The Vietnamese economy has been an outstanding performer among its global peers over the past three decades and continues to do well. The country has also benefited from strong growth in international tourist arrivals, as well as numerous major global companies establishing manufacturing facilities in Vietnam.

The units of ETFs trade on the public markets, just like normal stocks. Each of these units represents a share of all the assets (and liabilities) held by the ETF.

At the end of each trading day, the administrator of the ETF calculates the value of all the assets held in the ETF and deducts the liabilities. The net asset value (NAV) per share is then made available to the public.

Most of the trading in ETF units takes place on the stock market, such as the Toronto Stock Exchange, where investors buy and sell the units.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-related software stocks soared from the start of 2024 to around the beginning of 2026. After that, many moved down on investor fears of an “AI bubble.” Some investors fear that the technology won’t live up to the hype and will fail to justify the big spending by these companies.

Meanwhile, AI has improved very rapidly in recent years, to the point that investors worry it will be able to replace current processes that require humans in tech and other industries. That has led to major selloffs for many Software as a Service (SaaS) companies—a decline that some insiders now call the “SaaS-pocolypse.”

However, we think the top software stocks overall are still in line for gains; they can profit all the more by integrating AI and its applications into the products they sell to their customers as well as applying AI to speed up and streamline their operations.

VANGUARD FTSE EMERGING MARKETS ETF $46.98 (Toronto symbol VEE; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market Cap: $3.8 billion) tracks the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index, and includes large, medium, and small companies listed on the public markets of developing countries.

Technology companies form the largest part of the portfolio (29%), while Financials (21%), Consumer Goods (11%), Industrials (9%), Materials (8%), and Energy (5%) are other key segments.

One of the key attractions of exchange-traded funds is lower fees compared to mutual funds. In addition, as more competitors enter 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 $56.64 (New York symbol EWC). This fund started in 1996 and invests in larger Canadian companies. It has an asset base of $4.7 billion U.S. and a high MER of 0.50%. The units yield 1.4%.

Another similar fund with a large asset base is the iShares S&P/TSX 60 ETF, $49.41 (Toronto symbol XIU). This ETF started up in 1990. It tracks the S&P/TSX 60 Index and has assets of $21.3 billion under management.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) in Canada and the U.S. faced severe economic disruption starting with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. REITs were further hit when interest rates spiked in 2022 as central banks sought to cool inflation caused by high consumer demand, severe supply chain bottlenecks, and massive pandemic-era government spending. However, rates have been falling since 2024. That’s a plus for real estate firms as it lowers their borrowing costs for acquisitions and refinancing; it has also boosted demand for high-yielding REITs over bonds and other fixed-income investments.

Rates are now expected to hold steady or even rise because of Mideast conflict. Still, the overall outlook for REITs remains attractive, especially for seniors housing, and industrial, logistics and retail spaces.

A: Keyera Corp., $54.38, symbol KEY on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 229.3 million; Market cap: $12.5 billion; www.keyera.com), engages in the gathering and processing of natural gas; and the transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas liquids in Canada and the U.S..

The company operates in the oil and gas industry between the upstream segment, which includes oil and gas exploration and production, and the downstream segment, which consists of the refining, distribution and retail marketing of end products.

A: Viking Holdings Ltd., $71.75, symbol VIK on New York (Shares outstanding: 446.1 million; Market cap: $32.0 billion; www.ir.viking.com), operates luxury river, ocean and expedition cruises.

The company was founded in 1997 by CEO Torstein Hagen. It started with four river ships in Europe. Hagen’s intent was to provide travel that was more destination-focused and culturally immersive. In 2015, Viking entered the luxury ocean market. Today, it’s also a global leader in experience-focused travelling.

A: The ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF, $65.23, symbol SDOG on New York (Units outstanding: 22.0 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; www.alpsfunds.com/exchange-traded-funds/sdog), is an ETF that applies the “Dogs of the Dow” approach on a sector-by-sector basis to the S&P 500.

The fund started up on June 29, 2012, and its MER is 0.36%. It yields 3.5%.

The Dogs of the Dow approach involves buying the highest-yielding stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It’s based on the idea that a high dividend yield is an indicator of an undervalued stock.

A: TC Energy Inc., $88.30, symbol TRP on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 1.04 billion; Market cap: $91.9 billion; www.tcenergy.com; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average) generates steady cash flow for investors through a 93,700-kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to eastern Canada and the U.S. It also owns gas pipelines in Mexico, and owns or invests in seven power plants in Canada and the U.S.

The company has raised its dividend each year between 2000 and 2023. However, in 2024, it cut the quarterly payment by 14.3% after the spinoff of its oil pipeline business as South Bow Corp. (Toronto symbol SOBO).