Diversify your portfolio with mid-cap stocks

Article Excerpt

Many investors overlook mid-cap stocks, thinking that a combination of large- and small-cap stocks will provide their portfolios with all the diversification they need. However, as a group, U.S. mid-cap stocks have often performed better than large caps and are generally less risky than small caps. With that in mind, we take a closer look at three exchange-traded funds focused on mid-cap stocks. Two of the ETFs below offers broad exposure to U.S. medium-sized companies, while the third focuses on Canadian mid-cap stocks. Meanwhile, the supplement on page 60 provides more information on the investment returns and risks of mid-cap companies. BMO S&P US MID CAP 400 ETF $43.65 (Toronto symbol ZMID, TSINetwork ETF Rating: Conservative; Market cap: $292.7 million) tracks the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index. The largest industry allocations are to Industrials (19%), Financials (15%), Consumer Discretionary (15%), Information Technology (13%), Health Care (10%), Real Estate (8%), and Basic Materials (6%). The ETF holds 400 companies with only 7.0% of the assets allocated to the…