positioned to benefit from the application of innovative and emerging technologies or that employ innovative business models. Unlike a passive Nasdaq tracker, the fund has full discretion to buy, sell, or hold at any time and can invest across small-, mid-, and large-cap companies, including private offerings. With around...
monsitj/iStock via Getty Images Gold prices have been struggling, as market expectations around U.S. monetary policy have shifted dramatically since the Iran war began, but the metal will eventually break out of its current consolidation phase, Commerzbank commodity analyst Carsten Fritsch said Thursday in a note. Interest rate expectations have switched from a cut before the start of the conflict...
monsitj/iStock via Getty Images Gold prices have been struggling, as market expectations around U.S. monetary policy have shifted dramatically since the Iran war began, but the metal will eventually break out of its current consolidation phase, Commerzbank commodity analyst Carsten Fritsch said Thursday in a note. Interest rate expectations have switched from a cut before the start of the conflict to fully pricing in at least a 25-bp rate hike by spring 2027, prompting Fritsch to reduce his year-end price target to ~$4,800/oz from its initial target of $5K, implying some upside potential for the coming months, "as our new base-case scenario envisages a two-month transition period, followed by the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a decline in Brent oil prices, which should reverse the current expectations of interest rate hikes." Fritsch still sees potential for gold and does not expect the next Federal Reserve rate cut until at least Q2 2027. "We therefore maintain our price forecast of $5,200/oz for the end of 2027," Fritsch wrote. "The structural factors supporting gold remain entirely intact. These include eroding confidence in the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency, which is likely to lead to further gold purchases by central banks. Investor interest in gold is also likely to remain high. This is supported by the already high and rapidly rising levels of government debt, which are leading to monetary policy that is too loose when measured against inflation." Weaker industrial demand weighed on the bank's outlook for silver, forecasting ~$80/oz at year-end 2026 and ~$90/oz by the end of next year, down from a previous $95 target. Gold and silver gained Thursday as oil prices fell on a potential end to the U.S.-Iran conflict, which pressured the dollar and caused bond yields to fall, as traders hoped a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon could remove an obstacle in U.S.-Iran talks. Front-month Comex gold ( XAUUSD:CUR ) for June delivery added 0.9% to $4,475....
Christian Vinces/iStock via Getty Images Thesis Voya Emerging Markets High Dividend Equity Fund ( IHD ) is a closed-end fund we started covering at the beginning of 2026. The name represents an active take on emerging market equities using the closed-end fund structure. The fund comes from Voya and, for long periods of time, has traded with high discounts to net asset value. We are revisiting this...
Christian Vinces/iStock via Getty Images Thesis Voya Emerging Markets High Dividend Equity Fund ( IHD ) is a closed-end fund we started covering at the beginning of 2026. The name represents an active take on emerging market equities using the closed-end fund structure. The fund comes from Voya and, for long periods of time, has traded with high discounts to net asset value. We are revisiting this name in light of a recent corporate action that has opened up the possibility for an arbitrage trade in respect to IHD. What Does This CEF Do? Let us start with the basics, namely the objective and composition of the fund: Invests primarily in dividend producing equity securities of issuers located in emerging markets. Sells call options on selected ETFs and/or international, regional or country indices of equity securities, and/or on equity securities, with the underlying value of such calls representing 15% to 50% of total value of the Fund’s portfolio. The CEF is an equities fund catered to EM equities, using call options to extract dividends from the underlying holdings. The fund currently has 290 holdings, with the top names as follows: Top Holdings (Fund Website) The top 3 names account for roughly 25% of the fund and all represent semiconductor names that have benefited from the AI revolution. The top country weightings in the fund are as follows: Taiwan: 24%. China: 22%. South Korea: 17%. India: 12%. Brazil: 5%. The top names in the fund currently come from Taiwan and South Korea. The CEF has done a good job of mirroring the general EM equities returns throughout time: Data by YCharts When compared to the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF ( EEM ), we can notice the very close correlation in the past year. IHD is in effect a proxy for EEM, a proxy that uses the CEF construct. One of the fallacies of the CEF structure, though, is the presence of discounts or premiums. Let us see how IHD has done. Historic Discount/Premium To NAV If we have a look at IHD's history, we...
In an interview for a BBC Radio 4 documentary, England's Identity Crisis, the Conservative leader warned of rising tensions as groups on the left and the right.
In an interview for a BBC Radio 4 documentary, England's Identity Crisis, the Conservative leader warned of rising tensions as groups on the left and the right.
US President Donald Trump’s eldest son warned against investing in China during an event for investors on Thursday in Zurich, even as his father’s administration has pushed forward on plans to improve commercial ties between the two countries. “I wouldn’t,” Donald Trump Jnr said when asked at the invitation-only event if he would invest in China. “I don’t think we can pretend they’re an ally. That...
US President Donald Trump’s eldest son warned against investing in China during an event for investors on Thursday in Zurich, even as his father’s administration has pushed forward on plans to improve commercial ties between the two countries. “I wouldn’t,” Donald Trump Jnr said when asked at the invitation-only event if he would invest in China. “I don’t think we can pretend they’re an ally. That would be, I think, foolish.” Trump Jnr, who shares the position of executive vice-president of the...
(RTTNews) - Ford Motor Co (F) is recalling almost 420,000 vehicles in the U.S. because of a problem with the seat belts that could be risky in a crash. They've also put out a separate warning advising owners not to drive certain Maverick pickup trucks and Bronco Sport SUVs due to
(RTTNews) - Ford Motor Co (F) is recalling almost 420,000 vehicles in the U.S. because of a problem with the seat belts that could be risky in a crash. They've also put out a separate warning advising owners not to drive certain Maverick pickup trucks and Bronco Sport SUVs due to
DNY59/E+ via Getty Images Introduction The markets are in an unprecedented trajectory. The relationships between economic variables and market fundamentals appear to be distorted, with many considering them unworthy of even a glance. A significant interest rate hike over the recent years had been insufficient to raise the opportunity cost of capital for allocating to equities. The P/E, whether abs...
DNY59/E+ via Getty Images Introduction The markets are in an unprecedented trajectory. The relationships between economic variables and market fundamentals appear to be distorted, with many considering them unworthy of even a glance. A significant interest rate hike over the recent years had been insufficient to raise the opportunity cost of capital for allocating to equities. The P/E, whether absolute or adjusted, is close to all-time elevated levels. The importance of the technology sector, which is dominated by a handful of hyperscalers, with each in one way or the other basing their future trajectory on developments relating to AI, is at its highest. The S&P 500 ( SP500 ), for that matter, has become a proxy for allocating to growth, rather than purely to underlying tangible earning power. I am aware that many would not agree with this analysis, for the right reasons, arguing that the conversation around market valuations is not something new and that they have kept making money despite that. And why would anyone want to go against what has worked for them so far. Before proceeding further, I would paste a snapshot of my favorite investing work, ‘Security Analysis, 1934’ addition. Security Analysis, 1934 That remark was made almost a century ago, when there was no internet, let alone the high-tech narratives of modern times; but doesn't it deeply resonate with the current trajectory of the general stock markets? Don't we have everything around us suggesting that making money in stocks is the easiest business in town. A president makes a tweet, and the stock or market moves by some percentage. The impact on the earnings and cash flows of that entity with reference to the tweet might be close to zero. A chairman of the company whose stock has already fared far better than earnings would have warranted, which is none other than NVIDIA Corporation ( NVDA ), makes a remark in jest that a certain company would be the next trillion-dollar player, and the stock of the s...