Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat's commentary for the week of March 4, 2014?

Article Excerpt

Here’s a good general rule to follow when choosing investments: Simple is better. The easier an investment is to explain and understand, the less likely it is to harbour hidden risks and costs that can only work against you. As the old investor saying goes, “Stick with plain vanilla.” For the investment industry, the rule works in reverse: The more complicated, the better. Each new feature provides a profit opportunity for the institution that sponsors the investment. It’s particularly important to keep this in mind with exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These investments are highly efficient mutual funds. Fees are low because investors don’t pay for management. Instead, ETFs aim to mimic the performance of a market index, by holding the same securities in the same proportions used to calculate the market index. As a liquidity feature, ETFs generally sell newly created units whenever their unit prices develop a premium over the value of the stocks they hold. They buy back units (in large…