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An academic study titled “Would A Stock By Any Other Ticker Smell As Sweet?” examined the performance of companies with clever stock tickers such as Southwest (LUV), Internet America (GEEK), Lion Country Safari (GRRR), and Explosive Fabricators (BOOM).


This study found that between 1984 and 2004, a portfolio of clever-ticker stocks would have handed you substantially stronger gains than the overall market....

We continue to assess the merits of ETFs that have underperformed for investors over the past 3 years: Below we give you a snapshot of funds focused on global energy stocks, copper miners and U.S. telecoms. Each faces industry pressures that impact your returns....

Lower management expense fees (MERs)are a key selling point for ETF investors. Indeed, this month, we highlight—as we do each issue—the MER for each funds we cover. Even so, it’s easy for investors to lose sight of what a difference even a few basis points makes to your return....

A: iShares Canadian Financial Monthly Income ETF, $7.44, symbol FIE on Toronto (Units outstanding: 92.9 million; Market cap: $691.2 million; www.blackrock.com/ca), invests primarily in the common shares, preferred shares and corporate bonds of firms in the Canadian finance industry.

The fund charges investors an MER of 0.97%, which is high by ETF standards....

Tax free savings accounts let you earn investment income tax free. Make sure you’re getting the most profit and tax benefits from your TFSA.

We’ve selected your top picks for 2020—one stock, one REIT and one ETF. Each offers investors an attractive combination of growth prospects and at a reasonable price. To accelerate its growth, Telus continues to diversify its revenue stream, which also cuts risk for its investors....

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 well- suited for new buying and two others your portfolio will continue to benefit from holding.


ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF $43.93, 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, 34.2%; South Korea, 11.7%; Taiwan, 11.5%; India, 9.0%; Brazil, 7.3%; South Africa, 4.6%; Russia, 4.0%; Saudi Arabia, 2.6%; Mexico, 2.5%; Thailand, 2.4%; Indonesia, 2.0%; and Malaysia, 1.8%.


Your biggest stock exposure through the fund is Alibaba Group (China: e-commerce), 5.9% of assets; Tencent Holdings (China: Internet), 4.6%; Taiwan Semiconductor (computer chips), 4.3%; Samsung Electronics (South Korea), 3.8%; China Construction Bank, 1.2%; Naspers (South Africa: media and Internet), 1.2%; Ping An Insurance Group (China), 1.1%; Reliance Industries (India: conglomerate), 1.0%; Housing Development Finance Corp....

Some investors overlook the Netherlands given its small size and small population. Still, other investors recognize it as one of the world’s top 20 economies and among the world’s top 10 exporters.


The Netherlands has recovered well from the financial crisis a decade ago and is now one of the best performing economies in Europe....

The six ETFs we update for you below mainly hold high-quality stocks that are widely traded on Canadian and U.S. exchanges. Each fund tracks the performance of a major stock market index for its investors. Note that this is different from riskier ETFs focused on narrower indexes or trends such as cryptocurrencies or cannabis.


Of course, you pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell these ETFs....

ISHARES S&P/TSX REIT INDEX ETF, $19.49, is a hold. The ETF (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) lets you tap into all 19 Canadian real estate investment trusts in the S&P/TSX REIT Index.


Investors pay a reasonable MER of 0.61%, and it currently gives you a high 4.1% yield.