Posted By 
By Hamilton ETFs
(Sponsor Blog)
International equities continue to be in focus. As global market leadership broadens, Canadian investors are paying closer attention to geographic diversification and opportunities beyond North America. International stocks, which outperformed the U.S. stock market in 2025, have continued to attract attention as the geopolitical landscape evolves.
So far this year, Canadians have poured $22.8 billion into international equity ETFs, according to National Bank of Canada Capital Markets[1]. In contrast, they directed just $13.4 billion to Canadian equity funds and $11.3 billion to U.S. equity funds, over the same period.
Recent market performance has helped reinforce this trend. Since December 31, 2024, the MSCI EAFE Index rallied 40.5% compared to 24.6% for the S&P 500[2].
This combination of improved relative performance and more attractive valuations has helped bring international equities back into focus for investors looking to broaden exposure beyond North America. This shift has also been reflected in market commentary. Yardeni Research began recommending a “Go Global” approach in December 2025, after more than a decade of favouring a “Stay Home” allocation. “So far this year, the U.S. has been among the laggards in the global performance derby,” he wrote in a research note published April 27, 2026.
Canadian investors have plenty of options for accessing international equity exposure. Yet for those seeking attractive, tax-efficient monthly income from developed markets outside North America, the available solutions have been far more limited. That’s why we’re closing that gap with the Hamilton International Equity YIELD MAXIMIZER™ ETF (IMAX).
Introducing IMAX
IMAX is designed for investors seeking diversified international equity exposure paired with attractive, tax-efficient monthly income. To achieve this, IMAX holds ETFs that provide exposure to both the MSCI EAFE Index and MSCI EAFE IMI Index and overlays a covered call strategy on a portion of the portfolio. The MSCI EAFE Index captures developed markets outside the U.S. and Canada.
International and global covered call ETFs remain relatively limited in Canada. The few available strategies often have significant geographic concentrations, such as Europe or the U.S., or provide exposure to a narrower group of companies through concentrated portfolios. By contrast, IMAX offers broad developed market exposure specifically outside North America. Through this approach, investors gain exposure to more than 2,500 large-, mid- and small-cap equities across markets including Japan, Britain, Switzerland, France, Germany and Australia.
To help generate monthly income, IMAX employs an actively managed covered call strategy overseen by our experienced options team. Like the other ETFs in our YIELD MAXIMIZER™ suite, IMAX utilizes an income first approach that primarily writes at-the-money call options in an effort to generate higher option premiums to provide enhanced cash flow potential. The strategy also maintains a flexible coverage ratio, allowing the portfolio management team to balance monthly income generation with long-term capital appreciation potential.
Importantly, IMAX helps provide tax efficient income, as options premiums are generally taxed as capital gains and/or return of capital.
Going Global with IMAX
Diversification is one of the most important principles of portfolio construction, and it applies not only across asset classes (stocks, bonds, commodities etc.), sectors and market capitalizations, but also regions.
Recent market trends have reinforced the importance of geographic diversification for Canadian investors who tend to have a home bias. According to a 2023 International Monetary Fund (IMF) survey[4], Canadians allocate 50% of their total equity exposure to Canadian equities, despite Canada only representing around 3% of the global market equity market as measured by market capitalization [5]. Furthermore, our domestic markets are dominated by just three sectors: Energy, Financials and Materials. Adding international developed-market exposure can help broaden portfolio exposure and diversify sources of income.
Combining Income and Growth
Like all the members of our YIELD MAXIMIZER™ suite, IMAX provides the combination of higher monthly income and modest growth potential. ETFs with a covered call strategy may be a useful addition to the portfolios of those seeking higher cash flows while maintaining exposure to capital markets.
If you’re interested in exploring more options in this space, we offer similar covered call ETFs for broad equity exposure to Canada and the U.S., specific sectors and even fixed income. If you want to learn more about covered call strategies, click here, and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for more updates on our products and market insights.
Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investments in exchange traded funds (ETFs) managed by Hamilton ETFs. Please read the prospectus before investing. ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. Certain statements contained in this website may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to a future outlook and anticipated distributions, events or results and may include statements regarding future financial performance. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend” or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information. Hamilton ETFs undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law.
[1] Since January 1, 2026. As at April 30, 2026. Source: National Bank Financial Research.
[2] MSCI EAFE Index vs. S&P 500 Index. As at April 30, 2026. Source: Bloomberg
[3] As at April 30, 2026.
[4] International Monetary Fund’s Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (2023). Market cap data and holdings data as of April 30, 2024.
[5] S&P Global BMI, country weight by float-adjusted market capitalization, as at April 30, 2026. Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices.
The index performance returns do not reflect any management fees, transaction costs or expenses. Investors cannot invest directly in an index. The S&P 500 Index (“Index”) and associated data are a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, its affiliates and/or their licensors and has been licensed for use by Hamilton ETFs © 2025 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, its affiliates and/or their licensors. All rights reserved. Redistribution or reproduction in whole or in part are prohibited without written permission of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. For more information on any of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC’s indices please visit www.spdji.com. S&P® is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“SPFS”) and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”). Neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, SPFS, Dow Jones, their affiliates nor their licensors (“S&P DJI”) make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the ability of any index to accurately represent the asset class or market sector that it purports to represent and S&P DJI shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of any index or the data included therein.
