An equity fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests mostly in stocks.
Also known as stock funds, equity funds can be managed both actively and passively. They may be categorized by geography, either domestic, international, or global.
There are also market capitalization equity funds, which put a specific limit on the size of companies. These include mega-cap, large cap, medium cap, small cap, and micro cap firms.
Some investors in equity funds choose specialty funds which target specific economic sectors. The five main economic stock sectors are: Resources & Commodities, Finance, Manufacturing & Industry, Utilities and Consumer.
Spreading your holdings out across most if not all of the five sectors helps you avoid overloading yourself with stocks that are about to slump because of industry conditions or a change in investor fashion.
Prices of an equity fund are typically determined from the fund’s net asset value (NAV).
While you don’t want to buy and hold an equity fund or mutual funds indefinitely (we prefer buy and “watch closely”), frequent mutual fund or ETF trading can be risky—and hurt your long-term returns. Many mutual fund and ETF investors have lost sight of this risk. Mutual funds or ETFs can make good long-term investments, but sometimes investors get caught up in mutual fund or ETF trading and the risky practice of momentum investing.
At TSI Network, we recommend using our three-part Successful Investor philosophy:
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JAPAN EQUITY FUND $4.79 (New York symbol JEQ; CWA Rating: Aggressive) mostly invests in large-capitalization stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The fund’s top holdings include: Toyota Motor, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Honda Motor, Sony Corp., Sumitomo Corp. and Panasonic Corp.
Japan Equity Fund sells for… Read More
Like other stock markets around the world, Japanese markets remain volatile. Moreover, the slow U.S. economy continues to hurt Japan’s major export industries. However, we think that Japan’s interest-rate cuts and its recently enacted $143.7-billion U.S. stimulus package will keep stock prices rising.
JAPAN EQUITY FUND… Read More
IVY FOREIGN EQUITY FUND $25.26 (CWA Rating: Conservative) gained 2.1% over the past 10 years, which was better than 3.1% loss posted by the Morgan Stanley benchmark international index. Over the last year, Ivy Foreign Equity Fund lost 10.7%. The fund invests in companies based… Read More
IVY EUROPEAN FUND $11.87 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) holds mostly good-quality stocks. The fund has outperformed the longer-term benchmark Morgan Stanley index.
Even so, we don’t see any reason to hold a mutual fund that focuses on Europe. If you want European exposure, consider the Ivy Foreign… Read More
In the past, investors bought mutual funds within the “fund families” promoted by fund sellers for a couple of main reasons.
Mutual funds within a particular fund family often shared some key investment characteristic, such as a conservative or aggressive investment approach, or a stress on… Read More
EUROPEAN EQUITY FUND $5.59 (New York symbol EEA; CWA Fund Rating: Conservative) mainly invests in large-capitalization European stocks in the 16 countries that use the Euro currency. It may invest up to 20% of its assets in countries that do not use the Euro currency.
The… Read More
When we judge the investment quality of an individual company, we take nine key factors into account. These are: a record of profit; a record of dividends; an influential industry position; balance-sheet strength; geographical diversification; freedom from business cycles; freedom from excess regulation or insider… Read More
TD CANADIAN SMALL-CAP EQUITY FUND $21.56 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (TD Asset Management, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario M5W 1P9. 1-800-386-3757; Web site: www.tdcanadatrust.ca. No load — deal directly with the bank) is a fund we rate as Aggressive. The fund invests in small… Read More
We feel that most mutual-fund investors should own no more than five funds. When you own more than this, you run a higher risk of over-diversification. This could cause your portfolio to produce a return that matches that of the market, minus the 2% to… Read More
These five large funds — one from each of Canada’s big-five banks — have suffered over the last year. That’s because they were heavily weighted toward financial services and resource stocks. Financial services companies are still dealing with tight credit markets. As well, the recession… Read More
Learn everything you need to know in 'The Canadian Guide on How to Invest in Stocks Successfully' FREE Special Report from The Successful Investor.
How to Invest In Stocks Guide: Find 10 factors that make your investments safer and stronger.
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