investment

The month of August saw the strongest returns for U.S. technology, Internet, and growth stocks. The SPDR Tech Select ETF (XLK) gained 16.6%, and the Invesco Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ), 13.9%. U.S. Growth stocks as represented by the iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) also had a good month, with a 13.2% gain.


At the broad market level, the Vanguard Total World Stocks ETF (VT) gained 6.8% in the month, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), 9.2%, and the iShares MSCI Canada Equity ETF (EWC) ,6.2%.


The iShares Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) lagged developed markets with a 5.1% gain....

The German economy is the largest in Europe and ranks among the top five globally. The country was an early adopter of COVID-19 containment efforts—and its healthy fiscal situation before the pandemic has let it unleash substantial economic supports and a recovery package....

BCE INC. $57 (www.bce.ca) is a buy. The company recently launch its new ultrafast 5G wireless service in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. The telecom plans to expand to other cities starting in late 2020 and into 2021....

Here’s an excerpt from a recent issue of Advice for Inner Circle Pro Members:


“ETFs (Exchange-traded funds) may have a role to play in your portfolio. As with any investment, however, you need to approach them with a healthy sense of skepticism, if not an outright BS detector....

A: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., $217.80, symbol BRK.B on New York, recently bought 20.9 million shares of Barrick Gold, $38.65, symbol ABX on Toronto (and a recommendation of Power Growth Investor) for $563.5 million U.S. Berkshire Hathaway is now the miner’s 11th-largest shareholder.

At the same time, Buffett sold all of his shares in Restaurant Brands International, $55.80, symbol QSR on New York (and also a Power Growth Investor pick), the owner of fast-food restaurants Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes.

Berkshire also dumped its holdings in investment banker Goldman Sachs, $202.48, symbol GS on New York; at the same time it reduced its holdings in banks J.P....

There’s nothing inherently wrong with investing in most “alternative investments.” The term includes real estate, commodity trading, private equity (shares of private companies that are not publicly traded), venture capital (private equity of startup companies), hedge funds, art, collectibles, interests in proceeds of lawsuits that are still before the courts, antique sports cars—the list gets longer every year.

However, the marketing of alternative investments can lead investors to overlook a key risk in these investments....

How do stocks work? It’s time to learn how stocks work so you boost your portfolio returns

The highest yield dividend stocks are great for your portfolio—but only if there’s a history of paying a steady dividend and the high yield isn’t misleading

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $55.88, is a buy. The bank (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $67.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 6.4%; www.scotiabank.com) has agreed to settle charges by U.S....

The market plunge in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis lowered prices for most REITs. That’s because the pandemic forced many businesses to temporarily close. That hurt rent collection for REITs, and cut cash available for distributions. However, payments from these two REITs still look secure thanks to their high-quality properties and tenants.


RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST, $15.01, is a buy. The REIT (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units o/s: 317.7 million; Market cap: $4.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Divd....