etf

We think foreign stocks can safely make up 10% of a conservative investor’s portfolio. One way is through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with an overseas focus. The best of those ETFs charge you very low management fees yet offer you 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 ETF, $43.76, is a buy for aggressive investors. The fund (New York symbol EEM; buy or sell through brokers) is designed to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index; it gives you access to some of the world’s fastest growing markets.


The ETF’s geographic breakdown is as follows: China, 29.9%; India, 19.0%; Taiwan, 16.7%; South Korea, 9.3%; Brazil, 4.6%; Saudi Arabia, 4.0%; South Africa, 3.2%; Mexico, 2.1%; the UAE, 1.4%; Malaysia, 1.4%; Indonesia, 1.2%; and Thailand, 1.2%.


Your biggest stock exposure through the fund is Taiwan Semiconductor (computer chips) at 8.6% of assets; Tencent Holdings (China: Internet), 5.1%; Alibaba Group (China: e-commerce), 3.1%; Samsung Electronics (South Korea), 2.4%; HDFC Bank (India: finance), 1.6%; Xioami Corporation (China: technology), 1.3%; Reliance Industries (India: conglomerate), 1.2%; and ICICI Bank (India: finance), 1.1%.


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

ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND, $71.43, is a buy. The ETF (New York symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) aims to mirror the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International Japan Index.


Top holdings are Toyota, 4.8%; Sony Corp., 3.9%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 3.7%; Hitachi (conglomerate), 3.1%; Nintendo (video games), 2.3%; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, 2.3%; Keyence (sensors), 2.1%; and Recruit Holdings (human resources), 1.9%....

ISHARES S&P/TSX CANADIAN DIVIDEND ARISTOCRATS INDEX ETF $35 (Toronto symbol CDZ; Units outstanding: 26.0 million; Market cap: $910.0 million; Dividend yield: 3.7%; www.blackrock.com/ca) aims to mirror the performance of the S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index.


The ETF hold 90 stocks....

Low interest rates make bonds unattractive, but for investors who want stable income through bonds, we see two Canadian bond ETFs as buys

You Can See Our Exchange-Traded Funds Portfolio For May 2025 Here.

ETFs in brief

Exchange-traded funds are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or sub-index....

This month we highlight a diversified ETF launched by the Toronto-based alternative asset manager, Arrow Capital Management—and managed by WaveFront Global Asset Management.


The second fund is a short-dated U.S. dollar money market ETF launched by TD Asset Management.


WaveFront All-Weather Alternative Fund $20.39 (Toronto symbol WAAV) invests in a range of investment assets with the aim of delivering consistent returns across diverse market conditions.


The ETF launched in January 2025, charges an MER of 0.95%....

Germany was the only country in the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations to suffer an economic contraction in both 2023 and 2024. One reason was the country’s “debt brake.” In place since 2009, it sharply limits the government’s ability to borrow and run economy-stimulating deficits.


However, newly elect German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has now secured backing to remove the debt brake and pave the way for a massive increase in state borrowing.


This will spur a boom in defence and security spending as well as 500 million euros ($545 billion U.S.) in infrastructure investment....

ISHARES MSCI EUROPE IMI INDEX ETF $31.30 (Toronto symbol XEU; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Conservative; Market cap: $396.1 million) invests in European companies. The ETF is not currency-hedged but there is a hedged version available (symbol XEH)


The ETF aims to track the MSCI Europe Investable Market Index....

ARK Genomic Revolution ETF $20.56 (CBOE symbol ARKG) invests globally in companies it expects to benefit from the development of products and services meant to improve the quality of life. Those firms are involved in molecular diagnostics, gene therapy, targeted therapeutics, agricultural biology, and stem cells.


The ETF launched in October 2014 and has built up a substantial asset base of $943.0 million....

A key rule of our three-part Successful Investor strategy is to spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; and Utilities).

This has two main benefits: a) It keeps you from investing too heavily in any industry or sector that is headed into a period of big losses; and b) By spreading your investments out more widely, it also improves your chances of latching onto a market superstar—a stock that will wind up producing two or five or 10 times more profit than average.

ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL BASE METALS ETF $16.86 (Toronto symbol XBM; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $230.9 million) tracks the S&P/TSX Global Base Metals Index....