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 Greek stock market’s long-term performance is poor—since the country’s stock market peaked in late 2007, it has lost more than 80% of its value.


Still, the market has now bounced back to where it was before the pandemic hit in March 2020—and its long-term outlook is positive.


Meanwhile, the companies included in the Global X MSCI Greece ETF appear inexpensive....
After years of poorly managed government finances, instability in the banking system, punitive European Union bailout packages, and tough austerity measures, the Greek economy finally started to recover in 2018. But that progress was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by devastating wildfires, decades-high inflation, and rising interest rates.


The economy is now finally back to its pre-pandemic levels, although growth forecasts are scaled back amid higher interest rates and slowing consumer demand....
Confidence is a key ingredient for the smooth functioning of a banking system.


Banks hold deposits from customers—these appear as liabilities on their balance sheets. They use the deposits to lend money to retail customers who want to buy, say, a house or a car, or to commercial customers to fund or grow their businesses.


These loans extended by banks have different maturity profiles but are in most instances not repayable on demand....
Here’s the second part of our discussion on ETFs representing each of the five main economic sectors. Here we cover ETFs in Resources, Manufacturing and Financials.


ISHARES MSCI GLOBAL METALS & MINING PRODUCERS ETF $42.96 (CBOE symbol PICK; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $1.6 billion) provides investors with exposure to companies involved in the exploration, production, refining, and marketing of a diversified basket of metals.


The ETF tracks the MSCI ACWI Metals and Mining Producers Index and invests globally; its main country exposures are to Australia (27%), the U.S....
A key component of our TSI investment philosophy is to diversify investment portfolio holdings across most if not all of the five main economic sectors. That way, investors can avoid overloading their portfolios with stocks that are about to slump simply because of industry conditions or changes in investor fashion—while at the same time maintaining exposure to stocks or sectors ready to start a period of outperformance.


Recent events provide a good example of how this diversification can favour investors....
One of the key attractions of exchange-traded funds is the lower fees compared to mutual funds. In addition, as more competitors entered the market, fees on many ETFs continue to drop.


One of the older U.S.-based funds with a large asset base and higher fees is the iSHARES MSCI CANADA ETF $35.03 (New York symbol EWC)....
We continue to recommend holding a portfolio of stocks diversified across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Finance, Consumer, Manufacturing, Utilities and Resources). This cuts your risk of heavy losses from over-indulging in a sector that’s about to plunge....

ISHARES MSCI TAIWAN INDEX FUND, $44.95, 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 22.3% of assets....
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....

The semiconductor industry has experienced strong growth over the past two decades. This is expected to continue as demand for technologically advanced products such as autonomous vehicles, 5G mobile applications, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud computing, continues to rise.


Still, the market for basic memory-type conductors is cyclical and subject to large price, supply, and demand swings....