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The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.25% in early 2020. That was meant to support economic activity after COVID-19 hit. Whether the bank continues to hold that rate steady, cuts it further or raises it depends on Canada’s economic growth and employment levels....

ISHARES S&P/TSX REIT INDEX ETF, $20.33, is a hold. The ETF (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) lets investors tap all 21 Canadian real estate investment trusts in the S&P/TSX REIT Index.


Investors pay an MER of 0.61%, and the REIT fund gives you a 2.7% yield....

This month we look at a space exploration ETF from ARK Invest that targets rising investor interest in space and related stocks. We also look at an ETF from Horizons that invests globally in semiconductor (computer chip) companies.


ARK Invest recently launched the ARK Space Exploration and Innovation ETF $20.78 (New York symbol ARKX).


The fund aims to select companies that launch or make satellites and/or launch vehicles, or that stand to benefit from space exploration technologies such as precision agriculture, Internet service providers, drone operators and so on.


The ETF invests globally, but the bulk of the assets are allocated to U.S....

Ireland was once known as the Celtic Tiger for the high economic growth rates it achieved between 1995 and 2007. However, the global financial crisis of 2008 to 2009 set the country back significantly. Growth only returned several years later. Still, the country’s low corporate tax rates, duty-free access to the valuable European marketplace, and a well-educated workforce remain attractive to large, multinational corporations....

A: The PIMCO Global Short Maturity Fund (Canada) ETF, $19.75, symbol PMNT on Toronto (Units outstanding: 2.8 million; Market cap: $55.3 million; www.pimco.ca) began trading on the Toronto exchange on February 1, 2019....

ISHARES CHINA LARGE-CAP ETF, $41.36, is now a hold for safety-conscious investors. The ETF (New York symbol FXI; buy or sell through brokers) tracks the 50 largest, most-liquid Chinese stocks. Investors pay a high 0.74% MER. The units yield 2.0%.


Top holdings for the $4.5 billion fund are Alibaba (e-commerce), 9.2%; Tencent (Internet), 9.2%; Meituan Dianping (group buying/food delivery), 8.6%; China Construction Bank, 5.4%; and Wuxi Biologics, 4.6%.


Chinese stocks are down lately as the government has introduced strict new regulations around fintech stocks, data sharing among tech firms and online platforms and, most recently, online learning firms.


These surprise regulations directed at private Chinese companies are aimed at promoting social policies and imposing more government control over various sectors....

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....

Tourism is an important economic industry in Mexico: pre-pandemic the segment directly accounted for 9% of GDP, and 6% of full-time paid employment.


The country is also a prominent global tourist destination, receiving 45 million international visitors in 2019, ranking 6th globally on the number of international visitors....

The Mexican economy was hit by the pandemic, especially from a disastrous drop in international tourists as COVID-19 kept visitors at home. But the economy is now recovering as the U.S. rebounds. In fact, Mexican stocks have largely bounced back to pre-pandemic levels.


Here’s a look at an ETF that provides exposure to the top Mexican publicly listed companies.


ISHARES MSCI MEXICO ETF $47.88 (Nasdaq symbol EWW; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $1.2 billion) tracks the performance of the largest publicly listed Mexican companies.


Consumer Defensive stocks account for 31% of its assets, while Telecommunication Services (22%), Financial Services (15%), Basic Materials (12%), and Industrials (10%) are other key segments.


The ETF holds a portfolio of 47 stocks; the top 10 holdings make up a large 64% of the portfolio.


They are America Movil SAB (Communications, 15.5%), Grupo Financiero Banorte (Financials, 9.7%), Fomento Economico Mexicano (Consumer Defensive, 9.5%), Walmart de Mexico (Consumer Defensive, 9.5%), Grupo Televisa (Consumer Cyclical, 4.2%), Cemex SAB (Basic Materials, 4.0%), Grupo Mexico (Basic Materials, 3.8%), Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (Industrials, 2.8%), Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (Industrials, 2.5%), and Fibra Uno Administracion REIT (Real Estate, 2.3%).


The ETF’s assets have a heavy concentration in the top four holdings....

Smaller firms can sometimes generate higher returns than their larger counterparts, but they are often riskier, less liquid, and may underperform for long periods. One way to offset some of the risk is to focus on ETFs that hold top-quality small-capitalization companies....