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.

[text_ad]

Read More Close

ETFs Library Archives

ETFs

This riskier Brazil ETF faces some challenges

Brazil is one of the top-10 global economies, and it is richly endowed with a range of base commodities.

The country has great long-term growth potential, although in the near term, it needs to get its economy back on track. Here is one ETF that provides exposure to the top Brazilian publicly listed companies for investors who want to tap the country’s long-term prospects.

ISHARES MSCI BRAZIL ETF $33.99 (New York symbol EWZ; TSI Network ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $6.0 billion) tracks the performance of the largest publicly listed Brazilian companies.

Basic Materials and Energy account for 38% of the ETF’s assets, while Financials (23%), Industrials (12%), Utilities (10%), and Consumer Defensive (6%), are other key segments.

The ETF holds a portfolio of 48 stocks; the top 10 make up a high 56% of its assets....

4 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Telecom exposure pays off for ETF investors

Telecommunications form an integral part of the economic infrastructure. Moreover, existing players benefit from strict licensing standards and high capital requirements that act as barriers to entry for any new companies. In addition, many of the major telecommunication companies have strong cash flows, high levels of profitability, and rising dividends....

4 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Your #1 ETF for 2024

SPDR S&P 500 ETF, $476.56 (New York symbol SPY; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Conservative; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) offers investors exposure to the stocks in the S&P 500 Index; they are 500 major U.S....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Cybersecurity offers growth prospects

Cybercrime can have major consequences for individuals, corporations, and governments, alike; the two highly publicized cyberattacks on T-Mobile last year provide good examples from the recent past. Meanwhile, people still working from home and growth in gaming have also spurred a jump in cyberattacks....

3 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Buy into Vietnam’s pluses

VANECK VECTORS VIETNAM ETF, $12.85, is a buy for aggressive investors. This emerging-markets ETF (New York symbol VNM) taps the leading Vietnamese firms as well as foreign firms that get a significant share of their revenue from this Southeast Asian nation....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Buy the best of Taiwan

ISHARES MSCI TAIWAN INDEX FUND, $44.30, is a buy for aggressive investors. The ETF (New York symbol EWT; buy or sell through brokers) gives you direct exposure to some of the top public companies of this East Asian powerhouse economy.

The fund’s largest holding is Taiwan Semiconductor at 21.9% of assets....

1 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

We recommend just five of these six ETFs

The major Canadian and U.S. stock markets, while still subject to volatility, continue to offer attractive returns for investors—especially if you buy the top stocks. All in all, we think that if you can afford to stay in the market for several years or longer, now is a good time for new buying....

4 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Closer look at four of our recommendations

Here’s a look at some of the factors that make the three ETFs we see as buys on pages 3 and 4 attractive—and why we don’t like the fourth.

Healthy profits in healthcare equipment

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare equipment providers were hurt as hospitals prioritized emergency care over non-critical procedures....

2 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

REIT yields are currently very attractive

Higher interest rates in Canada, the U.S. and many other parts of the world have made high-yielding securities, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), much less appealing compared to bonds for income-seeking investors. In fact, over the past two years or so, ETFs focused on U.S....

2 min read

Pat McKeough

ETFs

Here are two new ETFs for Canadian investors

BMO Asset Management recently added seven ETFs to their already extensive lineup. Here’s a look at two of these funds—one takes long and short positions in Canadian equities and a second aims to participate in U.S. stock gains while also providing some downside protection.

BMO LONG SHORT CANADIAN EQUITY ETF $30.86 (Toronto symbol ZLSC) aims to provide income and capital appreciation by taking both long (stocks expected to go up) and short (stocks expected to drop) positions in Canadian companies....

1 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.