Toronto-Dominion Bank

ISHARES DOW JONES CANADA SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX FUND $23.86 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highest-yielding Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of its assets. The fund’s MER is 0.55%. It yields 4.1%.

The fund’s top holdings are CIBC, 6.8%; National Bank, 6.4%; Bonterra Energy, 6.4%; TD Bank, 5.9%; Bank of Montreal, 5.7%; Telus, 4.7%; Royal Bank, 4.6%; IGM Financial, 4.5%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 4.3%; and BCE, 4.0%.

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ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX FUND $19.25 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) is a good low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units are made up of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index, which consists of the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. Expenses are just 0.17% of assets.

The index mostly consists of high-quality companies. However, it must ensure that all sectors are represented, so it holds a few we wouldn’t include.

The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 8.3%; TD Bank, 7.3%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 6.4%; Suncor Energy, 4.5%; CN Railway, 4.1%; Bank of Montreal, 3.9%; Manulife Financial, 3.1%; Canadian Natural Resources, 3.1%; CIBC, 3.0%; BCE, 3.0%; Enbridge, 3.0%; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, 2.9%; TransCanada Corporation, 2.7%; Potash Corp., 2.4%; CP Rail, 2.1%; Telus, 2.0%; and Cenovus, 1.9%.
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iShares Canadian Fundamental Index Fund ETF, $13.39, symbol CRQ on Toronto (Units outstanding: 16.8 million; Market cap: $225.0 million; ca.ishares.com), aims to track the FTSE RAFI Canada Index. The ETF’s top 10 holdings are Royal Bank, 7.2%; TD Bank, 6.2%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.0%; Manulife Financial, 4.6%; Suncor Energy, 4.4%; Bank of Montreal, 4.0%; Encana, 3.3%; CIBC, 3.0%; Canadian Natural Resources, 2.8%; and Sun Life Financial, 2.6%. Its expenses are 0.72% of its assets. The RAFI (Research Affiliates Fundamental Index) methodology aims to select companies by the highest fundamental measures of their size, rather than by market capitalization (or the value of all their outstanding shares)....

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or subindex. They hold a more or less fixed selection of securities that represent the holdings that go into the calculation of the index or sub-index....

PRECISION DRILLING CORP., $9.75, Toronto symbol PD, sells contract drilling services to oil and natural gas producers. The stock fell sharply after the Alberta Investment Management Company (AIMCo) sold its entire 15% stake in the company for $9.50 to $9.75 a share. AIMCo is a Crown corporation that manages Alberta’s public-sector pension plans and other special funds. Precision ran into trouble in 2009, because the credit crisis hurt its ability to refinance short-term loans it needed to buy U.S.-based contract driller Grey Wolf Inc. That’s when AIMCo purchased notes and shares in Precision....

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or subindex. They hold a more or less fixed selection of securities that represent the holdings that go into the calculation of the index or sub-index.

ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks....

TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $97 (Toronto symbol TD; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 918.4 million; Market cap: $89.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.7; Dividend yield: 3.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.td.com) owns 42.24% of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (Nasdaq symbol AMTD), one of the largest online brokerage firms in the U.S.

Ameritrade will contribute $77 million to TD’s earnings in its 2013 fourth quarter, which ended October 31, 2013. That’s up 51.0% from $51 million a year earlier. To put these figures in perspective, TD earned $1.6 billion, or $1.65 a share, in its third quarter, which ended July 31, 2013.

Uncertainty over the U.S. government shutdown caused Ameritrade’s average number of trades per day to rise 16.3% from a year earlier. At the same time, Ameritrade continues to attract new clients: it opened 50,000 accounts in the latest quarter, up from 28,000 a year earlier.
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TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $97 (Toronto symbol TD; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 918.4 million; Market cap: $89.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.7; Dividend yield: 3.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.td.com) owns 42.24% of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp....

AIMIA INC. (Toronto symbol AIM; www.aimia.com) owns and operates Aeroplan, Canada’s largest loyalty program. It also owns Nectar, the U.K.’s biggest loyalty program. In addition, Aimia has interests in Air Miles Middle East and Nectar Italia, as well as Club Premier, the leading loyalty program in Mexico....

TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $91 (Toronto symbol TD; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 917.6 million; Market cap: $83.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.td.com) has agreed to pay $52.5 million U.S. to settle charges that it failed to report suspicious transactions related to a fraudulent investment scheme in Florida. Separately, the bank is appealing a court ruling that it pay $67 million U.S. related to this case.

These amounts are small next to the $1.6 billion (Canadian), or $1.65 a share, that TD earned in the quarter ended July 31, 2013. Still, settling these charges cuts TD’s risk, especially in light of tighter enforcement from U.S. securities regulators.

TD Bank is a buy....