etf

POWERSHARES QQQ ETF $76.42 (Nasdaq symbol QQQQ; buy or sell through brokers; www.invescopowershares- .com), formerly called Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares, holds stocks that represent the Nasdaq 100 Index, which consists of the 100 largest shares on the Nasdaq exchange, based on 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 companies. The fund’s expenses are about 0.20% of its assets.

The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel, Amazon.com, Gilead Sciences, Comcast Corp. and Amgen.
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SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $154.54 (New York symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The fund’s top holdings are IBM, ExxonMobil, Chevron, 3M, Travelers Companies, McDonald’s, Johnson & Johnson, Caterpillar, United Technologies and Boeing. The fund’s expenses are about 0.17% of its assets.

SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy.
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SPDR S&P 500 ETF $169.18 (New York symbol SPY; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the stocks in the S&P 500 Index, which consists of 500 major U.S. stocks that are chosen based on their market cap, liquidity and industry group.

The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, J.P. Morgan Chase, IBM, Chevron, General Electric, Pfizer, Berkshire Hathaway, Google, AT&T and Wells Fargo. The fund’s expenses are just 0.10% of its assets.

If you want exposure to the S&P 500 Index, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF is a buy.
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ISHARES DOW JONES CANADA SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX FUND $22.31 (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 4.5%.

The fund’s top holdings are Bonterra Energy, 6.5%; CIBC, 6.3%; National Bank, 5.9%; TD Bank, 5.7%; Bank of Montreal, 5.3%; Royal Bank, 4.5%; IGM Financial, 4.4%; Telus Corp., 4.2%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 4.1%; and BCE Inc., 4.0%.

The fund holds 53.4% 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 CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $15.05 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds the 15 Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. The weight of each REIT is limited to 25% of the ETF’s value.

iShares CDN REIT’s expenses are 0.60% of its assets. The fund yields 5.2%.

The ETF’s largest holding is RioCan REIT at 19.4%, followed by H&R REIT (14.5%), Dundee REIT (8.3%), Canadian REIT (7.4%), Calloway REIT (6.7%), Cominar REIT (6.1%), Boardwalk REIT (5.9%), Canadian Apartment REIT (5.7%), Allied Properties REIT (5.5%), Artis REIT (4.8%), Chartwell REIT (4.4%), Granite REIT (4.3%), Dundee International REIT (2.3%), Northern Property REIT (2.3%) and Crombie REIT (1.9%).
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iShares S&P/TSX Capped Utilities Fund, $18.29, symbol XUT on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 5.6 million; Market cap: $102.4 million; ca.ishares.com), holds the 11 stocks in the S&P/TSX Capped Utilities Index. The ETF’s MER is 0.60%, and it yields 4.3%. The fund’s holdings are Fortis Inc., 21.0%; Canadian Utilities, 14.9%; Emera, 14.9%; TransAlta Corp., 13.2%; ATCO, 11.6%; Superior Plus Corp., 5.3%; Capital Power Corp., 5.0%; Northland Power, 4.7%; Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., 3.8%; and Just Energy Group, 3.7%. The weight of any one company is capped at 25% of the index’s market capitalization. As a result, every three months, if the market cap of any given stock has risen above 25% of the total market cap of all the stocks in the index, the fund will sell shares of that stock to bring its weight down to the 25% cap level. The fund then uses the sale proceeds to buy other stocks in the index on a proportional basis....

ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $15.05 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds the 15 Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. The weight of each REIT is limited to 25% of the ETF’s value.

iShares CDN REIT’s expenses are 0.60% of its assets....

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or subindex. They hold a more-or-less fixed selection of securities that represent the holdings that go into the calculation of the index or sub-index.

ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks....

Chinese stocks are down 20% since the start of 2013 due to concerns that China’s economic growth will continue to lag, along with its exports to Europe and the U.S. At the same time, China aims to control rising inflation and rapid growth in riskier bank lending with higher interest rates—without hurting its economy....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a beginning or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific investment tips and stock market advice. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investment advice, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away....