etf

An improved U.S. economy and low unemployment led the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates three times in 2017 and twice so far this year. That dampens the risk of a falling U.S. dollar and much-stronger inflation. Typically, both of those factors are needed to significantly boost demand for gold.


Still, if you want exposure to gold, here are three low-fee ETFs.


SPDR GOLD SHARES ETF $111.21 (New York symbol GLD; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $11.9 billion) invests in gold bullion, using gold bars in the vaults of HSBC, Bank of England, UBS AG and others....

DIRECTION IBILLIONNAIRE ETF (no longer listed) aimed to replicate the largest stock holdings of a select group of 10 billionaires.


As we forecast in November 2017 for our very first issue of Best ETFs for Canadian Investors, this ETF did indeed struggle to gain traction....

Frontier markets are developing countries, but with economies considered still too small to be emerging markets. While risky, the best of frontier-market stocks offer good prospects for growth and strong fundamental value. Here are two ETFs that aim to benefit from those stocks and their markets....

To create a balanced ETF portfolio, focus on funds that hold the kind of stocks we recommend

The best ETF selection strategies will focus on well-diversified funds holding top-quality stocks

GLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $23.55 (New York symbol COPX; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) aims to track the Solactive Global Copper Miners Index, which includes 30 global mining and exploration firms. The ETF started up in April 2010.


Canadian firms make up 31.9% of the fund’s holdings....

An investment mania usually begins as a mass attraction to a specific investment, or investment area. It often ends up including a range of investments that bear only a passing resemblance to the original investment area.


The mania for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies over the last couple of years—which we think will end badly for most investors—is grounded in several factors....

We think foreign stocks can safely make up 10% of a conservative investor’s portfolio. One way is through the selection of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with an overseas focus.


The best of those ETFs continue to offer very low management fees and well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of high-quality stocks.


Here’s a look at four international ETFs we see as suitable for new buying and two others we feel you should continue to hold.


ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEX FUND $44.46 (New York symbol EEM; buy or sell through brokers) is designed to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.


The fund’s geographic breakdown is as follows: China, 31.4%; South Korea, 14.0%; Taiwan, 11.7%; India, 8.8%; South Africa, 6.6%; Brazil, 6.5%; Russia, 3.4%; Mexico, 3.1%; Malaysia, 2.4%; Thailand, 2.3%; Indonesia, 1.9%; and Poland, 1.2%.


Its top stocks are Tencent Holdings (China: Internet), 5.0%; Alibaba Group (China: e-commerce), 4.1 %; Samsung Electronics (South Korea), 3.8%; Taiwan Semiconductor (computer chips), 3.7%; Naspers (South Africa: media and Internet), 2.1%; China Construction Bank, 1.6%; Baidu (China: Internet), 1.3%; Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, 1.0%; China Mobile, 1.0%; and Ping An Insurance Group (China), 0.9%.


iShares launched the ETF on April 7, 2003....

A: The Goldman Sachs JUST U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF, $40.81, symbol JUST on New York (Units outstanding: 6.4 million; Market cap: $261.2 million; www.gsam.com), was launched on June 7, 2018, by prominent hedge fund manager and billionaire philanthropist Paul Tudor Jones.

The ETF now has assets under management of $259 million....

A: The Invesco S&P SmallCap Health Care ETF, $135.19, symbol PSCH on Nasdaq (Units outstanding: 5.9 million; Market cap: $797.6 million; www.invesco.com), invests in smaller U.S. firms involved in the health-care industry....