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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

Investors can share in Vietnam’s export gains

The Vietnamese economy continues to expand steadily in the wake of the pandemic—with tourism playing a key role. Longer-term, it should also continue to attract foreign manufacturers looking to steer clear of any China-U.S. trade issues. Meanwhile, the country’s free-trade pact with the European Union came into effect in August 2020....

5 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Boost your gains with these top IT funds

Information technology has been the best-performing market segment over the past 25 years, although there have been some big downs along with the big ups. Going forward, we still see top information technology stocks—and the ETFs that hold them—as an attractive component of an investor’s overall Manufacturing sector holdings.

Please see the supplement on page 70 for more information about the risks and rewards involved in technology ETFs....

4 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Pass on this ETF: Invesco CEF Income Composite ETF

Closed-end funds work with a fixed asset base invested in a portfolio of securities. The value of their assets rises and falls depending on how they invest. Their units trade like stocks, and most often on a stock exchange.

They may trade above the per-unit value of the investments they hold—or, as brokers say, “at a premium” to their net asset value....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Agriculture ETFs tap rising demand

Crop and food prices will continue to fluctuate from year to year, but it’s a good bet that global food production and consumption will continue to increase. We think the best way to profit is through shares of well-established companies with a range of operations to help offset swings in commodity prices....

2 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Hold this top REIT ETF

ISHARES S&P/TSX REIT INDEX ETF, $15.09, is a hold. The ETF (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) lets investors tap all 16 Canadian real estate investment trusts in the S&P/TSX REIT Index....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

This solar ETF is a buy

INVESCO SOLAR ETF, $48.53, is a buy for aggressive investors. The ETF (New York symbol TAN; buy or sell through brokers) tracks solar-related companies (including technology firms and utilities) listed on global exchanges.

Its top holdings are First Solar (China; solar panels) at 16.0%; Enphase Energy (U.S.; home solar systems), 9.3%; NEXTracker Inc....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Here are two top ETFs for your foreign gains

Generally speaking, Canadians are blocked from buying mutual funds that are registered in the U.S. unless those funds are also registered with provincial securities commissions. (Moreover, some Canadian mutual funds are only available in a limited number of provinces.)

Investors in this country can, however, buy exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, listed on U.S....

2 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Mid-cap stocks are a portfolio plus

Medium-sized companies are a bit like the proverbial middle child—they tend not to get as much attention from investors as the smallest or the biggest. But this creates opportunities for investors who are prepared to add the best of those stocks—or the ETFs that hold them—to their portfolios.

High-quality mid-cap stocks can offer the stability and balance sheet strength of large caps, while at the same time, they give investors growth potential similar to small caps.

What are mid-cap stocks?

Mid-cap stocks fall between large-cap stocks and small-cap stocks but the average size of mid-cap companies varies from market to market.

Index provider S&P ranks all U.S....

3 min read

Scott Clayton

ETFs

Precious metals offer diversification—and gains

Physical gold and silver have been strong performers over the past two decades even beating the S&P 500. Gold has also been much less volatile than the equity markets.

Investors shouldn’t overindulge in any one investment, and that includes gold, silver, platinum or any other precious metals....

2 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Two new ETFs for Canadian investors

This month we discuss a new, competitively priced ETF holding physical gold, as well as a fund aiming to ride the artificial intelligence wave.

BMO GOLD BULLION ETF $34.29 (Toronto symbol ZGLD) aims to replicate the performance of the price of gold bullion, net of fees and expenses....

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.

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Investors Association of Canada
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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.

Walter H.
Inner Circle Pro subscriber

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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.