BMO ETFs Tax Efficient Model – Strategy Report (Q3 2026)
All prices, returns and portfolio weights are as of market close on June 30, 2026, unless otherwise indicated.
Jul 7, 2026- This is the fourth quarter on record for our ‘Tax Efficient’ portfolio. For those of you not familiar with it — this portfolio follows the same core framework and rationale as our Macro Regime Balanced portfolio. The difference is that we optimize for tax efficiency for Canadian investors.
- We’ve made a few changes from the Q2 edition. In the fixed income sleeve, we’ve removed our tactical position in ZTIP (BMO Short-Term US TIPS Index ETF), reflecting our view that markets may re-price the US neutral rate higher in the coming quarters.
- We’ve increased our exposure to Canadian fixed income by increasing our allocation to ZDB (BMO Discount Bond Index ETF) and ZCDB (BMO Corporate Discount Bond ETF). We remain of the view that Canadian fixed income can outperform most other markets in the coming months due to an uncertain trade backdrop amidst upcoming United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) talks.
- In the equity sleeve, we’ve modestly increased our exposure to ZWT (BMO Covered Call Technology ETF). We remain bullish on the artificial intelligence (AI) story — particularly for those firms that are upstream (semiconductor firms particularly).
- We’ve trimmed our capital allocation to alts for this quarter. Put simply, we feel that volatility remains elevated in the space and we’d rather enter the coming quarter with less of a risk allocation there for now. As such, we’ve slightly trimmed our allocation to ZCOM (BMO Broad Commodity ETF) and ZWGD (BMO Covered Call Spread Gold Bullion ETF).
Table 1 – Tax Efficient Portfolio for Q3 2026
| Ticker | ETF Name | Sector Positioning | Management Fee | Weight (%) | |
| Fixed Income | |||||
| ZDB | BMO Discount Bond Index ETF | Fixed Income | Core | 0.09% | 12.50% |
| ZCDB | BMO Corporate Discount Bond ETF | Fixed Income | Tactical | 0.15% | 12.50% |
| Total Fixed Income | 25.00% | ||||
| Equities | |||||
| ZUQ | BMO MSCI USA High Quality Index ETF | Equity | Core | 0.30% | 25.00% |
| ZCN | BMO S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF | Equity | Core | 0.05% | 25.00% |
| ZWT | BMO Covered Call Technology ETF | Equity | Tactical | 0.65% | 5.00% |
| ZWB | BMO Covered Call Canadian Banks ETF | Equity | Tactical | 0.65% | 5.00% |
| ZWU | BMO Covered Call Utilities ETF | Equity | Tactical | 0.65% | 5.00% |
| Total Equity | 65.00% | ||||
| Non-Traditional Hybrids | |||||
| ZCOM | BMO Broad Commodity Index ETF | Hybrid | Tactical | 0.26% | 5.00% |
| ZWGD | BMO Covered Call Spread Gold Bullion ETF | Hybrid | Tactical | 0.65% | 5.00% |
| Total Alternatives | 10.00% | ||||
| Total Cash | 0.00% | ||||
| Portfolio | 0.27% | 100.00% | |||
Source: BMO Global Asset Management, as of June 30, 2026. Model portfolio for illustrative purposes only. The information contained herein is not, and should not be construed as, investment, tax or legal advice to any party. These are not recommendations to buy or sell any particular security. Particular investments and/or trading strategies should be evaluated relative to the individual’s investment objectives and professional advice should be obtained with respect to any circumstance.
Table 2 – Holdings and Weights for Our Updated Tax Efficient Portfolio (Q3 2026)
| Ticker | Name | Weight | Country |
Fixed Income |
|||
12.50% |
Canada |
||
12.50% |
Canada |
||
Equities |
|||
25.00% |
U.S. |
||
25.00% |
Canada |
||
5.00% |
U.S. |
||
5.00% |
Canada |
||
5.00% |
Canada |
||
Alts/Non-Traditional Hybrids |
|||
5.00% |
U.S. |
||
5.00% |
Canada |
||
Total |
100.00% |
||
Source: BMO Global Asset Management, as of June 30, 2026. The portfolio holdings are subject to change without notice and only represent a percentage of portfolio holdings. They are not recommendations to buy or sell any particular security.
Table 3 – Changes to Portfolio from Q2 2026
| Sell/Trim | Ticker | Old Weight | (%) | New weight |
5.00% |
-5.00% |
0.00% |
||
7.50% |
-2.50% |
5.00% |
||
| BMO Covered Call Spread Gold Bullion ETF | 7.50% |
-2.50% |
5.00% |
| Buy/Add | Ticker | Old Weight | % | New Weight |
| BMO Discount Bond Index ETF | ZDB | 10.00% | 2.50% | 12.50% |
| BMO Corporate Discount Bond ETF | ZCDB | 6.00% | 6.50% | 12.50% |
| BMO Covered Call Technology ETF | ZWT | 4.00% | 1.00% | 5.00% |
Source: BMO Global Asset Management, as of June 30, 2026. The portfolio holdings are subject to change without notice and only represent a percentage of portfolio holdings. They are not recommendations to buy or sell any particular security.
Chart 1 – Tax Efficient Model Portfolio Update

| Annualized Performance | YTD | 1 mo | 3 mo | 6 mo | Since Inception | Inception Date |
| BMO Model Tax Efficient Portfolio (%) | 7.30% | 0.72% | 6.47% | 7.30% | 10.29% | 9/30/2025 |
Source: BMO Global Asset Management, as of June 30, 2026.
Chart 2 – Sector Exposure for Tax Efficient Portfolio for Q3 2026

Source: BMO Global Asset Management, as of June 30, 2026.
Table 4 – Fixed Income Exposure Breakdown
| Q3 2026 | Q2 2026 | |
Weighted Average Term |
6.39 |
5.95 |
Weighted Average Duration |
5.20 |
4.85 |
Weighted Average Coupon (%) |
2.11 |
1.78 |
Annualized Dist. Yield (%) |
1.87 |
2.25 |
Weighted Average Yield to Maturity (%) |
3.39 |
3.69 |
Source: BMO Global Asset Management, as of June 30, 2026.
Table 5 - Performance of Holdings
| Ticker | Year-to-Date | 1-Month | 3-Month | 6-Month | 1-Year | 3-Year | 5-Year | 10-Year | Since Inception |
Inception Date |
10.59% |
2.51% |
1.82% |
12.03% |
35.94% |
24.54% |
15.23% |
12.74% |
10.02% |
2009-05-29 |
|
16.34% |
3.97% |
10.65% |
21.64% |
50.24% |
26.66% |
14.03% |
12.36% |
10.97% |
2011-01-28 |
|
10.64% |
-0.12% |
-0.27% |
8.06% |
15.85% |
11.24% |
6.73% |
6.27% |
5.58% |
2011-10-20 |
|
9.00% |
5.34% |
6.63% |
7.26% |
24.80% |
22.51% |
16.50% |
16.72% |
16.62% |
2014-11-05 |
|
1.58% |
1.37% |
-0.55% |
0.20% |
2.46% |
4.04% |
0.63% |
1.66% |
2.32% |
2014-02-10 |
|
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
2025-10-21 |
|
19.05% |
12.45% |
25.79% |
16.47% |
47.95% |
35.67% |
23.66% |
— |
22.54% |
2021-01-20 |
|
1.24% |
0.89% |
-0.23% |
0.85% |
3.67% |
6.01% |
— |
— |
3.30% |
2022-01-24 |
|
3.32% |
0.19% |
-11.55% |
5.48% |
33.21% |
— |
— |
— |
30.25% |
2025-05-22 |
Source: BMO Global Asset Management, as of June 30, 2026. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Notes on Tax Characteristics:
ZDB, ZCDB
- The BMO Discount Bond ETF suite (ZDB, ZCDB, ZSDB) is designed to minimize interest income by buying bonds with lower coupons that are trading at a discount to par value, such that a portion of future returns will come from price appreciation and will be treated as a capital gain instead of interest income. Please see here for a breakdown of how the suite can help investors reduce taxable interest income relative to traditional bond funds with similar exposures.
- ZUAG/F: Average coupon is far below Yield-To-Maturity, or YTM (2.82% average coupon, which is lower than the yield to maturity of 4.32% as of Dec 29, 2025, indicating pull-to-par opportunity and minimization of interest income versus other bond ETFs).
ZUQ
- Dividends from U.S. companies are subject to U.S. withholding tax. Not only do we like the MSCI USA High Quality basket from an investment outlook standpoint, but, because of its screens, it has a lower dividend payout rate, and therefore a lower rate of U.S. withholding tax exposure versus U.S. equity exposures that pay out a higher dividend distribution rate.
ZCN
- As a basket of Canadian companies, the ETF’s distribution is taxed as Canadian eligible dividends and is entitled to the advantageous Canadian dividend gross up and tax credit system.
ZWT
- The basket is composed of U.S. large cap technology names, which pay minimal dividends (foreign income exposed to U.S. withholding tax). The ETF’s covered call strategy sells call options in order to collect monthly cash flow; this portion is taxed as capital gains, which are exposed to tax at a lower rate than interest income or foreign income.
ZWB
- The basket is composed of large cap Canadian banks, which pay dividends. The ETF’s covered call strategy sells call options in order to collect monthly cash flow; this portion is taxed as capital gains, which are exposed to tax at a lower rate than interest income.
ZWU, ZWGD:
- These covered call strategies sell call options in order to collect monthly cash flow; this portion of the yield is taxed as capital gains and/or return of capital, which are exposed to tax at a lower rate versus interest income or foreign income.
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