BCE Inc.

ISHARES DOW JONES CANADA SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX FUND $22.02 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highest-yielding Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of its assets. The fund’s MER is 0.50%. It yields 4.3%.

The fund’s top holdings are CIBC, 6.5%; Bonterra Energy, 6.4%; National Bank, 5.8%; TD Bank, 5.5%; Bank of Montreal, 5.3%; Telus Corp., 4.9%; BCE Inc., 4.4%; Royal Bank, 4.4%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 4.1%; and IGM Financial, 4.1%.

The fund holds 51.4% of its assets in financial stocks. The top Canadian finance stocks have sound prospects. However, 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 FUND $17.66 (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 0.17% of assets.

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, 7.8%; TD Bank, 6.7%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 6.0%; Suncor Energy, 4.6%; Bank of Montreal, 3.6%; CN Railway, 3.6%; Potash Corp., 3.3%; Enbridge, 3.1%; Trans- Canada Corp., 3.0%; BCE, 3.0%; CIBC, 2.9%; Canadian Natural Resources, 2.9%; Barrick Gold, 2.9%; Goldcorp, 2.6%; Manulife Financial, 2.3%; Cenovus Energy, 2.2%; and Telus, 1.9%.
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Most U.S. markets have risen lately, while Canada’s resource-heavy Toronto Stock Exchange has lagged. But as always, both remain subject to unexpected downturns. 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....

Most U.S. markets have risen lately, while Canada’s resource-heavy Toronto Stock Exchange has lagged. But as always, both remain subject to unexpected downturns. Even so, 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....

BCE INC. (Toronto symbol BCE; www.bce.ca) is Canada’s largest provider of telephone, Internet and wireless services. It also sells satellite TV services across the country. The company continues to benefit from strong demand for wireless and high-speed Internet services. That’s a big reason why the stock is up 31% since 2008....

BCE INC. $46.60 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 775.4 million; Market cap: $36.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.0%; www.bce.ca) has restructured its $3.4-billion deal to buy Astral Media (Toronto symbols ACM.A and ACM.B).

Montreal-based Astral owns 22 TV stations, 84 radio stations and several pay TV and specialty channels. It also owns billboards and sells other outdoor advertising.

In November 2012, the Canadian Radiotelevision and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) rejected the takeover, as the purchase would have given BCE an overwhelming share of Canada’s English-language TV market.

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BCE INC. $47 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 775.9 million; Market cap: $36.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 5.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca), like Telus (see left), continues to benefit from strong demand for wireless and high-speed Internet services. That’s a big reason why the stock is up 31% since 2008.

Unlike Telus, however, BCE has invested heavily in expanding its media operations, which include the 28-station CTV Television Network, 30 specialty channels and 33 radio stations.

BCE now hopes to complete its $3.0-billion purchase of Astral Media in June 2013. Montreal-based Astral owns 22 TV stations, 84 radio stations and popular specialty channels like The Movie Network and Teletoon.
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BCE INC. $47 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 775.9 million; Market cap: $36.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 5.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca), like Telus (see left), continues to benefit from strong demand for wireless and high-speed Internet services....

BCE INC. $46.60 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 775.4 million; Market cap: $36.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.0%; www.bce.ca) has restructured its $3.4-billion deal to buy Astral Media (Toronto symbols ACM.A and ACM.B).

Montreal-based Astral owns 22 TV stations, 84 radio stations and several pay TV and specialty channels....

BELL ALIANT INC. $26.63 (Toronto symbol BA; Shares outstanding: 227.8 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 7.1%; www.aliant.ca) sells phone and Internet services to 2.5 million customers in Atlantic Canada and rural Ontario and Quebec. It also sells wireless services through an alliance with BCE, which owns 45% of Bell Aliant.

The company continues to replace copper wires with fibre optic cable. That’s attracting more highspeed Internet and digital TV customers. Strong demand for these services is also helping offset lower revenue from traditional phone services.

Bell Aliant’s high-speed fibre optic systems now reach 650,000 homes. The company plans to increase that to 800,000 by the end of 2012.

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