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All of the major global stock markets fell at the initial outbreak of COVID-19. But many top markets have since rebounded. We think the outlook remains positive for quality stocks, and one way to profit from that—while cutting your risk—is to invest in quality ETFs.


Here’s a look at four international funds that we believe are well-suited for your new buying....

A: iShares Core MSCI Canadian Quality Dividend Index ETF, $24.36, symbol XDIV on Toronto (Units outstanding: 22.2 million; Market cap: $540.8 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....

A: Both of these ETFs hold stocks in most or all of the five main economic sectors: Finance, Utilities, Resources, Consumer and Manufacturing.

The iShares Canadian Select Dividend Index ETF, $29.59, symbol XDV on Toronto (Units outstanding: 58.4 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; www.blackrock.com/ca), holds 30 of the highest-yielding Canadian stocks....

ISHARES MSCI TAIWAN INDEX FUND, $61.84, is a buy for aggressive investors. The ETF (New York symbol EWT; buy or sell through brokers) gives you direct exposure to some of the top public companies of this East Asian powerhouse economy.


The fund’s largest holding is Taiwan Semiconductor at 22.8% of assets....

The major Canadian and U.S. stock markets have moved back up since their initial COVID-19 drop. Nonetheless, we think that if you can afford to stay in the market for several years or longer, now is still a good time for new buying. We see ETFs as one way for you to profit from the continuing rise, while at the same time cutting your risk....

The Covid-19 pandemic has once again demonstrated the importance of healthcare services. But meantime, the demand for healthcare products and services has been growing for decades.


The aging of the population


A combination of declining fertility rates and increasing life expectancy is resulting in a rapidly aging global population, mainly in the developed world but also increasingly in the developing world.


According to the latest UN World Population Prospects report, by 2050, 16% of the world’s population will be over age 65, up from 9% in 2019....

High economic growth rates have helped swell India’s middle class over the past two decades. However, the country still comes in well below its main emerging market rival China in global competitiveness rankings.


Apart from the immediate challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the country faces a weak health care system, poor infrastructure, and is only very slowly implementing much-needed economic and political reforms....

The current supply shortfall in the global semiconductor industry is creating major problems for many manufacturers of vehicles, computers, and other connected devices. While the imbalance will resolve itself as the supply chains return to normal and demand stabilizes, the longer-term demand trend for computer chips remains strong....

The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed shares prices for many healthcare stocks—and the ETFs that hold them—to today’s all-time highs. Despite that, the underlying growth trends remain strong as the global population grows older and emerging economies spend more on healthcare....

A: BlackRock Inc., $921.04, symbol BLK on New York (Shares outstanding: 152.2 million; Market cap: $140.8 billion; www.blackrock.com), is one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management firms.

The company manages $9.5 trillion of assets on behalf of institutions and individuals through a variety of equity, fixed-income, cash-management, alternative-investment and advisory products.

BlackRock’s global ETF (exchange-traded fund) and stock-index investing business accounts for 63% of its overall assets under management (AUM)....