United States: Unparalleled long-term prospects

Article Excerpt

The United States has been the world’s leading economy for many decades—and we think U.S. companies will continue to offer ETF investors unparalleled opportunities. Here is an ETF that provides exposure to the top U.S. stocks. VANGUARD TOTAL STOCK MARKET ETF $82.24 (Toronto symbol VUN; TSI Network ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market Cap: $6.5 billion) tracks the performance of a broad basket of U.S. listed companies. There is also a version that hedges movements in the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar (Toronto symbol VUS). Investors should note that these ETFs invest all of their assets in the U.S. listed equivalent fund (New York symbol VTI), although with no added fees. Technology stocks account for 28% of the fund’s assets, while Healthcare (13%), Financial Services (12%), Consumer Cyclicals (11%), Industrials (10%), Consumer Defensives (6%), and Energy (4%) are other key segments. The ETF holds a large portfolio of 3,856 stocks. The top 10 holdings make up 26% of its assets. They are Apple (6.5%), Microsoft (5.6%), Alphabet (3.3%),…