It’s no secret that ETFs are one of the easiest and most effective ways for investors to build wealth over time. With a single purchase, you can gain exposure to dozens of companies, reduce risk through diversification, and avoid the stress of picking individual stocks.
That’s especially important in today’s market. Interest rates have already come down significantly, a lot of the excitement around AI-driven growth is already priced in, and economic uncertainty remains elevated.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be opportunities, but it does mean investors should be realistic about what returns might look like over the next few years.
In environments like this, reliability matters. So does income. And that’s why ETFs that focus on high-quality stocks and consistent cash flow are some of the best investments to buy now, even if markets might move sideways for a while.
That’s exactly why I’m buying one ETF like there’s no tomorrow, and why I have no intention of ever selling it.
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Why I’m focused on this dividend-paying ETF today
When you build a portfolio for the long haul, you don’t buy everything at once. You add to positions over time, make adjustments as conditions change, and let your core holdings quietly compound and power your portfolio in the background.
So, as you make adjustments, trimming some positions and replacing others, you’re naturally shifting your allocation as the environment changes. At the same time, the best portfolios usually have a handful of reliable, core investments that you own through different market cycles.
ETFs are some of the best to buy for that, especially broad index ETFs. And given where the market is today, I’m less focused on maximizing upside and more focused on reliability, diversification, and consistent income.
That’s why the ETF I’m buying now and planning to hold for the long haul is the BMO Canadian High Dividend Covered Call ETF (TSX: ZWC).
The ZWC ETF is one of the best funds that dividend investors can buy today since it holds a diversified portfolio of large, established Canadian companies that are well known for their stability and attractive dividends.
Another benefit of the ZWC ETF is that it doesn’t just offer diversification across different stocks; it offers it across several sectors, such as financials, energy, utilities, and telecommunications, all of which are industries with stocks that can generate steady cash flow regardless of economic conditions.
A covered call strategy
There are plenty of high-quality dividend-paying ETFs to consider, though. The reason the ZWC is one of the best to buy in this environment is its covered call strategy.
By selling covered calls on a portion of its holdings, the ETF generates additional income, which is then passed on to investors through a higher yield, significantly boosting your income.
Because the fund managers are constantly selling these options, the ETF does have a higher management expense ratio than many others, at 0.72%. However, that higher cost is more than offset by the additional income, and ZWC still offers a net yield of roughly 5.1% today.
Why covered calls make sense for 2026
Covered call strategies don’t perform optimally in every environment. For example, in a massive bull market where stocks are rallying rapidly, selling covered calls can limit some upside.
In the current environment, though, with interest rates already lower than their peak and much of the AI-driven rally looking like it’s already behind us, missing out on a massive bull market is less of a risk.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t still high-quality stocks you can buy in this environment. However, the opportunities feel more limited right now.
That’s why the ZWC ETF works best for investors like me who are more focused on income right now, especially given the current environment.
So, if you’re looking to boost your income and add a more reliable, defensive holding to your portfolio, the ZWC is easily one of the best ETFs to buy today.
