How To Invest
In addition, Pat thinks then beginner investors should cultivate two important qualities: a healthy sense of skepticism and patience.
Investors should approach all investments with a healthy sense of skepticism. This can help keep you out of fraudulent stocks that masquerade as high-quality stocks. It will also keep you out of legally operated, but poorly managed, companies that promise more than they can possibly deliver.
If you are a new investor, you should also realize that losing patience can cause you to sell your best choices right before a big rise. All too often, investors buy a promising stock just as it enters a period of price stagnation. Even the best-performing stocks run into these unpredictable phases from time to time. They move mainly sideways in a wide range for months or years before their next big rise begins. (Stock brokers often refer to these stocks as “dead money.”)
If you lack patience, you run a big risk of selling your best choices in the midst of one of these phases, prior to the next big move upward. If you lose patience and sell, you are particularly likely to do so in the low end of the trading range, when stock prices have weakened and confidence in the stock has waned.
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GLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $5.26 (New York symbol COPX; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Copper Miners Index, which includes 20 to 40 international companies that mine, refine or explore for copper. Germany-based Structured Solutions AG created this index.
Canadian firms make up 38.8% of the ETF’s holdings. It also includes companies based in Australia (15.6%), Mexico (5.5%), Peru (5.4%) and Poland (5.0%). The fund’s MER is 0.65%.
Its top holdings are Sandfire Resources at 10.4%; Southern Copper, 7.9%; Oz Minerals, 7.7%; Grupo Mexico, 6.9%; Vedanta Resources, 6.8%; Lundin Mining, 6.3%; Antofagasta plc, 5.9%; KGHM Polska Miedz, 5.7%; Turquoise Hill, 5.6%; Jiangxi Copper, 5.2%; and Freeport- McMoRan, 4.4%.
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Canadian firms make up 38.8% of the ETF’s holdings. It also includes companies based in Australia (15.6%), Mexico (5.5%), Peru (5.4%) and Poland (5.0%). The fund’s MER is 0.65%.
Its top holdings are Sandfire Resources at 10.4%; Southern Copper, 7.9%; Oz Minerals, 7.7%; Grupo Mexico, 6.9%; Vedanta Resources, 6.8%; Lundin Mining, 6.3%; Antofagasta plc, 5.9%; KGHM Polska Miedz, 5.7%; Turquoise Hill, 5.6%; Jiangxi Copper, 5.2%; and Freeport- McMoRan, 4.4%.
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GLOBAL X SILVER MINERS ETF $7.41 (New York symbol SIL; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Index. This index includes 25 international firms that mine, refine or explore for silver. It was developed by Germany-based Structured Solutions AG.
Canadian firms make up 58.0% of the fund’s holdings, but it also includes miners in the U.S. (12.3%) and Mexico (11.2%). Its MER is 0.65%.
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ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL GOLD INDEX FUND $8.55 (Toronto symbol XGD; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) aims to mirror the performance of the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index, which is made up of 38 gold stocks from Canada and around the world. The ETF began trading on March 23, 2001. Its MER is 0.61%. The fund’s top holdings are Goldcorp at 13.6%; Newmont Mining, 11.5%; Barrick Gold, 9.7%; Franco-Nevada Corp., 9.3%; Agnico-Eagle Mines, 7.6%; Randgold Resources (ADR), 7.4%; AngloGold Ashanti (ADR), 4.3%; and Royal Gold, 4.0%.
iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index is a hold.
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iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index is a hold.
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MARKET VECTORS VIETNAM ETF $17.317 (New York symbol VNM; buy or sell through brokers) holds Vietnamese companies or foreign firms that get a significant amount of their revenue from Vietnam.
The ETF’s top holdings are Vincom Corp. (real estate), 7.8%; Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, 7.5%; Masan Group (a food, resources and banking conglomerate), 6.5%; Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, 6.3%; and Baoviet Holdings (insurance), 6.1%.
The ETF cuts risk by investing part of its assets in firms that are based outside of Vietnam but still do business there. That’s a better approach than adding thinly traded or illiquid shares of smaller Vietnamese firms.
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The ETF’s top holdings are Vincom Corp. (real estate), 7.8%; Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, 7.5%; Masan Group (a food, resources and banking conglomerate), 6.5%; Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, 6.3%; and Baoviet Holdings (insurance), 6.1%.
The ETF cuts risk by investing part of its assets in firms that are based outside of Vietnam but still do business there. That’s a better approach than adding thinly traded or illiquid shares of smaller Vietnamese firms.
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VERESEN $11.60 (Toronto symbol VSN; Shares outstanding: 292.0 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 8.6%; www.vereseninc.com) and KKR & Co. LP (symbol KKR on New York) formed a joint venture in late 2014 called Veresen Midstream.
The partners then bought natural gas gathering and compression assets in northeastern B.C. from Encana and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. for $1 billion.
As well, Veresen Midstream agreed to undertake a $5-billion expansion for gas producers, including Encana. This development would be backed by 30-year contracts that would significantly cut Veresen Midstream’s risk.
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The partners then bought natural gas gathering and compression assets in northeastern B.C. from Encana and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. for $1 billion.
As well, Veresen Midstream agreed to undertake a $5-billion expansion for gas producers, including Encana. This development would be backed by 30-year contracts that would significantly cut Veresen Midstream’s risk.
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ISHARES MSCI CANADA INDEX FUND $24.49 (New York symbol EWC; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds the stocks in the Morgan Stanley Capital International Canada Index. The fund has a 0.48% MER and yields 1.7%.
The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 7.7%; TD Bank, 7.1%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 5.6%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 4.9%; CN Railway, 4.4%; Suncor Energy, 3.7%; Bank of Montreal, 3.5%; Enbridge, 3.1%; and Manulife Financial, 3.0%. If you want to own a Canadian index fund, you should buy the iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF (see previous page). You’ll pay about a third of the management fees.
We don’t recommend the iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund.
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The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 7.7%; TD Bank, 7.1%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 5.6%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 4.9%; CN Railway, 4.4%; Suncor Energy, 3.7%; Bank of Montreal, 3.5%; Enbridge, 3.1%; and Manulife Financial, 3.0%. If you want to own a Canadian index fund, you should buy the iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF (see previous page). You’ll pay about a third of the management fees.
We don’t recommend the iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund.
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POWERSHARES QQQ ETF $105.63 (Nasdaq symbol QQQ; buy or sell throughbrokers ; www.invescopowershares.com), formerly called Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares, holds stocks representing the Nasdaq 100 Index, which consists of the 100 largest shares on the Nasdaq exchange by market cap.
The Nasdaq 100 Index contains shares of companies in a number of major industries, including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain financial firms. The fund’s expenses are about 0.20% of its assets. It yields 1.0%.
The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, Microsoft, Amgen, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel Corp., Amazon.com, Gilead Sciences, Comcast and Facebook.
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The Nasdaq 100 Index contains shares of companies in a number of major industries, including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain financial firms. The fund’s expenses are about 0.20% of its assets. It yields 1.0%.
The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, Microsoft, Amgen, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel Corp., Amazon.com, Gilead Sciences, Comcast and Facebook.
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ISHARES CANADIAN SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX ETF $22.48 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highestyielding Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of the ETF’s assets. The fund’s MER is 0.55%, and it yields 4.3%.
The fund’s top holdings are CIBC, 9.7%; Bank of Montreal, 6.8%; Royal Bank, 6.5%; BCE, 5.8%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.5%; Laurentian Bank of Canada, 5.0%; Rogers Communications, 4.5%; Manitoba Telecom, 4.4%; TD Bank, 4.4%; National Bank, 4.1%; IGM Financial, 4.0%; and Emera Inc., 3.8%.
The ETF holds 53.7% of its assets in financial stocks. The top Canadian finance stocks have sound prospects, but if you invest in this ETF, be sure to adjust the rest of your portfolio so it won’t be overly concentrated in the financial sector.
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The fund’s top holdings are CIBC, 9.7%; Bank of Montreal, 6.8%; Royal Bank, 6.5%; BCE, 5.8%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.5%; Laurentian Bank of Canada, 5.0%; Rogers Communications, 4.5%; Manitoba Telecom, 4.4%; TD Bank, 4.4%; National Bank, 4.1%; IGM Financial, 4.0%; and Emera Inc., 3.8%.
The ETF holds 53.7% of its assets in financial stocks. The top Canadian finance stocks have sound prospects, but if you invest in this ETF, be sure to adjust the rest of your portfolio so it won’t be overly concentrated in the financial sector.
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ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX ETF $20.47 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) is a good low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units are made up of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index, which consists of the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. Expenses are just 0.18% of assets, and the units yield 3.1%.
The index mostly consists of high-quality companies. However, it must ensure that all sectors are represented, so it holds a few we wouldn’t include.
The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 8.3%; TD Bank, 7.7%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 6.0%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.6%; CN Railway, 4.7%; Suncor Energy, 4.0%; Bank of Montreal, 3.7%; BCE, 3.6%; Enbridge, 3.3%; Manulife Financial, 3.2%; CIBC, 3.0%; Brookfield Asset Management, 2.8%; and TransCanada Corp., 2.4%.
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The index mostly consists of high-quality companies. However, it must ensure that all sectors are represented, so it holds a few we wouldn’t include.
The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 8.3%; TD Bank, 7.7%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 6.0%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.6%; CN Railway, 4.7%; Suncor Energy, 4.0%; Bank of Montreal, 3.7%; BCE, 3.6%; Enbridge, 3.3%; Manulife Financial, 3.2%; CIBC, 3.0%; Brookfield Asset Management, 2.8%; and TransCanada Corp., 2.4%.
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