Zayla Saunders

Most equity strategies focus on finding winners — but what if you could also benefit when certain stocks decline? In this episode, hosts Zayla Saunders and Hilly Cutler are joined by Sachal Mahajan and Yasser El Boudi, who pull back the curtain on long-short strategies: how they work, and how they’ve held up through some of the biggest market drawdowns of the past three years. Zayla Saunders, Vice President of ETF Online Distribution at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM), and Hilly Cutler, Director of Portfolio Consulting and Senior Portfolio Consultant at BMO GAM, are joined by Sachal Mahajan, Director and Portfolio Manager, Disciplined Equities, and Yasser El Boudi, Associate Client Portfolio Manager, ETFs, both of BMO GAM. This episode was recorded live on Friday, October 23, 2026.

When one sector dominates the market, diversification isn’t as simple as owning the index — so how do you build a more balanced portfolio? In this episode, special guest Nick Koutsoftas joins host Zayla Saunders to break down how sector ETFs work, how they can be used to reduce concentration risk, and which sectors stand out as the most undervalued opportunities in today’s market. Zayla Saunders is Vice President of ETF Online Distribution at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM) and Nick Koutsoftas is Vice President, Sector ETF Specialist at State Street Investment Management. This episode was recorded live on Monday, October 19, 2026.

From sticky inflation and rising bond yields to growing questions around AI, the macro backdrop is getting more complex. In this episode, special guest Bipan Rai joins host Zayla Saunders to unpack his Q4 portfolio strategy and what it means to stay invested — and protected — this quarter. Zayla Saunders is Vice President of ETF Online Distribution at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM) and Bipan Rai is Head of ETF & Structured Solutions Strategy at BMO GAM. This episode was recorded live on Friday, October 9, 2026.

Investing has never been more accessible, yet money anxiety keeps growing. Hosts Zayla Saunders and Hilly Cutler talk with Rob Carrick about how Canadians’ attitudes toward money have changed, the rise of ETFs, rising bond yields and mortgage rates, and what keeps his readers up at night.

In this encore episode, Darim Abdullah joins hosts Zayla Saunders and Hilly Cutler to examine the differences in U.S. equity exposure — from the concentration risks of market-cap-weighted indices to how equal weighting can broaden a portfolio’s return drivers and reduce reliance on a handful of mega-cap names. Zayla Saunders is Vice President of ETF Online Distribution at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM) and Hilly Cutler is Director of Portfolio Consulting and Senior Portfolio Consultant at BMO GAM. They are joined by Darim Abdullah, Director of ETFs and Portfolio Consulting at BMO GAM. This episode was recorded live on June 1, 2026.

What’s the difference between yield and distribution rate — and why does it matter? In this episode, hosts Zayla Saunders and Hilly Cutler sit down with Kiran Navaratnam to unpack how covered call strategies generate yield, how that yield differs from what a fund actually distributes, and why total return can provide a more complete picture than headline numbers alone. Zayla Saunders is Vice President of ETF Online Distribution at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM) and Hilly Cutler is Director of Portfolio Consulting and Senior Portfolio Consultant at BMO GAM. They are joined by Kiran Navaratnam, Non-Linear Solutions Vice President & Portfolio Manager at BMO GAM. This episode was recorded live on Monday, August 24, 2026.

Canadian investors are increasingly turning to passive investing as their portfolio foundation of choice. In this episode, special guest Erin Allen and host Zayla Saunders dig into why this trend continues to gain ground, from the evolving DIY investing landscape and the rise of hybrid advice models to the increasing pull of social media on next-gen investors. Zayla Saunders is Vice President of ETF Online Distribution at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM) and Erin Allen is Director, Direct Distribution at BMO GAM. This episode was recorded live on Monday, August 17, 2026.

Two ETFs can track the same asset class and still deliver very different results. In this episode, hosts Hilly Cutler and Zayla Saunders unpack how major indices—from the S&P 500 and Russell to MSCI and FTSE—are actually constructed, the different methodologies at play, and how they shape portfolio construction, from large-cap overlap to overlooked emerging market exposure. Zayla Saunders is Vice President of ETF Online Distribution at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM) and Hilly Cutler is Director of Portfolio Consulting and Senior Portfolio Consultant at BMO GAM. This episode was recorded live on Monday, August 10, 2026.