ETFs
Exchange traded funds trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Investors can buy them on margin, or sell them short. The best exchange-traded funds offer well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios with exceptionally low management ETF fees. They are also very liquid.
Investors use ETFs in a variety of ways, and some investors work only with ETFs and no other type of investment in portfolio creation.
An amazing aspect of ETFs is their diversity. Some investors may create an entire portfolio solely from a few well-diversified ETFs.
ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. That’s different from mutual funds, which you can only buy at the end of the day at a price that reflects the fund’s value at the close of trading.
Prices of ETFs are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell them, but their low management fees give them a cost advantage over most mutual funds.
As well, shares are only added or removed when the underlying index changes. As a result of this low turnover, you won’t incur the regular capital gains taxes generated by the yearly distributions most conventional mutual funds pay out to unitholders.
ETFs have a place in every investor’s portfolio, at TSI Network we also recommend using our three-part Successful Investor strategy:
- Invest mainly in well-established companies;
- Spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; the Consumer sector; Finance; Utilities);
- Downplay or avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight.
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ETFs Library Archives
You Can See Our Exchange-Traded Funds Portfolio For June 2026 Here.
ETFs in brief
Exchange-traded funds are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or sub-index. They hold a more or less fixed selection of securities that represent the holdings of that index or sub-index and will allow the fund to “track” its performance.
ETFs in brief
Exchange-traded funds are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or sub-index. They hold a more or less fixed selection of securities that represent the holdings of that index or sub-index and will allow the fund to “track” its performance.
To succeed as an investor, you need to overcome the temptation to think that you can succeed as a fair-weather investor—one who is in the market when prices are going up, and out of the market during the inevitable downturns.
If you try to do that, you will wind up selling when much of the damage is done, and buying your way back in when much of the recovery has already taken place. Worse, you may wind up buying back in at higher prices than you got when you sold.
Market timing can be especially damaging to long-term portfolio returns when you miss out on the very best-performing days for the markets. And that’s easy to do when investors are constantly bombarded with news about events that may portend (but not always deliver!) big, long-lasting market declines.
If you try to do that, you will wind up selling when much of the damage is done, and buying your way back in when much of the recovery has already taken place. Worse, you may wind up buying back in at higher prices than you got when you sold.
Market timing can be especially damaging to long-term portfolio returns when you miss out on the very best-performing days for the markets. And that’s easy to do when investors are constantly bombarded with news about events that may portend (but not always deliver!) big, long-lasting market declines.
A key aspect of the TSI investment philosophy is the diversification of portfolio holdings across the five main economic sectors. That way, investors can avoid overloading their portfolios with stocks that are about to slump simply because of sector conditions or changes in investor fashion. At the same time, they keep exposure to stocks that may be ready to start a period of out-performance.
The essential point about profiting from the five sectors approach is that investors should spread their investments across most, if not all, of them. Investors who do that and follow the other two parts of the TSI investment philosophy—sticking mainly with well-established, mostly dividend-paying companies and focusing on stocks that are out of the broker/media limelight—gain a double benefit.
The essential point about profiting from the five sectors approach is that investors should spread their investments across most, if not all, of them. Investors who do that and follow the other two parts of the TSI investment philosophy—sticking mainly with well-established, mostly dividend-paying companies and focusing on stocks that are out of the broker/media limelight—gain a double benefit.
Stock markets delivered outstanding returns in April, with the U.S. S&P 500 leading the way among the major markets with a 10.5% gain. This was one of the top 10 monthly returns for the past 50 years!
During April, the most notable advances were concentrated in the technology area as semiconductor prices remained very high and the top technology companies delivered strong quarterly results. Semiconductor companies led the way with Invesco Semiconductors ETF (New York symbol PSI), adding 41.6% for the month. Broad-based technology ETFs such as the State Street Technology Select ETF (symbol SLK) also gained a strong 20.0%, while the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (symbol MAGS) was up by 14.3%. Outside of technology, there were solid gains for uranium and uranium producers (New York URA and Toronto HURA) as well as U.S. industrials (symbol VIS).
During April, the most notable advances were concentrated in the technology area as semiconductor prices remained very high and the top technology companies delivered strong quarterly results. Semiconductor companies led the way with Invesco Semiconductors ETF (New York symbol PSI), adding 41.6% for the month. Broad-based technology ETFs such as the State Street Technology Select ETF (symbol SLK) also gained a strong 20.0%, while the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (symbol MAGS) was up by 14.3%. Outside of technology, there were solid gains for uranium and uranium producers (New York URA and Toronto HURA) as well as U.S. industrials (symbol VIS).
This month, we highlight two new funds: first is a global stock ETF from Clarington Investments; and the second is a suite of single stock ETFs from Ninepoint Partners.
ASML is the leading global supplier of advanced lithography equipment for semiconductor manufacturers. Among its clients are the major chip makers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Intel, Texas Instruments, and Samsung Electronics.
ASML is a large and highly profitable company with annual revenues of US$38 billion U.S.—about a fifth of Nvidia and two-thirds of Intel’s revenues. EBITDA margins averaged 40.5% over the past 5 years, while the return on capital employed was 37.1% on average.
Growth in revenues and profits exceeded 19% over the past 5 years, and the company’s strong growth is expected to continue as the demand for semiconductors continues to ramp up.
ASML is a large and highly profitable company with annual revenues of US$38 billion U.S.—about a fifth of Nvidia and two-thirds of Intel’s revenues. EBITDA margins averaged 40.5% over the past 5 years, while the return on capital employed was 37.1% on average.
Growth in revenues and profits exceeded 19% over the past 5 years, and the company’s strong growth is expected to continue as the demand for semiconductors continues to ramp up.
Some investors overlook the Netherlands given its small size geographically and its relatively small population. Still, other investors recognize it as one of the world’s top 20 economies and among the world’s top 10 exporters.
The country’s stock market is, in fact, home to some world-leading companies, including ASML and Prosus (which we highlight in the box on page 56).
The country’s stock market is, in fact, home to some world-leading companies, including ASML and Prosus (which we highlight in the box on page 56).
At the end of March 2026, Canadian ETF managers had assets under management of $873 billion. These assets were split among 48 managers and spread out over 1,892 funds.
The top three managers dominate the Canadian ETF landscape with 63% of the overall assets held in the ETFs managed by RBC/iShares, BMO and Vanguard.
Of the top 20 ETFs by asset size, only one is not managed by these managers.
The top three managers dominate the Canadian ETF landscape with 63% of the overall assets held in the ETFs managed by RBC/iShares, BMO and Vanguard.
Of the top 20 ETFs by asset size, only one is not managed by these managers.
This section is the second part of our discussion on ETFs that represent each of the five main stock market sectors. Here we cover the consumer sector (which includes healthcare), manufacturing/industrials and financials.
GLOBAL X US LARGE CAP INDEX ETF $123.10 (Toronto symbol HULC; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Conservative; Market cap: $588.8 million) invests in U.S. publicly listed companies. The ETF does not hedge its currency exposure.
The fund aims to track the Solactive US Large Cap Index. That index includes large companies listed on the U.S. public markets. Stocks are weighted based on their market values.
Information technology companies form a large part of the portfolio (33%), while Financials (12%), Consumer Cyclical (10%), Healthcare (10%), Communication Services (11%), and Industrials (9%), are other key segments.
The fund aims to track the Solactive US Large Cap Index. That index includes large companies listed on the U.S. public markets. Stocks are weighted based on their market values.
Information technology companies form a large part of the portfolio (33%), while Financials (12%), Consumer Cyclical (10%), Healthcare (10%), Communication Services (11%), and Industrials (9%), are other key segments.