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The Bank of Canada increased its benchmark interest rate in October 2018 from 1.50% to 1.75%. Whether it will hold rates stready, keep raising them, or perhaps even cut them, depends on economic growth and the level of unemployment.


Meanwhile, we caution against investing in bonds....

A: The iShares Core MSCI Global Quality Dividend Index ETF, $21.10, symbol XDG on Toronto (Units outstanding: 850,000; Market cap: $17.9 million; www.blackrock.com/ca), aims to track the MSCI World High Dividend Yield Index.

This index holds global stocks with above-average dividend yields and steady or increasing dividends....

A: The iShares S&P/TSX Composite High Dividend Index ETF, $21.31, symbol XEI on Toronto (Units outstanding: 20.2 million; Market cap: $430.5 million; www.blackrock.com/ca), aims to track the S&P/TSX Composite High Dividend Index, which effectively holds the 75 highest-yielding Canadian stocks.

The index is market-capitalization weighted, with each stock capped at 5% (any stock may rise above 5% temporarily until rebalancing)....

Hong Kong’s sound infrastructure—physical, administrative and financial—positions it as a gateway for foreign companies and investors seeking access to China. But those favourable factors also let Chinese companies gain easy access to international capital through Hong Kong’s highly developed financial markets.


Here is one ETF that provides exposure to top public companies domiciled in this autonomous Chinese territory.


ISHARES MSCI HONG KONG ETF $25.42 (New York symbol EWH; TSI Network ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $2.8 billion) tracks the performance of large and mid-cap Hong Kong-domiciled and listed companies.


Financial companies account for 67.4% of its assets, while Utilities (10.0%), Consumer Cyclicals (8.7%), and Industrials (7.9%) are other key segments.


The ETF holds a portfolio of 47 stocks; the top 10 stocks make up a sizeable 60.4% of the fund’s overall assets.


Those top holdings include AIA Group (financial services, 21.6%), Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (financial services, 7.2%), CK Hutchison Holdings (industrials, 5.0%), Sun Hung Kai Properties (real estate, 4.8%), Link Real Estate Investment Trust (4.3%), Hong Kong and China Gas Co....

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 continue to offer very low management fees and well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of high-quality stocks.


Here’s a look at four international ETFs we see as suitable for new buying and two others we feel you should continue to hold.


ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF $43.60 (New York symbol EEM; buy or sell through brokers) is designed to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.


The fund’s geographic breakdown is as follows: China, 33.0%; South Korea, 12.9%; Taiwan, 11.5%; India, 9.0%; Brazil, 7.0%; South Africa, 6.2%; Russia, 3.8%; Mexico, 2.7%; Thailand, 2.3%; Indonesia, 2.1%; Malaysia, 2.1%; and Poland, 1.1%.


Its top stocks are Tencent Holdings (China: Internet), 5.2%; Alibaba Group (China: e-commerce), 4.5%; Taiwan Semiconductor (computer chips), 3.8%; Samsung Electronics (South Korea), 3.5%; Naspers (South Africa: media and Internet), 2.1%; China Construction Bank, 1.6%; Ping An Insurance Group (China), 1.1%; China Mobile, 1.1%; Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, 1.0%; and Reliance Industries (India: conglomerate), 1.0%.


iShares launched the ETF on April 7, 2003....

The iShares MSCI Ireland ETF focuses on the republic’s market leaders, although Brexit uncertainty increases risk for investors looking to benefit from the strong Irish economy.

While they sometimes lack high-growth potential, utilities are generally stable, profitable businesses with limited competition—and they offer investors high yields. As a result, as a group, they have a better long-term stock market performance than the overall market and come with less volatility and risk.


The U.S....

The Republic of Turkey has a large economy that’s grown by an average of 4.7% per year for the past two decades. However, recent political turmoil has wreaked havoc on the currency, which has in turn pushed interest rates to punishing heights. Investing in Turkey entails significant risk, but the potential rewards could be huge.


Here is one ETF that provides exposure to the top Turkish public companies.


ISHARES MSCI TURKEY ETF $24.64 (Nasdaq symbol TUR; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $403.4 million) tracks the performance of the largest publicly listed Turkish companies.


Financial companies account for 29.5% of its assets, while Industrials (16.7%), Consumer Defensive (12.7%), Basic Materials (15.4%), Energy (8.5%) and Telecommunications (6.4%) are other key segments.


The ETF holds a portfolio of 53 stocks; the top 10 holdings make up a sizeable 63.0% of its assets....

iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF offers exposure to that country’s top big-cap and mid-cap stocks, many of which are global leaders in their industries.

The six ETFs we update 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. That’s different from ETFs focused on narrower indexes or themes such as cryptocurrencies or biotechnology.


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