The outlook for top banks is still strong

Article Excerpt

Banks and other financial services firms suffered in early 2020 as the pandemic took hold. But most have since bounced back—and many have hit new highs. Meanwhile, once economic activity returns to normal, the best of these should continue to be strong performers. That’s all the more so because the pandemic accelerated their shift to online services as a way of servicing clients while cutting costs. Here are three ETFs—among them two Canadian-listed funds—that provide investors with exposure to U.S. banks, both national and regional, as well as Canadian banks and life insurers. See also our Supplement for more on what drives profitability for banks and other financial stocks, including rising interest rates. BMO EQUAL WEIGHT U.S. BANKS ETF $38.28 (Toronto symbol ZBK; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $836.8 million) invests in U.S. banks. The fund tracks the Solactive Equal Weight U.S. Bank Index. Holdings are allocated equal weights when the portfolio is rebalanced quarterly. While this could limit the ETF’s gains from top…