Insights into Canadian ETFs

Article Excerpt

Beta is a commonly used, but sometimes misleading measure of volatility. To calculate a stock’s beta, an index like the S&P/TSX Composite or the S&P 500 is assigned a beta of 1.0. The historical volatility of different stocks relative to the index are then measured. If a stock has a beta of 1.0, then it means that the market and the stock move up or down together at the same rate. A negative beta indicates it tends to move in the opposite direction from the general market. As a measure of risk, beta has a number of limitations. It is based on past data, so its use in predicting the future assumes that the company being charted remains unchanged. For example, it assumes that no major acquisitions or divestitures or other company-changing events have taken place. In reality, a stock’s beta can rise or fall over a period of years, or change abruptly. Institutional investors are always looking for so-called “quantitative” measures like…