Utilities could suffer more than other sectors as interest rates further rise. That’s because they have a lot of debt, and higher rates make it more expensive to raise money and refinance existing debt. As well, their shares, which typically offer high yields, compete with… Read More

BMO COVERED CALL UTILITIES ETF $12.37 (Toronto symbol ZWU) invests in Canadian and U.S. utility, pipeline, and telecommunications companies with what it sees as steady revenue streams; it also sells call options to enhance the yield on the portfolio.
The ETF, launched in October 2010, currently holds $1.0… Read More

Last month we recommended some international ETFs—but at the same time, we noted that Canadian investors often have a bias for investing in their home markets. And we agree with that bias—we still recommend that most Canadians hold the bulk of their portfolios in Canadian… Read More

The month of October saw declines in most asset classes, especially during the last trading week. That came after very strong gains for most assets starting in April.
Representing the broad global, U.S. and Canadian markets, the Vanguard Total World Stocks ETF (VT) lost 2.0%… Read More

Central banks are keeping interest rates down in order to counter the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. (The Supplement on page 69 offers you more info on how high deficits and low interest rates in the wake of the coronavirus will affect governments going… Read More

Below, we continue our look at industries and sectors that tend to reward investors in bear markets. That includes utilities, communications services, and healthcare ETFs. While those funds are generally less exposed to the ups and downs of the economic cycle, they also tend to… Read More

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… Read More

Here are some of the best- and worst-performing North American ETFs of the past year. But regardless of their return, we don’t recommend any of these funds.
The Leaders:
iPath Global Carbon ETN $21 (OTC symbol GRNTF; Market cap: $10.6 million) provides exposure to the global carbon-credits… Read More