An interesting quirk of CDRs is that the number of shares they represent varies from day to day. That’s because of a mechanism known as a CDR ratio, which adjusts automatically in response to the value of the Canadian dollar. If the dollar strengthens against the U.S. greenback, a CDR will represent a larger number of underlying shares; if it weakens, the CDR will be worth a smaller number of shares.
“But the problem with that is it cuts both ways. The Canadian Dollar rallies, you protect yourself. The U.S. dollar rallies, you don’t get the upside,” he says.It’s important to remember what CDRs are when contemplating expected returns: They reflect the value of the stocks they represent.While CDRs track the price of their underlying stocks, they don’t always reflect them perfectly, because they are trading on different markets from the original stocks.