This exchange traded fund’s large-cap holdings help it profit from Chinese growth

We think the long-term outlook for China — and Chinese stocks — is strong. That’s because the country’s huge population is generally younger than North Americans, and large numbers of Chinese have the potential to advance from poverty into the middle class.

(One of the best ways for investors to tap into Chinese growth is through low-fee exchange-traded funds. The iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index Fund is one example of an exchange traded fund that focuses on China. You can get our very latest buy/sell/hold advice on this fund in the …read more »

Investors sometimes ask us how to select the best investments for young children. If children are under the age of 18, they cannot yet invest as adults. However, there are a couple of savings and investment options available.

The first option is for you (or the child) to open a bank account in the child’s name. Interest paid on small balances may range from zero to, say, 0.75% annually, paid monthly. All of the major banks have special bank accounts for children, usually without service fees on basic transactions. However, once …read more »

When you join my Inner Circle service, you get to ask me your own personal questions about stock market investments or any other financial matter. Plus, you get to see what other Inner Circle members have asked, along with our answers.

So you can get a sense of how the service works, and how it can help you make better stock market investments, I’d like to share an example of the kind of question Inner Circle members ask, along with our response. I hope you enjoy and profit from it.

Q: …read more »

In mining exploration, an “anomaly” is a geological formation that might attract a prospector’s interest. However, one rule of thumb is that you have to look at 1,000 anomalies to find one prospect. And fewer than one prospect in a thousand turns into a mine. In other words, finding a mine is a million-to-one shot.

That’s one reason why junior mining stocks are highly speculative. Another reason is that it’s much easier to launch and promote one of these stocks than it is to build a profitable business. So junior …read more »

Online stock investing can look like a great way to build wealth, but it has many hidden dangers.

Trading too frequently: The main risk is that the lower costs and higher speeds of online stock investing can quickly lead otherwise conservative investors to trade too frequently. That can lead you to sell your best picks when they are just getting started.

Trading stocks online may even prompt conservative investors to take up short-term trading or day trading. That’s just another danger of trading stocks online, because there’s a large random element …read more »

One part of our three-pronged investing program is to spread your money out across the five main stock sectors of the economy (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources; Consumer; Finance; Utilities). (The other two parts are to hold mostly high-quality, dividend paying stocks, and downplay stocks in the broker/public-relations limelight.)

How we place stocks in the appropriate stock sectors

Many stocks clearly fit in certain stock sectors. Royal Bank, for example, obviously goes in the Finance sector. But sometimes correctly categorizing a stock requires a judgment call. That’s the case with La-Z-Boy Inc. (symbol …read more »