RRSP Season: How to Find the Best Funds for Income

by | Feb 10, 2026

By Ambrose O’Callaghan

RRSP season is here – the deadline to invest in your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) for the2025 tax year is March 2, 2026. This means that investors are looking for places to invest their hard-earned money.  Many investors want to invest for growth, especially when their financial goals are further away. Growth investing, as the name suggests, is investing to grow your portfolio, usually by investing in stocks in sectors that are expected to grow – for example technology, or pharmaceuticals.

But if you prefer to invest for income, there are some options for you to consider. As the name suggests, income investing is investing for income. For many people, income investing offers a passive source of income that replaces their bi-weekly pay cheques, so in an ideal world, for them, the income should be paid out in somewhat regular intervals. That means, if you want to get a steady stream of income, you invest in securities that provide it, either in the form of interest, or rent, or dividends.

If you have a substantial amount of initial capital, you might consider buying an additional rental income property to ensure a steady rental income. If you have financial know-how in terms of stock picking, you might choose to build out a portfolio of dividend paying funds. If you would like your money professionally managed, and invested in a set universe of securities, you might consider a mutual fund, or for a relatively cheaper option, an exchange traded fund (ETF.)

If this last option sounds like something you would want, there are a few things to keep in mind as you decide how to buy a good fund for your RRSP.

How to Pick a Fund for Income

Here four key questions that I found online  that investors can ask themselves before picking a specific income investment:

  • How Risky Is It?

Risk is a key consideration for any investor. It involves being honest about both how much risk you’re able to handle, as well as how much risk you’re willing to handle. Some securities, like bonds, or high-interest savings accounts, are generally lower-risk, with the amounts you earn pretty much guaranteed. Others, like stocks, are higher risk. They don’t offer guaranteed returns or income streams, but many times, the returns earned could be higher than the lower-risk alternatives. Which leads to the second question –

  • How Much Income? When?

With the lower-risk investments, like GICs, or Bonds, you know upfront how much income you will be getting for the duration for which you buy the product. For products like ETFs, or stocks the income is not guaranteed, but is paid out on a specific timeline, for example annually, or quarterly.

  • When Can You Exit?

Investors should always know when they can access their money. For example, some products, like GICs, lock in your money for a fixed period. If you try and get your money back before the term is complete, you could find yourself owing a penalty. Usually, with stocks and ETFs, this is not a concern in most cases. However, the timing of your exit will likely impact your returns.

  • What Are the Fees?

Some investments might not charge you fees. Others do. It is important to know what you’re paying, and what you’re paying for. John Bogle famously gave a keynote speech titled “In Investing You Get What You Don’t Pay For,” In which he said, “First, in investing, realize that you get what you don’t pay for. Whatever future returns the markets are generous enough to deliver, few investors will succeed in capturing 100% of those returns, simply because of the high costs of investing—all those commissions, management fees, investment expenses, yes, even taxes—so pare them to the bone.”

Covered Call ETFs for Income and Potential Growth

Once you have the answers to these four questions, you come to the fun part – picking the right ETF! At Harvest Portfolios, with our comprehensive suite of ETF offerings and dedication to investor education, we are primed to be your ally in your financial journey.

One choice for income is Covered Call ETFs: Covered Call ETFs aim to generate income for investors through owning a portfolio of stocks and then buying call options on those stocks and collecting the option premiums which are paid out to investors as income. You can find out more about covered calls here.

Harvest ETFs has a wide range of covered ETFs for investors of all stripes. The established Harvest covered call strategy has generated over $2 Billion in total ETF distributions since inception, and last month we announced increased monthly cash distributions for a few our income ETFs. We have equity portfolios that focus on established businesses, leading themes, and secular trends across sectors, combined with an active covered call strategy to provide a dual approach of generating high monthly income and long-term capital growth. Whether you prefer Canadian single stocks, or US, balanced asset allocation funds, or diversified income ones, there’s something for everyone.

HHIS: A Perfect Blend of Income and Growth

For investors looking for a blend of income and growth, an option to consider is the Harvest Diversified High Income Shares ETF (TSX: HHIS) which offers a multi-sector portfolio that captures a diverse selection of trending companies that are positioned for strong growth. It is designed to deliver consistent, high monthly income alongside growth opportunities. This ETF holds a portfolio of Harvest’s single-stock ETFs, combining the benefits of income generation with exposure to leading businesses across various sectors. It offers exposure to household names like Nvidia, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Meta and many more. The ETF recently celebrated its 1-year anniversary and has increased distributions twice since its launch a year ago. You can find out more about this fund here.

Disclaimer

This communication should not be considered as advice and/or a recommendation to purchase or sell the mentioned securities or used to engage in personal investment strategies. The information is meant to provide general information for educational purposes.  Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made with guidance from a qualified professional.

Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing in Harvest Exchange Traded Funds managed by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. (the “Funds”). Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. The Funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. Distributions are paid to you in cash unless you request, pursuant to your participation in a distribution reinvestment plan, that they be reinvested into available Class units of the Fund you own. If a Fund earns less than the amounts distributed, the difference is a return of capital.

Recent Insights

Disclaimer

For Information Purposes Only. All comments, opinions and views expressed are of a general nature and should not be considered as advice and/or a recommendation to purchase or sell the mentioned securities or used to engage in personal investment strategies.

Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing in Harvest Exchange Traded Funds, managed by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. (the Fund(s)). Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns (except for figures of one year or less, which are simple total returns) including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns. The funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Distributions are paid to you in cash unless you request, pursuant to your participation in a distribution reinvestment plan, that they be reinvested into Class A, Class B or Class U units of the Fund. If the Fund earns less than the amounts distributed, the difference is a return of capital. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made with guidance from a qualified professional.

The current yield represents an annualized amount that is comprised of 12 unchanged monthly distributions (using the most recent month’s distribution figure multiplied by 12) as a percentage of the closing market price of the Fund. The current yield does not represent historical returns of the ETF but represents the distribution an investor would receive if the most recent distribution stayed the same going forward.

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FLS are not guarantees of future performance and are by their nature based on numerous assumptions, which include, amongst other things, that (i) the Fund can attract and maintain investors and have sufficient capital under management to effect their investment strategies, (ii) the investment strategies will produce the results intended by the portfolio managers, and (iii) the markets will react and perform in a manner consistent with the investment strategies. Although the FLS contained herein are based upon what the portfolio manager believe to be reasonable assumptions, the portfolio manager cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these FLS.

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