diversification

We think conservative investors could hold up to 10% of their portfolios in foreign stocks. One way to do that is to buy carefully chosen exchange traded funds (ETFs) that have an overseas focus. The best ETFs offer very low management fees and well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of high-quality stocks. Here are six international ETFs we like:...

ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $31.60 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 60.0 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.2%; www.alliedpropertiesreit.com) owns 119 office buildings, mostly in major Canadian cities. These mainly Class I properties contain over 8.3 million square feet of leasable area. Class I refers to 19th- and early-20th-century light industrial buildings that have been converted to office and retail space. They usually feature exposed beams, interior brick and hardwood floors. In 2011, the trust bought 22 properties for $456 million. In the first half of 2012, it bought 14 buildings for $175.0 million. Allied has an occupancy rate of 92.3%....

Black Diamond Group, $21.14, symbol BDI on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 41.2 million; Market cap: $871.0 million; www.blackdiamondlimited.com), is a Calgary-based company that builds modular buildings and housing for workers at remote sites, such as mines and drilling rigs. It also provides oilfield services and equipment. Aside from oil and gas and mining, Black Diamond’s customers include electricity, construction and engineering businesses, as well as government agencies. The company’s Camps division rents and sells remote workforce housing and provides associated services. Its temporary structures include large dormitories, kitchen/dining facilities and recreation complexes. This division is largely focused on western Canada. The company’s logistics division operates remote lodging facilities for third parties. It also owns the sprawling Sunday Creek Lodge, which provides accommodations for corporate clients in the northern Alberta oil sands. Black Diamond Logistics also transports, installs, dismantles, repairs and maintains modular structures for customers....

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 stock trading advice that will help you develop a successful approach to 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: “Buying nothing but stocks that are going up in price is liable to lead to more losses than gains.”...

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 stock market advice that will help you develop a successful approach to 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: “Relying on just one or two indicators to help you choose stocks can increase your risk rather than diminish it.”...

ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEX FUND $39.91 (New York symbol EEM; buy or sell through brokers), is an exchange traded fund that aims to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Its geographic breakdown includes China, 17.4%; South Korea, 15.2%; Brazil, 13.2%; Taiwan, 11.0%; South Africa, 8.0%; India, 6.2%; Russia, 5.8%; Mexico, 4.7%; Malaysia, 3.7%; and Indonesia, 2.7%.

The fund’s top holdings are Samsung Electronics (South Korea: electronics), 3.5%; China Mobile, 1.9%; Taiwan Semiconductor (Taiwan: computer chips), 1.8%; America Movil (Brazil: wireless), 1.6%; Gazprom (Russia: gas utility), 1.5%; China Construction Bank (China: banking), 1.4%; Petrobras Petroleo (Brazil: energy), 1.2%; Vale SA (Brazil: mining), 1.1%; and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, 1.2%.

The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Financials, 24.1%; Information Technology, 13.7%; Energy, 12.7%; Materials, 12.1%; Consumer Staples, 8.5%; Consumer Discretionary, 8.1%; Telecommunication Services, 8.1%; Industrials, 6.9%; Utilities, 3.8%; and Health Care, 1.1%.

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CANADIAN REIT $42.04 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 67.8 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.6%; www.creit.ca) owns over 190 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, located across Canada and in the Chicago area. These properties contain over 19 million square feet of leasable area. Its occupancy rate is 95.0%.

In the three months ended March 31, 2012, the real estate investment trust’s revenue rose 9.7%, to $89.2 million from $81.3 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 7.7%, to $0.56 from $0.52.

The trust bought $298.6 million of properties in 2011, including its June purchase of two fully leased malls in Mississauga, Ontario, for $174.4 million. In March 2012, it bought 50% of the 310,000- square-foot Altius Centre in Calgary for $92.3 million. In April, it paid $156.0 million for 50% of Calgary Place, a 575,000-square-foot office and retail complex.

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ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $29.35 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 55.9 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.5%; www.alliedpropertiesreit.com) owns 100 office buildings, mostly in major Canadian cities. These mainly Class I properties contain over 7.8 million square feet of leasable area. Class I refers to 19th- and early-20th-century light industrial buildings that have been converted to office and retail space. They usually feature exposed beams, interior brick and hardwood floors. In 2011, the trust bought 22 properties for $456 million. In the first quarter of 2012, it bought 10 more buildings for $185.2 million....

We think conservative investors could hold up to, say, 10% of their portfolios in foreign stocks. One way to do that is to buy carefully chosen exchange traded funds (ETFs) that have an overseas focus. The best ETFs offer very low management fees and well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of highquality stocks. Here are six foreign ETFs we like: ...

CANADIAN REIT $38.74 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 67.6 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.7%; www.creit.ca) owns over 190 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, located across Canada and in the Chicago area. These properties contain over 24 million square feet of leasable area. Its occupancy rate is 94.4%.

In the three months ended December 31, 2011, the real estate investment trust’s revenue rose 8.9%, to $90.0 million from $82.6 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 6.9%, to $0.62 from $0.58.

The REIT bought $264.5 million of properties in 2011, including its June purchase of two fully leased malls in Mississauga, Ontario, for $174.4 million. In March 2012, it bought 50% of the 310,000- square-foot Altius Centre in Calgary for $89.9 million. In April, it paid $156.0 million for 50% of Calgary Place, a 575,000-square-foot office and retail complex, also in Calgary.

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