etf
An ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) is an investment fund that holds a collection of underlying assets, such as stocks or bonds, in a single pooled vehicle. ETFs allow investors to purchase a variety of different securities at once, providing greater diversification compared to owning individual assets. They are traded on stock exchanges like regular stocks, allowing for intraday trading at market prices. ETFs typically have lower fees than mutual funds and often passively track an index or sector, making them a popular choice for investors seeking a cost-effective way to invest in a diversified portfolio.
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iShares Diversified Monthly Income Fund ETF, $11.99, symbol XTR on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 24.9 million; Market cap: $298.6 million; ca.ishares.com) holds units of nine different iShares ETFs. Among these holdings are units of five bond funds that add up to 47.4% of the iShares Diversified Monthly Income Fund ETF’s assets. We don’t generally recommend bonds right now. That’s because bonds are unlikely to perform as well in the next few years as they have in the last few, mainly because interest rates will likely hold steady or rise. That means the fund would only earn interest income on its bonds; instead of capital gains, its bond holdings could produce capital losses....
VANGUARD EMERGING MARKETS ETF $43.93 (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 companies located in emerging markets around the world. The fund has an MER of 0.22%. The fund’s top holdings are Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Brazil: oil and gas), Vale SA (Brazil: mining), Samsung Electronics (South Korea: electronics), Gazprom (Russia: gas utility), China Mobile (China: wireless), Taiwan Semiconductor (Taiwan: computer chips), America Movil SAB de CV (Latin America: wireless), Itau Unibanco Holding SA (Brazil: banking), Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, and CNOOC Ltd. (China: oil and gas). The $65.0-billion Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF’s breakdown by country is as follows: China (17.4%), South Korea (15.2%), Brazil (15.1%), Taiwan (10.9%), South Africa (7.4%), India (7.3%), Russia (7.1%), Mexico (4.4%), Malaysia (3.2%), Indonesia (2.8%), Thailand (1.9%), Poland (1.7%), Chile (1.6%), Turkey (1.3%), Colombia (0.6%), Philippines (0.6%), Peru (0.5%), Czech Republic (0.4%), Hungary (0.4%) and Egypt (0.2%)....
VANGUARD GROWTH ETF $60.58 (New York symbol VUG; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the MSCI U.S. Prime Market Growth Index, a broadly diversified index that mainly consists of stocks of large U.S. companies. The fund has an MER of just 0.14%. The $21.0-billion fund’s top holdings are Apple Inc., IBM, Google, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Philip Morris International, Oracle Corp., Schlumberger, Wal-Mart and PepsiCo. Vanguard Growth ETF is broken down by economic segment as follows: Information Technology (29.3%), Consumer Discretionary (17.0%), Consumer Staples (12.3%), Energy (10.9%), Industrials (11.1%), Health Care (10.9%), Financials (4.8%), Materials (4.5%), Telecommunication Services (0.7%) and Utilities (0.2%)....
Pennsylvania-based Vanguard Group is one of the world’s largest investment-management companies. The group manages over $1 trillion U.S. in 150 mutual funds. Vanguard, which went into business in 1975, offers low-fee index mutual funds. Generally speaking, Canadians can’t buy units of mutual funds that are registered in the U.S., because they aren’t registered with provincial securities commissions. For that matter, some Canadian funds aren’t available in all provinces. Canadians can, however, buy Vanguard exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that trade on stock exchanges. We don’t recommend all of Vanguard’s ETFs, but here are two we do see as low-fee buys:...
The long-term outlook is bright for emerging-market economies and companies that operate in them. One of the best ways to tap into that growth is through low-fee exchange-traded funds (ETFs). ISHARES S&P INDIA NIFTY 50 INDEX FUND $25.31 (Nasdaq symbol INDY; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com), is an ETF that aims to track the S&P CNX Nifty Index, which represents the 50 largest, most liquid Indian securities. The fund’s top holdings are Reliance Industries (conglomerate), 7.7%; Infosys Technologies (software), 7.4%; ITC Ltd. (conglomerate), 7.4%; ICICI Bank, 6.7%; Housing Development Finance, 5.9%; Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (conglomerate), 5.7%; HDFC Bank, 5.6%; State Bank of India, 3.4%; Tata Consultancy Services (information technology), 3.3%; and Bharti Airtel (wireless), 3.3%....
ISHARES AUSTRALIA INDEX FUND $24.34 (New York symbol EWA; buy or sell through brokers), is an ETF that holds the 73 largest Australian stocks. Its MER is 0.53%. The fund’s top holdings include BHP Billiton, 15.1%; Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 8.6%; Westpac Banking Corp., 7.0%; Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, 6.1%; National Australia Bank, 5.9%; Rio Tinto, 4.0%; Woolworths, 3.7%; Newcrest Mining, 3.4%; Wesfarmers, 3.3%; and Woodside Petroleum, 2.7%. Australia benefits from its stable banking and political systems. It is also rich in natural resources, and its exports are in high demand in Asian markets, including India and China....
PowerShares Canadian Dividend Index ETF, $18.44, symbol PDC on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 250,000; Market cap: $4.6 million; www.investco.ca), aims to replicate the performance of the Indxis Select Canadian Dividend Index. PowerShares Canadian Dividend Index ETF was launched on June 16, 2011. The units began trading at $20. However, the fund duplicates the PowerShares Canadian Dividend Index mutual fund, which started up in November 2009. The fund holds 35 stocks, eight real estate investment trusts (REITs) and two income trusts. It has an expense ratio of 0.50%, and yields 3.6%. Its top 10 holdings are Royal Bank, 10.0%; TD Bank, 10.0%, Bank of Nova Scotia, 9.7%; Bank of Montreal, 7.4%; CIBC, 5.6%; TransCanada Corp., 5.4%; Thomson Reuters, 5.2%; Enbridge, 4.6%; Great-West Lifeco, 4.4%; and Power Financial, 3.9%....
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer very low management fees. As well, the best ETFs offer well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of high-quality stocks. But the quality of ETFs varies widely. All too many ETFs exist to tap into popular, but risky, themes and fads. So you need to be highly selective with your ETF holdings. Here are six foreign ETFs we like:...
The federal government’s tax on income-trust distributions has now been in effect for a little more than six months, since January 1, 2011. However, Ottawa feels the income-trust business structure is still appropriate for real estate investment trusts (REITs), so it has exempted REITs from the new tax. That’s great news for Canadian income seekers. What’s more, as we predicted in our Canadian Wealth Advisor newsletter, most REITs have moved up in the past year—including our recommendations. That’s because REITs’ high yields have attracted a lot of investor attention as trusts converted to corporations, or cut their distributions in response to the new tax....
ISHARES DOW JONES CANADA SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX FUND $21.64 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through a broker; 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 assets. The fund’s MER is 0.50%. It yields 2.7%. The fund’s top holdings are CIBC, 6.4%; Bonterra Energy Corp., 6.0%; National Bank, 5.2%; Bank of Montreal, 5.2%; TD Bank, 5.1%; Telus, 4.6%; IGM Financial, 4.5%; AG Growth International, 4.2%; Royal Bank, 3.9%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 3.8%; BCE, 3.7%; and TMX Group, 3.6%. The fund holds 51.8% of its assets in financial stocks. Utilities are next, at 24.0%. 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....