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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You Can See Our Exchange-Traded Funds Portfolio For January 2025 Here.

ETFs in brief

Exchange-traded funds are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or sub-index....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Here’s how dividend ETFs pick their stocks

Companies that pay regular and growing dividends have performed very well over time when compared to the broad market indices.

A strategy such as selecting stocks with a long history of uninterrupted dividend growth—as represented by the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats—has resulted in gains of 11.8% per year over the past 30 years; this compares to 10.9% for the S&P 500 Index....

3 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Global military spending at an all-time high

Global military spending in 2023 reached $2.44 trillion U.S. That was 6.4% higher than the previous year, and the highest level ever recorded; this was also the 9th consecutive annual increase (see graph below).

The world military burden—defined as military spending as a percentage of global gross domestic product—increased to 2.3% in 2023....

2 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Here’s a look at two new ETFs for Canadians

This month we highlight the Canadian listing of a very popular U.S. ETF from JP Morgan, as well as another listing of a “quality equity” fund from BMO.

JPMorgan US Equity Premium Income Active ETF $26.61 (Toronto symbol JEPI) invests in the shares of U.S....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

The U.S. stock market’s winning run explained

The U.S. stock market has performed very strongly over several decades, adding 11.1% per year between 1988 and 2024. At that rate of return, investors would have doubled their money every seven years.

The return generated by the S&P 500 index can be explained partly by the strong growth in the profits of the companies held in the index, and partly by a higher valuation placed on these companies by investors.

Since 1988, the profits of the S&P 500 companies have grown by 6.8% per year—below the growth in share prices.

The difference between the total return of the index and the profit growth is explained by the higher valuation multiple paid by investors—the price-to-earnings multiple doubled over the period.

One other factor to consider is that interest rates (as represented by 10-year government bond yields) declined from almost 9% in early 1988 to the current level of just over 4%....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

United States: Top stocks with a bright outlook

The U.S. has been the leading economy in the world for many decades, and the stock market has outperformed international markets for the past 15 years. Despite the challenges posed by its big deficits, plus uncertainty posed by the upcoming Trump administration’s policies, top U.S....

4 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

These dividend ETFs offer steady income

Dividend-paying companies have done well over the longer term, although the recent performance of this group lagged the main market indexes. That’s because higher interest rates on fixed-income investments made their dividends less attractive to income investors....

4 min read

Pat McKeough

Testimonials

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.

Jonathan Chevreau
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

John Sartz
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.

Chuck J.
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.

Walter H.
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.