ISHARES S&P INDIA NIFTY 50 INDEX FUND $27.04 (Nasdaq symbol INDY; buy or sell through brokers), is an ETF that aims to track the S&P CNX Nifty Index, which represents the 50 largest, most liquid Indian securities on the National Stock Exchange of India. The fund’s top holdings are Reliance Industries (conglomerate), 10.2%; Infosys Technologies (software), 8.3%; ICICI Bank, 6.9%; Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (conglomerate), 6.2%; ITC Ltd. (conglomerate), 5.4%; Housing Development Finance, 5.2%; HDFC Bank, 4.8%; State Bank of India, 4.7%; Oil and Natural Gas Corp., 2.8%; and Tata Consulting Services (information technology), 2.8%. The fund’s industry breakdown includes: Banks, 19.6%; Computers: Software, 13.0%; Refineries, 10.9%; Cigarettes, 5.4%; Finance: Housing, 5.2%; Automobiles, 4.7%; Power, 4.6%; Steel and Steel Products, 4.4%; Oil Exploration and Production, 3.8%; and Electrical Equipment, 3.7%....

GLOBAL X SILVER MINERS ETF $16.20 (New York symbol SIL; buy or sell through brokers) tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Index. This index includes between 20 and 40 international companies that mine, refine or explore for silver. Germany-based Structured Solutions AG developed this index....

ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL GOLD INDEX FUND $24.22 (Toronto symbol XGD; buy or sell through brokers) aims to mirror the performance of the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index. This index is made up of gold stocks from Canada and around the world. The weight of any one company is capped at 25% of the index’s market capitalization. The fund’s MER is 0.55%. iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index Fund began trading on March 23, 2001. The fund’s top-ten holdings are Barrick Gold at 18.6%; Goldcorp., 13.1%; Newmont Mining, 11.9%; AngloGold Ashanti (ADR), 6.2%; Kinross, 4.7%; Eldorado Gold, 4.2%; Agnico-Eagle, 4.2%; Gold Fields (ADR), 4.1%; Randgold Resources (ADR), 3.3%; and Yamana Gold, 3.1%....

Members of Pat McKeough’s Inner Circle sometimes ask us how to find good 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:

1. You (or the child) can open a bank account in the child’s name: Interest paid on small balances may range from zero to, say, 0.50% annually, paid monthly. All of the major banks have special bank accounts for children, usually without service fees on basic transactions. However, once the child has accumulated $500, he or she could move the money into an interest-paying guaranteed investment certificate (GIC).
2. Informal in-trust account: If you want to build up an investment portfolio for a child, then an informal in-trust account is a low-cost and flexible option. (Investments or investment accounts in the name of a child must be set up in trust because minors are not allowed to enter into binding financial contracts.) An adult must be responsible for providing the investment instructions and signing the contract on the child’s behalf. An informal in-trust account has a donor (or “settlor”) who contributes funds to the trust. The trustee is the person in charge of the account, and is responsible for managing the funds for the child (the “beneficiary”). The settlor should not act as the trustee. The settlor’s spouse can be a trustee, however. The money belongs to the child, but only the trustee can make withdrawals if the child is under the age of 18. Once the child reaches 18, the money is theirs to do with as they wish.
   
   

...

MANULIFE FINANCIAL $12.53 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $22.1 billion; SI Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.2%) sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and investment-management services. It operates globally, and has $453.9 billion of assets under management. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, Manulife lost $2.4 billion, or $1.36 a share. Canada’s conservative accounting rules forced it to set aside $3.2 billion, mostly to increase reserves for its variable annuities. (Under U.S. accounting rules, it would have actually reported a small earnings increase in the latest quarter.) A year earlier, it earned $1.8 billion, or $1.09 a share. To cut risk, Manulife has hedged, or insured, more of its variable annuities against falling stock markets. Its hedges now cover 51% of these investments, up from 20% in 2009. It’s aiming for 70% by 2012....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific advice on successful investing. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “Selling your stock market picks costs money, and that’s why successful investors do it as little as possible.” Investors often ask, “When should I sell my stocks? If I sell now, I’ll nail down big profits. But I’ll have to pay heavy capital gains taxes.”...

Members of Pat McKeough’s Inner Circle sometimes ask us whether a reverse mortgage would be a good way to tap into the equity they have built up in their homes. Reverse mortgages in Canada typically let homeowners who are 60 years of age or older borrow on their home equity (maximum 40% loan-to-value ratio). The loan and accumulated interest are repaid only if the house is sold or from the proceeds of the estate. Generally, the borrower will get between 28% and 33% of the value of their home, depending on their age and the location and type of home.

Think of reverse mortgages in Canada as loans of last resort

...

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific advice on successful investing. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “Home improvements raise home values less than you think.” Owning your primary residence can be a great financial deal. Mortgage payments amount to forced savings, a home is an inflation hedge, and capital gains are tax-free. But don’t fritter away your gains by excessive upgrading, or frequent moving....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific advice on successfully investing your money. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “Starting a business is a gamble, but payoffs can be huge and planning cuts the risk.” Canadians can still get rich as employees — ask any Canadian bank president. However, high-paying jobs are hard to find. Most corporate structures are pyramid-shaped, with a few high-paying positions at the top and many lower-paying jobs down below. Moreover, because of the recession and continued high unemployment, more people than ever are vying for jobs — especially those that pay well....

Here are three easy-to-avoid errors that most investors make when investing money in the stock market. All three can seriously hinder your portfolio’s long-term results. 1. Taking an overly optimistic view of speculative investments: Some investors generally put too high a value on speculative ventures. They want to believe that innovations will succeed, and that they’ll get a fair chance to profit from investing money in these companies. Their innate politeness stops them from asking tough questions of smooth-talking promoters. Excess optimism plus a shortage of information leads them to pay too much. That’s why we focus on well-established companies rather than start-ups, even in Stock Pickers Digest, our advisory for investing money in aggressive stocks. Most of our Stock Pickers Digest buys are far better established than your average penny stock....