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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 stock advice and other tips on successful investing. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away....

Most stock markets have risen lately. But as always, they remain subject to unexpected downturns. Even so, we feel the long-term outlook is for higher stock prices. One way to profit from rising markets is to add exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track major stock indexes to your portfolio. ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Prices are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You must pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell ETFs, but their low management fees still give them a cost advantage over most mutual funds....

Investors often ask us why we don’t give price targets for the stocks we recommend. After all, stock price targets appear regularly in brokerage and media reports....

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions about investing in stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle. This week, an Inner Circle member asked us about an industrial stock that is making its name in several fields, but especially in hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” for the oil and gas industry. As the company’s sales and earnings keep rising, Pat examines the prospects for this stock that has been trading for less than a year. ...

If you stick to dividend-paying stocks, you’ll avoid most of the market’s greatest disasters. That’s because a history of dividends says a good deal about a company’s long-term soundness and stability. Investors generally look to more conservative stocks, like banks and utilities, for income, and to more aggressive stocks for capital gains. Yet there are a number of aggressive stocks that also pay a regular dividend. Some even have dividend yields that are as high—or even higher—than yields on more established companies....

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, including the best approach to investing in real estate. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away....

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $50 (www.snclavalin.com) continues to win new oil and gas engineering contracts. Recent deals include an agreement to design pipelines and pumping stations in Iraq for an unspecified amount. In addition, Colombia’s Ecopetrol oil firm has hired SNC to help improve its oil pipeline systems....

TELUS $64.54 (Toronto symbol T.A; Sharesoutstanding: 324.9 million; Market cap: $21.0billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average;Dividend yield: 4.0%; www.telus.com) hasreceived approval from the B.C. Supreme Courtto convert its 151 million non-voting class Ashares into regular common shares (which haveone vote each) on a one-for-one basis.Shareholders have already approved the plan.

The plan will dilute common shareholders’voting power. However, it will let the commonshares trade on the New York Stock Exchange;right now, only the non-voting shares trade onNew York. That should make the commonshares more liquid.

The company will probably complete theconversion in January 2013. Until then, thenon-voting shares will likely trade at a slightdiscount to the common shares, even thoughthey receive identical dividends.
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VANGUARD GROWTH ETF $73.04 (New Yorksymbol VUG; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track theMSCI U.S. Prime Market Growth Index, a broadlydiversified index that mainly consists of shares oflarge U.S. companies. Its MER is just 0.10%.

The $27.0-billion fund’s top holdings are Apple,IBM, Google, Coca-Cola, Philip Morris International,Oracle, Wal-Mart, Schlumberger, Qualcomm andHome Depot.

Vanguard Growth ETF’s breakdown by industryis as follows: Information Technology (29.1%),Consumer Discretionary (20.1%), Consumer Staples(12.9%), Industrials (11.6%), Health Care (10.9%),Financials (5.9%), Energy (5.7%), Materials (3.1%),Telecommunication Services (0.6%) and Utilities(0.1%).
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VANGUARD EMERGING MARKETS ETF$45.47 (New York symbol VWO; buy or sell through brokers)aims to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index,which is made up of common stocks of companieslocated in developing countries around the world.The fund has an MER of just 0.20%.

Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF’s top holdingsinclude Samsung Electronics Co. (South Korea),China Mobile (China: wireless), Petroleo BrasileiroSA (Brazil: oil and gas), Taiwan Semiconductor(Taiwan: computer chips), Vale SA (Brazil: mining),America Movil SAB de CV (Latin America: wireless),Gazprom (Russia: gas utility), China ConstructionBank, Itau Unibanco Holding SA (Brazil:banking), Industrial & Commercial Bank of China,CNOOC Ltd. (China: oil and gas) and China LifeInsurance.

The $71.4-billion fund’s breakdown by country isas follows: China (17.8%), South Korea (15.3%),Brazil (12.5%), Taiwan (10.6%), South Africa(7.6%), India (6.6%), Russia (6.0%), Mexico (4.9%),Malaysia (3.5%), Indonesia (2.7%), Thailand (2.2%),Chile (1.8%), Turkey (1.7%), Poland (1.4%) andOther (5.4%).
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IMPERIAL OIL $42.44 (Toronto symbol IMO;Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap:$36.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average;Dividend yield: 1.1%; www.imperialoil.ca) hasagreed to pay $1.55 billion to buy 50% of CelticExploration (Toronto symbol CLT). Thecompany will purchase this stake from its parentcompany, ExxonMobil Corp. (New York symbolXOM), after Exxon completes its recent deal tobuy 100% of Celtic.

Celtic owns large, undeveloped shale gasdeposits along the B.C.-Alberta border. Thesefields hold a total of 128 million barrels of oilequivalent. Of that total, 76% is natural gas and24% is natural gas liquids, such as butane. Atthe end of 2011, Imperial’s proved reservestotalled 3.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Imperial Oil is a buy.

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CENOVUS ENERGY $33.67 (Toronto symbolCVE; Shares outstanding: 754.9 million; Market cap:$25.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average;Dividend yield: 2.6%; www.cenovus.com) operatesthree heavy oil projects in Alberta and one inSaskatchewan. It gets about half of its output fromthe oil sands. Conventional oil and natural gas wellssupply the other half.

U.S.-based ConocoPhillips (New York symbolCOP) owns 50% of Cenovus’s main Foster Creekand Christina Lake oil sands projects in Alberta.Cenovus ships the heavy bitumen from these assets torefineries in Illinois and Texas that are also 50%owned by ConocoPhillips.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2012, Cenovus’scash flow per share rose 40.0%, to $1.47 from$1.05 a year earlier. The company continues toexpand its projects, and that pushed up its oil outputby 28.4%, to 171,350 barrels per day. It aims toboost production to 500,000 barrels a day by 2021.
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ENCANA CORP. $19.34 (Toronto symbol ECA;Shares outstanding: 735.4 million; Market cap: $14.2billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividendyield: 4.1%; www.encana.com) is one of NorthAmerica’s largest natural gas producers. Its provenreserves should last over 14 years.

In the three months ended September 30, 2012,Encana’s cash flow per share fell 22.5%, to $1.24from $1.60 a year earlier (all amounts except shareprice and market cap in U.S. dollars).

Natural gas accounts for 95% of Encana’s production.In response to falling gas prices, the companylowered its output during the quarter; this was themain reason for the lower cash flow.
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GLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $13.59(New York symbol COPX; buy or sell through brokers;www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive GlobalCopper Miners Index, which includes between20 and 40 international companies that mine,refine or explore for copper. Germany-basedStructured Solutions AG created this index.

Canadian companies make up 43.3% of thefund’s holdings. It also includes companiesbased in Australia (7.9%), Poland (6.5%), Peru(5.6%) and the U.S. (5.4%). Global X CopperMiners ETF’s MER is 0.65%.

Its top 10 holdings are Inmet Mining at 6.9%;KGHM Polska Miedz, 5.6%; Grupo Mexico,5.2%; Xstrata, 5.0%; Antofagasta plc, 5.0%;Southern Copper Corporation, 4.8%; Kazakhmys,4.8%; Jiangxi Copper Company, 4.8%;Hudbay Minerals, 4.8%; and Vendanta Resources,4.7%.
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GLOBAL X SILVER MINERS ETF $23.46 (NewYork symbol SIL; buy or sell through brokers;www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global SilverMiners Index.

This index includes 32 international companiesthat mine, refine or explore for silver. GermanybasedStructured Solutions AG developed the GlobalX Silver Miners Index.

Canadian companies make up 45.4% of the fund’sholdings, but it also includes companies based in theU.S. (13.7%) and Mexico (13.0%). The ETF’s MERis 0.65%.
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ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL GOLD INDEXFUND $19.04 (Toronto symbol XGD; buy or sell throughbrokers; ca.ishares.com) aims to mirror the performanceof the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index.

This index is made up of 56 gold stocks fromCanada and around the world. The fund’s MER is0.60%. iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index Fundbegan trading on March 23, 2001.

The fund’s top 10 holdings are Barrick Gold at15.1%; Goldcorp, 13.1%; Newmont Mining, 9.8%;Yamana Gold, 5.7%; AngloGold Ashanti (ADR),5.2%; Kinross, 4.8%; Eldorado Gold, 4.1%;Randgold Resources, 4.1%; Agnico-Eagle Mines,3.4%; and Gold Fields (ADR), 3.8%.
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TORSTAR CORP. $7.49 (Toronto symbol TS.B;Shares outstanding: 79.9 million; Market cap:$598.5 million; TSINetwork Rating: AboveA v e r a g e ; D i v i d e n d y i e l d : 7 . 0 % ;www.torstar.com) has a great hidden asset in itsownership of romance-novel publisherHarlequin Enterprises.

Harlequin’s earnings should benefit from anew joint venture with Cosmopolitan magazinethat will publish two e-books a month, starting inMay 2013. Cosmopolitan is the world’s largestwoman’s magazine.

Called “Cosmo Red Hot Reads”, these30,000-word e-books aim to profit from fastgrowingdemand for erotica, such as the bestsellingFifty Shades of Grey trilogy. Harlequinwill use its own popular authors, which cuts the

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MARKET VECTORS VIETNAM ETF $18.95(New York symbol VNM; buy or sell through brokers) holdsshares of Vietnamese companies or foreign firms thatget a significant amount of their revenue fromVietnam.

The ETF’s top 10 holdings are Vietin CommercialBank, 7.9%; Vincom Corp. (real estate), 7.9%;Baoviet Holdings (finance and insurance), 7.3%; JSCBank, 7.3%; PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemical,5.4%; Minor International (a Thailand-based firmwith hotels and fast-food restaurants in Vietnam),4.9%; Charoen Pokphand Foods (a Thailand-basedfood conglomerate), 4.6%; Gamuda Bhd (a Malaysiabasedconstruction group), 4.6%; Premier Oil (aU.K.-based producer with stakes in the huge CuuLong basin off southern Vietnam), 4.5%; and Oil &Natural Gas Corp. (an India-based oil and gascompany), 4.0%.

Market Vectors Vietnam ETF’s industry breakdownis as follows: Financials, 45.9%; Energy,21.5%; Industrials, 10.6%; Materials, 7.9%; ConsumerDiscretionary, 6.6%; Consumer Staples, 4.7%;and Utilities, 2.9%. Its expense ratio is 0.76%.

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ISHARES FTSE/XINHUA CHINA 25 INDEXFUND $41.85 (New York symbol FXI; buy or sell throughbrokers) is an ETF that aims to track the FTSE/XinhuaChina 25 Index, which is made up of the 25 largestand most liquid Chinese stocks. All of the stocks inthe index trade on the Hong Kong exchange. Somealso trade as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)on the New York exchange.

The fund’s top holdings are China ConstructionBank, 9.6%; China Mobile, 9.4%; Industrial &Commercial Bank, 8.8%; CNOOC, 6.5%; Bank ofChina, 6.2%; Agricultural Bank of China, 4.5%;China Overseas Land & Investment, 4.2%; ChinaPacific Insurance, 4.2%; China Petroleum andChemical; 4.1%; and PetroChina, 3.9%.

The fund’s holdings give it the following industrybreakdown: Financials, 59.2%; Telecommunications,15.7%; Oil and Gas, 14.5%; Basic Materials, 8.9%;and Industrials, 2.1%. Its expense ratio is 0.74%.

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TRANSCANADA CORP. $47.25 (Torontosymbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 705.1 million;Market cap: $33.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating:Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.7%;www.transcanada.com) has formed a 50/50 jointventure with privately held Phoenix EnergyHoldings Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary ofPetroChina Co. Ltd. (New York symbol PTR).

The partners plan to build a 500-kilometrepipeline that would pump crude oil from Phoenix’soil sands properties in northern Alberta toEdmonton. TransCanada will operate the newpipeline.

TransCanada’s share of the project’s $3.0-billion cost is $1.5 billion. The partners aim tobegin construction in 2014, and the pipelineshould start up in early 2017.

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VERESEN $11.97 (Toronto symbol VSN; Sharesoutstanding: 197.5 million; Market cap: $2.4 billion;TSINetwork Rating: Average; Yield: 8.4%) ownspipelines, power plants and natural gas processingfacilities across North America. One of its majorholdings is 50% of the Alliance gas pipeline, whichruns 3,000 kilometres between Chicago and Fort St.John, B.C. Enbridge owns the other 50%. Thecompany also owns the Alberta Ethane GatheringSystem, and Veresen and Enbridge together hold85.4% of the Aux Sable natural gas liquids (NGL)plant.

In December 2011, Veresen paid Encana Corp.$920 million for the Hythe/Steeprock natural gasgathering and processing complex in the Montneyregion of B.C. and Alberta. Encana also signed along-term deal to buy most of this facility’s gas.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2012, cashflow rose 12.9%, to $61.4 million from $54.4 milliona year earlier. Cash flow per share fell 6.1%, to $0.31from $0.33, on more shares outstanding.

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PEMBINA PIPELINE $28.71 (Toronto symbolPPL; Shares outstanding: 292.3 million; Market cap:$8.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividendyield: 5.6%; www.pembina.com) owns pipelinesystems that transport half of Alberta’s conventionaloil production, 30% of the natural gas liquids(NGLs) produced in western Canada and virtually allof B.C.’s conventional oil output.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2012, Pembina’srevenue rose 171.2%, to $815.3 million from$300.6 million a year earlier. In April 2012, it boughtrival Provident Energy, which extracts, transports andstores NGLs, for $3.2 billion. Provident was themain reason for the higher revenue.

Cash flow rose 62.4%, to $133.2 million from$82.0 million. However, cash flow per share fell6.1%, to $0.46 from $0.49, because the companyissued more shares to pay for Provident.

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LOBLAW COMPANIES $42(Toronto symbol L; Sharesoutstanding: 281.6 million; Marketcap: $11.8 billion; TSINetworkRating: Above Average; Dividendyield: 2.1%; www.loblaw.ca) is upover 25% since December 6, 2012,when it said that it plans to form areal estate investment trust (REIT) tohold the bulk of its real estate assets.

The company currently owns 47million square feet of real estate witha value between $9 billion and $10billion.

Loblaw will transfer 35 millionsquare feet of these holdings—includingstores, warehouses andoffice buildings—to the REIT. In all,these assets are worth about $7billion. Loblaw will then rent theseproperties from the new trust.

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GREAT-WEST LIFECO $24.20 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 950.5 million; Market cap: $23.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.1%) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with $532.0 billion in assets under administration. It also sells mutual funds, retirement-planning and wealth management services. Power Financial owns 68.2% of Great-West.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2012, earnings rose 13.8%, to $520 million, or $0.55 a share. A year earlier, it earned $457 million, or $0.48 a share. Revenue rose 1.5%, to $8.6 billion from $8.5 billion.

Earnings from the Canadian division (which supplies 54% of the total) rose 19.6%. Stronger sales to individuals offset lower demand for group policies. As well, the value of the assets this division manages rose, which pushed up its fee income.

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GOOGLE INC. (Nasdaq symbol GOOG; www.google.com) is the world’s top Internet search engine, with about two-thirds of this market. The company makes money by selling advertising on its websites. Google gets 96% of its revenue from advertising....