Three financial ETFs—but just one is a buy

Article Excerpt

Banks and other financial services firms suffered in early 2020 as the pandemic took hold. But most have since bounced back. Meanwhile, once COVID-19 eventually subsides and economic activity strengthens, the best of these stocks should be strong performers. That’s all the more so because the pandemic has 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. One zeros in on the U.S. market for Canadians. See also the Supplement on page 30 for more details on the outlook for banks and other financial stocks. BMO EQUAL WEIGHTED U.S. BANKS ETF $29.19 (Toronto symbol ZBK; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $631.2 million) lets Canadians invest in U.S. banks. Holdings are allocated an equal weight and the portfolio is rebalanced every quarter. Equal-weight ETFs can cut the risk of one big holding sharply dropping and hurting your overall returns. But you incur periodic charges…