Q: Pat, I’m thinking of increasing my oil and gas exposure. Do you recommend either the XLE ETF or VDE ETF (each a basket of U.S. energy companies) as a way to do that? Thank you.

A: We still feel that investors will profit the most with a well-balanced portfolio of high-quality individual stocks, but ETFs can also play a role in a portfolio. Here’s a look at the ETFs you’ve asked about:

Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF, $83.70, symbol XLE on… Read More

Here are three key updates on your holdings

GEN DIGITAL INC. $18 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol GEN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 639.4 million; Market cap: $11.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.2; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.gendigital.com) changed its name from NortonLifeLock Inc. (old symbol NLOK) in September 2022 following… Read More

Use these to boost your biotech exposure

Biotechnology companies have been at the forefront of some of the most exciting developments in healthcare over the past two decades—and there are more developments in the pipeline. However, the high cost of product development, long lead times for product testing and regulatory approvals, and… Read More

Three top ETFs for U.S. bank exposure

Many financial stocks, and especially banks, suffered big drops in early 2023. That was after the high-profile failures of several U.S. regional banks, including Silicon Valley Bank.
Going forward, the outlook for Canadian banks is more stable than for U.S. banks. That’s due to more-conservative regulators… Read More

Higher fee income boosts earnings

STATE STREET CORP. $72 is a buy. The company (New York symbol STT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 344.5 million; Market cap: $24.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 3.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.statestreet.com) sells accounting and administrative services to operators of mutual funds and pension… Read More

Q: Pat. I’m thinking of increasing my oil and gas exposure considering some stocks have dropped a bit lately. Do you recommend either the XLE or VDE ETF (each with a basket of U.S. energy companies)? Thank you.

A: We still feel that investors will profit the most with a well-balanced portfolio of high-quality individual stocks, but ETFs can also play a role in a portfolio. Here’s a look at the ETFs you’ve asked about:

Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF, $78.97, symbol XLE on… Read More

Buy utilities despite today’s higher rates

Rising interest rates boost bond yields and their appeal with investors. Conversely, rising rates can hurt the appeal of high-yield utilities, and their shares, since those companies must pay higher interest on their debt. Still, top utilities remain financially healthy and continue to expand and… Read More

Semiconductor ETFs offer long-term promise

Many semiconductor (computer chip) stocks posted big gains after the pandemic hit in early 2020. That’s because sales of chips for personal electronics, such as computers, gaming hardware and so on, soared.
With COVID easing, demand for advanced chips—chips for automotive applications, datacentres, 5G technology and… Read More

Stick with quality for long-term gains

One of the best methods of building wealth over time is to zero in on the shares of quality companies with a consistent history of sales and earnings (or the ETFs that hold them). Solid balance sheets and a strong hold on a growing clientele… Read More