ETFs - The Successful Investor Inc

ETFs

What are ETFs?

ETF is an acronym for exchange traded fund. These exchange traded funds are used to track indexes as closely as possible, since investors cannot actually buy an index outright.

Exchange traded funds trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Investors can buy them on margin, or sell them short. The best exchange-traded funds offer well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios with exceptionally low management ETF fees. They are also very liquid.

Investors use ETFs in a variety of ways, and some investors work only with ETFs and no other type of investment in portfolio creation.

An amazing aspect of ETFs is their diversity. Some investors may create an entire portfolio solely from a few well-diversified ETFs.

ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. That’s different from mutual funds, which you can only buy at the end of the day at a price that reflects the fund’s value at the close of trading.

Prices of ETFs are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell them, but their low management fees give them a cost advantage over most mutual funds.

As well, shares are only added or removed when the underlying index changes. As a result of this low turnover, you won’t incur the regular capital gains taxes generated by the yearly distributions most conventional mutual funds pay out to unitholders.

ETFs have a place in every investor’s portfolio, at TSI Network we also recommend using our three-part Successful Investor strategy:

Invest mainly in well-established companies;
Spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; the Consumer sector; Finance; Utilities);
Downplay or avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight.

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ETFs Library Archives

ETFs

Copper’s outlook is mixed

GLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $17.11 (New York symbol COPX; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Copper Miners Index, which includes 20 to 40 international companies that mine, refine or explore for copper. Germany-based Structured Solutions AG created the index in April 2010....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Two bond ETFs for stable income

The Bank of Canada is unlikely to raise interest rates any time soon. That’s because low prices for oil and other commodities will likely continue to offset increased government spending and higher exports due to a low Canadian dollar.

Even so, the long-term outlook is for higher interest rates....

2 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Japan is the better choice right now

ISHARES INDIA 50 ETF $29.64 (Nasdaq symbol INDY; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an ETF that tracks the Nifty 50 index—the 50 largest, most liquid Indian securities. The ETF began trading in November 2009.

The fund’s top holdings are Housing Development Finance, 6.9%; Infosys (information technology), 6.8%; ITC Ltd....

2 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Global X Silver Miners ETF $51.78 - New York symbol SIL

GLOBAL X SILVER MINERS ETF $51.78 (New York symbol SIL; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Index.

That index began trading in April 2010 and includes 21 international firms that mine, refine or explore for silver....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index Fund $17.39 - Toronto symbol XGD

ISHARES S&P/TSX GLOBAL GOLD INDEX FUND $17.39 (Toronto symbol XGD; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) aims to mirror the performance of the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index, which is made up of 35 gold stocks from Canada and around the world. The ETF began trading on March 23, 2001....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

IShares Canadian Universe Bond Index ETF $32.43 - Toronto symbol XBB

ISHARES CANADIAN UNIVERSE BOND INDEX ETF $32.43 (Toronto symbol XBB; buy or sell through brokers) mirrors the performance of the Canadian Universe Bond Index. The 1,119 bonds in the portfolio have an average term to maturity of 10.54 years. The fund’s MER is 0.33%....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

IShares Canadian short-term bond Index ETF $28.44 - Toronto symbol XSB

ISHARES CANADIAN SHORT-TERM BOND INDEX ETF $28.44 (Toronto symbol XSB; buy or sell through brokers) mirrors the performance of the DEX Short-Term Bond Index.

This index consists of a range of investment-grade federal, provincial, municipal and corporate bonds with one- to five-year terms....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

IShares MSCI Japan Index Fund $11.89 - New York symbol EWJ

ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $11.89 (New York Exchange symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an ETF that tries to match the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan index. The fund’s top holdings include Toyota, 5.2%; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, 2.2%; KDDI Corp....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

IShares India 50 ETF $29.64 - Nasdaq symbol INDY

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Low-fee access to U.S., emerging markets

Pennsylvania-based Vanguard Group is one of the world’s largest investment management companies. In all, it administers almost $3 trillion U.S. across 175 mutual funds and ETFs.

Generally speaking, Canadians can’t buy units of mutual funds that are registered in the U.S., because these investments aren’t registered with provincial securities commissions....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

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The cornerstones of Pat’s strategy–value, diversification and timelines–make his newsletter, The Successful Investor, highly profitable while minimizing risk. His advice is no-nonsense, down-to-earth and based on solid research. You’ll know what to invest in and what to avoid.

Chuck Chakrapani, PhD
Investors Association of Canada
The older I get the better dividends look. For retirees and would-be retirees who want to sleep at night, I can’t think of a better source of information on reliable growing dividend income than Pat McKeough’s newsletter, Dividend Advisor.

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Financial Post Columnist
As a manager of more than $500 million in mutual funds, I have access to the best brokerage research available in this country. But I still take time to read Pat McKeough’s premium newsletters

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I appreciate the 25 years of above market returns I received by following your advice. at least 95% of my investment decisions were based on TSI recommendations.

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Subscriber since 1996. Inner Circle Member Since 2006
The newsletters I receive in Inner Circle Pro are fantastic! I have been following Pat’s advice for years and everything he has said has been amazing. His commentaries are brilliant, insightful, educational, rational and balanced. My returns are almost double the TSE and I have referred many of my friends who have switched over to your services.

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Inner Circle Pro subscriber

Browse Premium Topics

Cannabis

Spinoffs

One of the ways a company can try to unlock its own hidden value is by creating a separate company out of a corporate subsidiary. The parent company can either sell stock in the new company to the public, or spin it off—hand the stock out to its own investors.

Dividend Stocks

Dividend stocks make cash payouts that serve as a way for companies to share the wealth they’ve accumulated. These payouts are drawn from earnings and cash flow and paid to the shareholders of the company. Typically, these dividends are paid quarterly, although they may be paid annually or even monthly as well.

ETFs

What are ETFs?

ETF is an acronym for exchange traded fund. These exchange traded funds are used to track indexes as closely as possible, since investors cannot actually buy an index outright.

Value Stocks

What are value stocks?

One of the sweetest and most profitable pleasures of successful investing is to buy high-quality “value stocks” (or stocks that are reasonably priced, if not cheap, in relation to its sales, earnings or assets), then hold on to them as mainstream investors recognize the value and push up the share price.

Blue Chip Stocks

Blue chip stocks are big, well-established, dividend-paying corporations with strong business prospects. These are companies that also have sound management that should be able to make the right moves to keep competing successfully in a changing marketplace.

Penny Stocks

A penny stock in general trades for under five dollars a share, and as the name implies, sometimes for pennies. Most of the time they’re young companies, or start-ups in speculative markets like mining or technology.

Growth Stocks

Growth stocks are companies that are likely to have sales and earnings growth well above market average. Frequently they pay few, if any, dividends. Instead they typically reinvest any extra cash flow to promote further growth. Chosen wisely—according to Pat McKeough’s advice—high-quality growth-oriented stocks can be worthwhile additions to most well-diversified portfolios.

Wealth Management

Wealth management is the practice of putting your savings to work so that it continues to grow over your lifetime and will also benefit your heirs. Wealth management encompasses many different areas of investing like long term investment planning and retirement planning.

Mining Stocks

Mining stocks are investments in companies that produce or explore for minerals. Some of these minerals include uranium, coal, molybdenum (which is used in steelmaking), copper, silver and gold. They are affected by fluctuating commodity prices in addition to their own business and operating risks.

How To Invest

Pat McKeough has been making investing for beginners simple—and profitable—by helping investors make big gains for more than 25 years. His advice to beginning investors is the same as it is for all investors: buy high-quality, mostly dividend paying stocks (or ETFs that hold these stocks) and evenly spread your investments over the five main economic sectors (Resources, Manufacturing, Finance, Utilities and Consumer). Pat also believes investors should avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight and focus on those with hidden or little-noticed assets.

Energy Stocks

What are energy stocks?

Businesses that work in the extraction, refining and delivery of energy sources such as natural gas, oil, uranium and coal, are considered energy stocks.