etf

A: iShares Core MSCI Canadian Quality Dividend Index ETF, $24.80, symbol XDIV on Toronto (Units outstanding: 31.5 million; Market cap: $781.2 million; www.blackrock.com/ca), tracks the MSCI Canada High Dividend Yield 10% Security Capped Index.

This index aims to invest in Canadian stocks with above-average dividend yields and steady or increasing dividends....

You can see our Exchange-traded Funds Portfolio for April 2023 here.

ETFs in brief

Traditionally, exchange-traded funds were set up to mirror the performance of a specific stock-market index....

With the goal of tapping into the popularity of high-yield investments, RBC recently launched an ETF that invests in Canadian dividend-paying companies—but with a covered call strategy. Meanwhile, we also look at an ETF focused on using leverage in bull markets but switching to short positions in bear markets.


RBC CANADIAN DIVIDEND COVERED CALL ETF $20.07 (Toronto symbol RCDC) invests in large-cap, dividend-paying Canadian companies—and sells covered call options on its stock holdings.


The ETF launched in January 2023 with an MER of 0.64%....

Growth this year for South Asia’s biggest economy is likely to come in at around 6%. That’s below its pre-pandemic growth rates of 8% or more, but it will still make India one of the world’s fastest-growing economies in 2023.


The country continues to face a weak healthcare system, poor infrastructure, and very slow implementation of much-needed economic and political reforms....

Exchange-traded funds have traditionally been managed as passive, index-tracking investment vehicles. But that continues to change as more promoters launch actively managed ETFs into the market. Active management is when a fund manager picks stocks on an ongoing basis, rather than aiming to match benchmark indexes....

Many semiconductor (computer chip) stocks posted big gains after the pandemic hit in early 2020. That’s because sales of chips for personal electronics, such as computers, gaming hardware and so on, soared.


With COVID easing, demand for advanced chips—chips for automotive applications, datacentres, 5G technology and the Internet of Things (IoT)—has remained strong....

One of the best methods of building wealth over time is to zero in on the shares of companies (or the ETFs that hold them) with sound fundamental value. That includes a history of consistently strong sales and earnings, or cash flow. A solid balance sheet and a strong hold on a growing clientele are also pluses.


Here are two ETFs that aim to select high-quality companies with solid value....

Here’s a question that many investors may have wondered about in recent months. It sounds straightforward but there may be more to it than you’d guess.

Q: Pat, I believe the Canadian dollar and others will rise against the U.S. dollar. Is there a way for me to gain from a rise in the Canadian dollar against the U.S....

Most precious-metal stocks dropped, along with the market, in March 2020. They then quickly reversed that trend to soar for investors, in part because of gold’s appeal as a “safe harbour” in times of economic uncertainty. In fact, in August 2020, gold jumped to over $2,000 U.S....

INVESCO SOLAR ETF, $76.55, is a buy for aggressive investors. The ETF (New York symbol TAN; buy or sell through brokers) tracks solar-related companies (including technology firms and utilities) listed on global exchanges.


The fund’s top holdings are First Solar (China; solar panels) at 11.6%; SolarEdge Technologies (Israel; solar-power batteries), 10.1%; Enphase Energy (U.S.; home solar systems), 6.7%; GCL Technology (China; polysilicon), 5.7%; Xinyi Solar (China; solar panels), 5.6%; and Sunrun (U.S.; solar panels), 4.6%. The ETF charges a relatively high MER of 0.69%.


Renewable stocks have drifted since early 2021; that follows big run-ups in 2020 on President Biden’s support for sun, wind and hydro power—plus strong investor interest in stocks that will gain from the push for global decarbonization....