stock exchange

Pennsylvania-based Vanguard Group is one of the world’s largest investment management companies. In all, it administers over $5 trillion U.S., spread across 388 mutual funds and ETFs.


Generally speaking, Canadians are blocked from buying mutual funds that are registered in the U.S....

NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT has created a unique niche for itself. It owns 146 medical office buildings, clinics and hospitals across Canada and in three other countries. The company continues to add new properties and its revenue and cash flow have soared in recent years. Its distribution yields a high 7.2%. While demographic trends favour this REIT, its growth-by-acquisition strategy adds risk.

One of the best known brands in North America. Johnson & Johnson continues to be a profitable business and has raised its dividend for each of the past 55 years. The company gets almost half of its revenue from its pharmaceutical business and recently added to that business with a European acquisition. Although drug stocks entail risk from high costs and competition, the outlook for this stock remains positive.

We think conservative investors can hold up to 10% of their portfolios in foreign stocks. One way to do that is by choosing exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with an overseas focus.


The best of those funds 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 buys, and two we feel you should continue to hold.


ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEX FUND $47.90 (New York symbol EEM; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.


The fund’s geographic breakdown follows: China, 29.8%; South Korea, 15.0%; Taiwan, 11.6%; India, 8.1%; Brazil, 7.4%; South Africa, 6.7%; Russia, 3.6%; Mexico, 2.9%; Malaysia, 2.5%; Thailand, 2.4%; Indonesia, 2.1%; and Poland, 1.2%.


Its top stocks are Tencent Holdings (China: Internet), 5.4%; Samsung Electronics (South Korea ), 4.6%; Alibaba Group (China: e-commerce), 3.8 %; Taiwan Semiconductor (computer chips), 3.7%; Naspers (South Africa: media and Internet ), 1.9%; China Construction Bank, 1.6%; Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, 1.2%; China Mobile, 1.20%; Baidu (China: Internet ), 1.1%; and Ping An Insurance Group (China), 1.0%.


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

A: NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT, $11.36, symbol NWH.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 102.4 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; www.nwhp.ca), owns 146 health-care properties, including medical office buildings, clinics and hospitals....

We feel one of the best way to buy shares of foreign companies is through American Depositary Receipts, or ADRs, which represent one or more shares of the foreign stock. Since ADRs trade on U.S. stock markets, you don’t have to deal with foreign currencies, foreign stock-exchange rules, or language barriers....

A: Johnson & Johnson, $135.11, symbol JNJ on New York (Shares outstanding: 2.7 billion; Market cap: $364.8 billion; www.jnj.com), operates through three major businesses:

Pharmaceutical (47% of revenue) makes anti-infective, antipsychotic, contraceptive, dermatological and gastrointestinal drugs;

Medical devices and diagnostics (35%) sells equipment for joint reconstruction and managing circulatory diseases;

Consumer (18%) makes over-the-counter products such as Johnson’s baby-care items, Band-Aid bandages, Tylenol and Motrin painkillers, Listerine mouthwash and Neutrogena skin cream.

Johnson & Johnson’s revenue rose 4.2%, from $71.3 billion in 2013 to $74.3 billion in 2014....

A: Fairfax Financial (symbol FFH on Toronto), now holds 40.6% of the class B non-voting shares of Torstar Corp., $1.56, symbol TS.B on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 80.8 million; Market cap: $126.9 million; www.torstar.com).

Torstar insiders own 100% of the class A voting stock....

A: MAG Silver Corp., $13.11, symbol MAG on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 80.8 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; www.magsilver.com), is focused on developing its 44%-owned Juanicipio project in Mexico.

Global silver miner Fresnillo plc....

Pennsylvania-based Vanguard Group is one of the world’s largest investment management companies. In all, it administers nearly $5 trillion U.S., spread across 370 mutual funds and ETFs.

Generally speaking, Canadians are blocked from buying mutual funds that are registered in the U.S....