These ETFs aim for top-quality holdings

Article Excerpt

One of the best methods of building wealth over time is to zero in on the shares of quality companies with a consistent history of sales and earnings (or the ETFs that hold them). Solid balance sheets and a strong hold on a growing clientele are also pluses. Here are two ETFs that aim to offer investors portfolios of companies selected on the basis of their quality characteristics. (Pleased see the supplement on page 109 for more on quality criteria.) CI FIRST ASSET MSCI CANADA QUALITY ETF $28.49 (Toronto symbol FQC; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $39.0 million) tracks the MSCI Canada Quality Index. That index includes stocks ranked highly on profitability, the stability of their profits, their balance sheet strength and other markers of quality. The portfolio holdings are classified as follows: Financials (26.0%), Industrials (23.0%), Basic Materials (16.1%), Consumer Staples (11.2%), Information Technology (11.2%), and Consumer Discretionary (8.2%). The ETF holds 25 companies, with 52% of the assets allocated to the top 10…