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

This month we highlight an ETF from Invesco that invests in metals used for electric vehicles and batteries. We also highlight an ETF from RBC iShares aimed at providing access to a global portfolio of stocks engaged in “exponential technologies.”


INVESCO ELECTRIC VEHICLE METALS COMMODITY STRATEGY ETF $27.84 (New York symbol EVMT) invests in metals that are commonly used in the manufacture of electric vehicles and batteries.


The ETF invests in a diverse basket of futures contracts to get exposure to those metals—specifically copper, aluminum, nickel, cobalt, and iron ore.


The fund launched on April 27, 2022, and charges a management fee of 0.59%....
Nestle is the largest holding in the iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF at 21.5%. That’s high for any single stock, but the firm continues to be a top global stock.


As a 150-year-old company, Nestle is the largest food producer and distributor in the world. Its size is considerable; in fact, its market value and operating profits are more than U.S....
Switzerland has a stable, export-oriented economy, which regularly ranks among the world’s most competitive. In addition, it is home to some of the top performing and best-known global companies. COVID-19 slowed the economy along with most other nations—and it’s still a risk....
Low-risk ETFs as described above can provide you with a way to hold cash balances in your investment or trading accounts. Here are some of the pricing arrangements and technical terms unique to these funds.


Money market ETFs have a base price of $50 or $100 that adjusts daily as interest accrues in the fund....
With today’s still-low interest rates, there are few, if any, high return, lower-risk fixed-income investments available to investors.


But if you must hold cash, and are looking for an alternative to bank savings accounts or holding it with your broker, these four ETFs can give you an edge....
HORIZONS ENHANCED INCOME GOLD PRODUCERS ETF $26.82 (Toronto symbol HEP) invests in an equal-weighted portfolio of North American-listed gold mining companies. The portfolio currently holds 14 stocks with all the top producers such as Barrick Gold and Newmont Corp....
Some investors look to reduce volatility in their portfolios for a number of reasons. One is that they can’t sleep at night because they’re nervous about the market outlook. In that case, low-volatilty funds may cut your your losses or even leave you with gains when the market is falling, but they can limit your returns in a soaring market.


Another reason to aim to cut volatility is if you expect you will need to take cash out of your portfolio in the next year or two and you don’t want to risk having to raise cash by selling stocks at low prices.


Below we discuss two ETFs that aim to provide investors with lower volatility portfolios....
ISHARES S&P/TSX REIT INDEX ETF, $18.83, is a hold. The ETF (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) lets investors tap all 19 Canadian real estate investment trusts in the S&P/TSX REIT Index....
INVESCO SOLAR ETF, $70.22, 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 Enphase Energy (U.S.; home solar systems) at 11.2%; SolarEdge Technologies (Israel; solar-power batteries), 8.9%; GCL Technology (China; polysilicon), 6.5%; Xinyi Solar (China; solar panels), 6.3%; First Solar (China; solar panels), 5.9%; and Sunrun (U.S.; solar panels), 4.5%. The ETF charges a reasonable MER of 0.66%.


Renewable stocks have drifted down lately, after big runups last year on President Biden’s support for sun, wind and hydro power—plus strong investor interest in stocks that will gain from the push for global decarbonization....
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....