Trade Ideas
Here are three defensive BMO ETF strategies to help insulate portfolios from potential volatility ahead.
Turn volatility into cash flow with our top 6 picks yielding 6% or more, for investors seeking to reduce volatility relative to broad markets while enhancing the level of yield in their portfolios.
Gold tends to be a safe haven asset in times of economic uncertainty for its enduring value and lower correlation1 to traditional asset classes, offering a way to diversify portfolios. Amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, expected rate cuts, and market volatility, gold has been on a record run in 2024. Here are five reasons we believe it will continue to shine.
Podcasts
In today’s episode, Bipan Rai, Matt Montemurro, and your host, Erika Toth, break down the recent federal election results. They discuss the Liberal government’s priorities, interprovincial trade barriers, the economic outlook — and what it all means for investors. Erika Toth is a Director of Institutional and Advisory at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM). She is joined on the podcast by Bipan Rai, Head of ETF Strategy, Exchange Traded Funds at BMO GAM, and Matt Montemurro, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income & Equity Index ETFs, Exchange Traded Funds, at BMO GAM. The episode was recorded live on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.
Bipan Rai, BMO ETFs managing director and strategist, ETFs and alternatives, is joined by Alex Singh, alternatives partnerships lead for BMO Global Asset Management to discuss the benefits of hedge funds in an overall portfolio, as well as talk about the new partnership between BMO GAM and Goldman Sachs Asset Management to launch a multi-strategy fund for Canadian investors. Note: the investment product mentioned in this podcast is only available to BMO Nesbitt Burns advisors to date. This podcast was recorded live on May 1, 2025.
Trump’s trade wars are creating ripple effects that are being felt far and wide. In today’s episode, ETF Strategist Bipan Rai, and your host, Zayla Saunders, discuss which sectors are bracing for impact or flying under the radar. They also provide defensive strategies for the months ahead. Zayla Saunders is a Senior Associate of Online Distribution at BMO Global Asset Management (GAM). She is joined on the podcast by Bipan Rai, Head of ETF Strategy, Exchange Traded Funds at BMO GAM. The episode was recorded live on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.
A post-election special from BMO ETFs and alternatives strategist Bipan Rai and guest Ali Jaffery, executive director and senior economist at CIBC. Housing, infrastructure and defence spending are top priorities for the newly elected Liberal government. However, the pair discuss how rising trade and recession risks could upend that agenda and force new stimulus measures instead. This podcast was recorded live on April 29, 2025.
A volatile U.S. dollar amid broader trade uncertainty has many Canadian investors questioning whether to add or pare back their F-X hedges to the greenback. Bipan Rai, managing director of ETF and structure solutions strategy at BMO ETFs, provides a brief history of the dollar’s evolution as the global reserve currency, and his view on where the greenback goes from here. This episode was recorded live on April 22, 2025.
In this special episode, Portfolio Managers Jonathan Lau and Olivia Li, and your host, Skye Collyer, take a deep dive into covered call ETFs — discussing how they work and strategies to utilize them for portfolio positioning in today’s marketplace. Skye Collyer is a Director of ETF Distribution at BMO Global Asset Management. She is joined on the podcast by Jonathan Lau and Olivia Li, Portfolio Managers at BMO Exchange Traded Funds. The episode was recorded live on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
Tariff risk is a significant challenge for the Canadian economy — but it’s certainly not the only one confronting policy makers and the private sector. Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist for CIBC joins Bipan Rai, director of ETF strategy at BMO ETFs to discuss how to handle Trump’s tariff shock, as well as other economic risk factors facing Canada. This episode was recorded live on April 10, 2025.
Gold prices have skyrocketed as investors both big and small have poured into the precious metal seeking its relative stability amid ongoing trade uncertainty and market risks. Daniel Ghali, director, commodities strategy at TD Securities joins Bipan Rai, director of ETF strategy for BMO ETFs to discuss who’s behind gold’s big moves and where prices could go as the year progresses. This episode was recorded live on April 8, 2025.
Trump’s tariffs have sent stock markets on a roller-coaster ride. Are investors ready for more? In this special episode, ETF Strategist Bipan Rai, and your host, Erin Allen, dive into the four corrective channels to watch and share ideas for defensive portfolio positioning. Erin Allen is Director of Online Distribution at BMO Exchange Traded Funds. She is joined on the podcast by Bipan Rai, Head of ETF Strategy, Exchange Traded Funds at BMO Global Asset Management. The episode was recorded live on Wednesday, April 9, 2025.
It’s always best to look before you leap. In this special episode, ETF Strategist Bipan Rai, and your host, Erika Toth, share why they are proceeding with a healthy degree of market caution over exuberance and provide a second quarter update on portfolio positioning. Erika Toth is a Director of Institutional and Advisory for Eastern Canada at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM). She is joined on the podcast by Bipan Rai, Head of ETF Strategy, Exchange Traded Funds at BMO GAM. The episode was recorded live on Monday, March 31, 2025.
Volatile markets have greeted the tariff regime the Trump Administration appears intent on enacting. Ahead of a key April 2nd deadline for a wave of U.S. reciprocal trade levies to be imposed, Chris Krueger, Managing Director, Washington Research Group, TD Cowen and host Bipan Rai, BMO ETFs Strategist, discuss some of the pressing questions that investors, policymakers and markets are seeking clarity on. This episode was recorded live on March 23, 2025.
Will inflation’s sudden spike push the Bank of Canada to press pause on rate cuts? In this episode, Bipan Rai, Matt Montemurro, and your host, Erika Toth, examine Canada’s latest CPI print. They also discuss the outcome of this week’s Fed meeting, the outlook for the REITs, and fixed income positioning for the months ahead.
In this episode, special guest Sohrab Movahedi, ETF Strategist Bipan Rai, and your host, Skye Collyer, take a deep dive into Canada’s Big Six banks, from first-quarter earnings results to Trump’s tariffs and all the key themes in between. Skye Collyer is a Director of ETF Distribution at BMO Global Asset Management. She is joined on the podcast by Bipan Rai, Head of ETF Strategy, Exchange Traded Funds, at BMO Global Asset Management, and Sohrab Movahedi, Managing Director of Financials Research at BMO Capital Markets. This episode was recorded on Monday, March 10, 2025.
What are ETF flows telling us? In this episode, ETF Strategist Bipan Rai, and your host, Erika Toth, pour over the latest industry data and provide detailed insights on how to navigate choppy markets. Erika Toth is a Director of Institutional and Advisory for Eastern Canada at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM). She is joined on the podcast by Bipan Rai, Head of ETF Strategy, BMO GAM. The episode was recorded live on Thursday, March 6, 2025.
Trump’s tariffs are coming — the question is: when? In this episode, ETF Strategist Bipan Rai, and your host, Zayla Saunders, discuss key dates and the potential real-world implications of a prolonged trade war. Zayla Saunders is a Senior Associate for Online Distribution at BMO Exchange Traded Funds. She is joined on the podcast by Bipan Rai, Head of ETF Strategy, BMO Global Asset Management. The episode was recorded live on Wednesday, February 26, 2025.
In this special episode, Matt Montemurro, and your host, Acushla Vestby, explore the evolution of the traditional bond laddering strategy — and what the next generation of target maturity bond ETFs has in store for investors. Acushla Vestby is the Managing Director and Head of Structured Solutions and National Accounts at BMO Global Asset Management. She is joined on the podcast by Matt Montemurro, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income & Equity Index ETFs at BMO Exchange Traded Funds. The episode was recorded live on Friday, February 21, 2025.
What are the sectoral flows into and out of the Global Industry Classification Standards, or GICS, telling us? In this episode, special guest Michael Arone, ETF Strategist Bipan Rai, and your host, Erika Toth, delve into the leaders and laggards. They also look back at historical trends and ahead for potential opportunities.
As the world reacts to Trump’s tariffs, questions mount over the far-reaching implications. In this episode, ETF Strategist Bipan Rai, Portfolio Manager Jeremy Yeung, and your host, Michelle Allen, explore what this could mean for the domestic economy, global supply chains, and the Technology sector. Michelle Allen is a Senior Associate of Online Distribution at BMO Exchange Traded Funds. She is joined on the podcast by Bipan Rai, the Head of ETF Strategy at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM), and Jeremy Yeung, a Portfolio Manager (Technology and Communications), Global Equity, at BMO GAM. The episode was recorded live on Monday, February 3, 2025, at 11:00 AM, before Trump and Trudeau confirmed a 30-day moratorium on tariffs.
Looking to invest overseas with ease? In this deep-dive episode, special guests Johan Ahlberg, and Acushla Vestby, from BMO Global Asset Management’s Structured Solutions team, and your host, Erin Allen, explore the fundamentals of Canadian Depositary Receipts (CDRs) and how they give investors greater access to foreign markets. Erin Allen is Vice President of ETF Online Distribution at BMO Exchange Traded Funds. She is joined on the podcast by Johan Ahlberg, Director of Development and Strategy Advisory, Structured Solutions, at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM) and Acushla Vestby, Managing Director and Head of Structured Solutions and National Accounts, at BMO GAM. The episode was recorded live on Thursday, January 30, 2025.
As a shifting economic backdrop fans recession fears in the U.S., is a soft landing still on the table? In this episode, ETF Strategist Bipan Rai, and your host, Erika Toth, analyze the market outlook. They also discuss our third quarter investment strategy reports and portfolio construction across asset classes. Erika Toth is a Director of Institutional and Advisory for Eastern Canada at BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM). She is joined on the podcast by Bipan Rai, Head of ETF Strategy, at BMO GAM. The episode was recorded live on Wednesday, August 28, 2024.