ETFs

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:

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

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ETFs Library Archives

The six hottest years ever recorded have all come since 2015. In 2022 (the fifth warmest year on record) the global average mean temperature was around 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels—with 28 countries experiencing their hottest year ever. This trend continued in 2023, with July 2023 being the hottest month in recorded history.


Heatwaves—and the resulting wider cooling needs— are expected to increase in frequency and intensity as average temperatures rise and populations grow and become increasingly urbanized.


According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), there are around 1.5 billion household air conditioners worldwide—and that is expected to increase to 2.2 billion in 2030 and 4.4 billion in 2050....
Oil and gas prices have pulled back lately, but still remain high. Meanwhile, demand should remain elevated for several years to come as the world continues to rely on fossil fuels even as it shifts to more-sustainable renewable energy sources.


Here are three ETFs that focus on oil and gas exploration and production....
ARK GENOMIC REVOLUTION ETF $31.33 (CBOE symbol ARKG) invests globally in companies it expects to benefit from the development of products and services meant to improve the quality of life. Those firms are involved in molecular diagnostics, gene therapy, targeted therapeutics, agricultural biology, and stem cells.


The ETF launched in October 2014 and has built up a substantial asset base of $2.1 billion....
Biotechnology companies have been at the forefront of some of the most exciting developments in healthcare over the past two decades—and there are more developments in the pipeline. However, the high cost of product development, long lead times for product testing and regulatory approvals, and low success rates add to their risk.


Here are two ETFs that benefit from the opportunities presented by biotech firms despite those challenges....
ISHARES S&P/TSX REIT INDEX ETF, $16.23, 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....

INVESCO SOLAR ETF, $58.28, 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.


The fund’s top holdings are First Solar (China; solar panels) at 11.6%; Enphase Energy (U.S.; home solar systems), 8.9%; SolarEdge Technologies (Israel; solar-power batteries), 7.2%; Xinyi Solar (China; solar panels), 5.4%; GCL Technology (China; polysilicon), 5.3%; and Sunrun (U.S.; solar panels), 4.5%. The ETF charges a relatively high MER of 0.69%.


Renewable stocks have drifted down since early 2021; that follows big run-ups in 2020 on President Biden’s support for sun, wind and hydro power—plus strong investor interest in stocks gaining from environmental concerns....

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....

You Can See Our Exchange-Traded Funds Portfolio For September 2023 Here.


ETFs in brief


Exchange-traded funds are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or sub-index....
Physical commodities and publicly listed producers of commodities have delivered steady returns over time when compared to the overall stock market. However, this comes at the cost of more volatility.


Commodities have many sub-categories each with their own dynamics....
Demand for healthcare products and services has been growing for decades—and this will continue as the population of the developed world grows older and medical services expand. Significant new developments in the field of medical technology and innovation will further boost the demand for medical services.


In this Supplement, we take a look at the performance of the broad global and U.S....