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ISHARES MSCI TAIWAN INDEX FUND, $64.50, 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 21.4% 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....

Sustainable investing has expanded quickly over the past decade. Still, investors are rightly concerned about whether a focus on environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) aspects may detract from their overall portfolio performance.


What is sustainable investing?


Many socially conscious investors now complement their traditional fundamental company analyses with an additional review of a firm’s environmental, social, and governance practices....

Stock markets, especially in the developed world, continued their rise in May. Commodity-producing nations, including Canada, lead the way. Notably, ETFs holding gold and oil producers were some of the big winners for the month.


On the other hand, decliners in the month included a number of high-flying tech, Internet, and biotech ETFs....

Over the past few years, the Philippines has often made news headlines for the activities of its outspoken President. But the country also experienced a decade of strong economic growth—at least until the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020.


Here is one ETF that provides you with exposure to the top companies listed in the Philippines.


ISHARES MSCI PHILIPPINES ETF $31.90 (New York symbol EPHE; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $128.1 million) tracks the performance of the largest publicly listed Philippine companies.


Industrial companies account for 31% of this ETF’s assets, while Real Estate (24%), Financials (16%), Utilities (7%), Consumer Discretionary (7%), and Communications (6%) are other key segments.


The ETF holds a portfolio of 40 stocks; the top 10 holdings make up 59.7% of its assets.


They are SM Prime Holdings (Real Estate, 11.1%), Ayala Land (Real Estate, 8.5%), SM Investments (Industrials, 7.1%), Ayala Corporation (Industrials, 6.3%), International Container Terminals (Industrials, 5.5%), Bank of Philippine Islands (Financials, 4.7%), JG Summit Holdings (Industrials, 4.7%), BDO Unibank (Financials, 4.7%), PLDT Inc (Communication, 3.9%), and Metropolitan Bank (Financials, 3.4%).


The ETF started up in June 2000 and charges an MER of 0.59%....

Over the last few years, more and more ETF managers have launched funds focused on taking environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into account.


Sustainable investing offers some investors a lot of conceptual and emotional appeal. But does investing in these kind of stocks hurt your portfolio returns? Yes and no.


One way investing in sustainable ETFs can hurt performance is the ethical criteria used by some funds to select stocks could keep you out of promising investments with the power to boost your long-term portfolio returns....

While inflation pressures appear to be rising, consumer prices have seen only modest increases so far. Still, factors leading to a sharper rise may be building. They include today’s very low interest rates and the massive spending and borrowing by governments around the world to inject money into the economy....

Equity markets in the developed world, especially North America, continued their upward climb in April while developing markets, especially India, struggled. REITs had another strong month, while selected commodities and miners also gained ground.


At the broad market level, the Vanguard Total World Stocks ETF (VT) gained 4.3% for the month....

Taiwan faces diplomatic isolation, an aging population, and ever-increasing export competition from China and other Asian countries. Meanwhile, though, it offers investors a highly developed free-market economy led by its globally recognized expertise in computer chip and electronics manufacturing....

ISHARES CHINA LARGE-CAP ETF, $45.80, is 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 2.2%.

Top holdings for the $4.5 billion fund are Tencent (Internet), 9.2%; Alibaba (e-commerce), 9.2%; Meituan Dianping (group buying/food delivery), 8.6%; China Construction Bank, 5.4%; JD.com (e-commerce), 5.0%; Wuxi Biologics, 4.6%; Netease (Internet), 4.0%; Ping An Insurance, 4.0%; and Industrial & Commercial Bank, 3.8%.

Despite the new Democrat-led administration in the U.S., uncertainty over the China-U.S....