Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer very low management fees. As well, the best ETFs offer well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of high-quality stocks.

However, the quality of ETFs varies widely. All too many exist to tap into popular, but risky, themes and fads. So you need to be highly selective with your ETF holdings.

Here are six foreign ETFs we like:

ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND …read more »

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on a selection of the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And every Friday, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions.

This week, …read more »

There are various ways of structuring your business affairs using offshore investing companies or trusts that can cut or defer your taxes. You may also be able to protect your assets from legal judgments rendered in Canada if you move them to accounts in certain foreign jurisdictions.

Earnings in an “offshore account” are generally lightly taxed, or not taxed at …read more »

POWERSHARES QQQ ETF $53.53 (Nasdaq symbol QQQQ; buy or sell through brokers; www.invescopowershares.com), formerly called Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares, holds the stocks that represent the Nasdaq 100 Index. That index is made up of the 100 largest shares on the Nasdaq exchange, based on market cap.

The Nasdaq 100 Index contains shares of companies in a number of major industries, including …read more »

SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $109.28 (New York symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The fund’s top holdings are IBM, ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp., 3M, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s Corp., Coca-Cola Co., Caterpillar Inc., United Technologies and Procter & Gamble. The fund’s expenses are about 0.18% of …read more »

SPDR S&P 500 ETF $114.42 (New York symbol SPY; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the stocks in the S&P 500 Index, which consists of 500 major U.S. stocks that are chosen based on their market cap, liquidity and industry group.

The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Exxon-Mobil, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Apple, Wells Fargo & Co., Johnson & Johnson, IBM, …read more »

In international stock markets ABB has taken advantage of the strong Swiss currency to make an acquisition to strengthen its holdings in the U.S.

ABB LTD. American Depository Receipt “ADR” (New York symbol ABB; www.abb.com)is a leading maker of power technologies for utilities. The Switzerland-based company’s products include transformers, transmission systems and circuit breakers. ABB also makes automation systems and …read more »

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may have a place in your portfolio. That’s because, unlike many other financial innovations, they don’t load you up with heavy management fees, or tie you down with high redemption charges if you decide to get out of them. Instead, they give you a low-cost, flexible, convenient alternative to mutual funds.

ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like …read more »

An American Depositary Receipt, or ADR, is a certificate that represents a foreign stock that trades in the United States. Banks and brokerage firms in the U.S. issue or sponsor ADRs, and investors buy and sell them on U.S. stock markets, just like regular stocks.

If you own an American Depositary Receipt, you have the right to obtain the foreign …read more »

Patent production continues to be a crucial issue for major drug companies. The expiration of a patent and the entry of a key drug into the public domain is a challenge for those U.S. stocks in the pharmaceutical industry hat have prospered thanks to the sales of a popular drug.

Pfizer Inc., New York symbol PFE, makes Lipitor, a leading …read more »