The current environment for investors seeking yield is somewhat hostile at the moment. Generating any sort of "risk-free" yield from government bonds is elusive (you'll have to dig deep in your list of countries for a place to find decent yield), with most of the market currently in a flee-to-safety mode at this point in time.
This makes the battle plan for passive investors even harder - deciding which ETF can provide a reasonable yield, modest potential capital appreciation, and particularly with an emphasis on defensive stocks is very difficult.
For investors focusing primarily on North American defensive plays, one great option for Canadian investors is the BMO Covered Call Canadian Utilities ETF (ZWU). This ETF, as its name would suggest, focuses on telecom and pipeline/utility stocks, centered on Canadian and American forms.
The ETF is heavily weighted toward companies like Emera (nearly half the portfolio), Telus, and Pembina - three companies I really like in this current environment.
This ETF has nothing "sexy" about it, but for conservative long term investors looking for good bang for their buck (and a low expense ratio of 0.7%), this is a great place to start. The ETF's yield sits at 6.5%, eclipsing it's higher-than-average MER.
For more enterprising investors, consider putting a chunk of money in the three aforementioned stocks, to gain more than 90% of the exposure this ETF would otherwise offer you. Just remember to set alerts for when dividends will arrive, and decide what to do at that time.
Invest wisely, my friends.
