Royal Bank now plans to complete its acquisition of HSBC’s Canadian operations in March 2024. That $13.5-billion purchase enhances Royal’s domestic operations. Moreover, costs savings from the elimination of overlapping operations should also spur earnings.


Banking regulators have toughened lending standards and mortgage stress-test levels in the past few years, and that has helped keep Royal’s loan writeoffs low....

Last year, Canada saw the listing of 164 new ETFs. This month we highlight two of the most successful new launches in 2023. The first is an balanced ETF, while the second invests in technology companies with a covered call strategy.


PURPOSE ACTIVE BALANCED ETF $21.61 (Toronto symbol PABF) invests in a diverse set of asset classes through ETFs as follows: fixed income (41%), North American equity (28%), international equity (20%), and gold (4%)....

ETFs in brief


Exchange-traded funds are set up to mirror the performance of a stock-market index or sub-index....

Smaller companies can generate higher returns than their larger counterparts, but their shares are often riskier and less liquid, and may underperform for long periods.


Small cap stocks are also more volatile in times of unsettled or falling markets.


Still, if you focus on the best-quality small companies—or ETFs that hold those stocks—they can be a worthwhile addition to a well-balanced portfolio


Do small companies have an edge?


Small companies trading on U.S....

The U.S. housing and homebuilding markets dropped in 2020 on fears that a COVID-induced catastrophe would disrupted the U.S. economy. The recovery, however, came quickly in 2021, aided by decades-low mortgage rates, limited housing supply, and a strong job market.


The recovery was nonetheless shortlived as the market slowed in 2022 on higher mortgage rates and weaker consumer confidence because of inflation....

Sociedad Quimica Y Minera (ADR symbol SQM on New York) is currently the largest holding of the iShares MSCI Chile ETF (see above), making up 16% of its total assets. SQM is a large, low-cost producer of lithium, iodine, and specialty fertilizers.


SQM’s share price fluctuates in large part along with the prices of the commodities it sells....

The Chilean economy will likely emerge from recession in 2024, further reducing joblessness and lifting wages. Consumer purchasing power will improve as inflation falls. Longer-term, as the world transitions to greener technologies, the global demand for copper, lithium, and renewable energy should rise....

Smaller firms can sometimes generate higher returns than their larger counterparts, but they are often riskier, less liquid, and may underperform for long periods. One way to offset some of the risk is to focus on ETFs that hold top-quality small-capitalization companies.


Here’s a look at three ETFs that meet that criteria....

BMO S&P/TSX CAPPED COMPOSITE INDEX ETF $28.09 (Toronto symbol ZCN; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Conservative; Market cap: $7.3 billion) tracks the S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index. The index includes over 200 top-ranked Canadian stocks, which represent more than 90% of the Canadian equity market....

BMO COVERED CALL CANADIAN BANKS ETF $17.30 (Toronto symbol ZWB) holds shares of Canada’s six largest banks (CIBC, TD Bank, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank and National Bank).


The fund started up in January 2011....