COVID-19 challenged REIT ETFs

The speed of the March 2020 stock market decline, as well its rapid recovery to previous peaks, will rank high in the record books. For instance, the 34% drop for the S&P 500 took only 24 days while the recovery to its previous peak was… Read More

Boost your gains by keeping your fees low

High fees, often not directly visible to investors, can substantially lower investment returns over time. It is therefore key that investors carefully consider fees before deciding to buy an ETF or mutual fund.

The damaging effect of high fees
The following example demonstrates the outcome of a.. Read More

November: Good month for stocks

The month of November saw strong gains for stocks, commodities, and energy. This comes after the conclusion of the U.S. Presidential election and promising announcements from several pharmaceutical companies regarding COVID-19 vaccines.
At the broad market level, the Vanguard Total World Stocks ETF (VT) gained 10% in the… Read More

Where ETF money is flowing right now

In Canada, stock market ETFs continue to attract new money—almost $20 billion flowed into these products this year through to the end of October. Most of that money went to funds focused on international markets, excluding Canada and the U.S.
Fixed-income ETFs also attracted strong inflows… Read More

Most ETFs fell in October

The month of October saw declines in most asset classes, especially during the last trading week. That came after very strong gains for most assets starting in April.
Representing the broad global, U.S. and Canadian markets, the Vanguard Total World Stocks ETF (VT) lost 2.0%… Read More

Here are good and bad ways to cut risk

Diversification is a key way to reduce portfolio risk and volatility, but there are other strategies aimed at cutting portfolio risk and volatility. Those other methods include moving investments into risky assets at regular intervals and buying stocks gradually over time. And then there’s market… Read More

Stocks pulled back in September

The month of September saw declines in equity markets after significant gains over the previous six months. At the broad market level, the Vanguard Total World Stocks ETF (VT) lost 4.0% month over month, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), 4.5%, and the iShares MSCI Canada Equity ETF (EWC), 5.3%. Emerging markets also struggled,… Read More

Precious metals lead the way

The month of July saw strong returns for investors in precious-metals ETFs. The iShares Silver ETF (SLV) gained 27.9%, the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) was up 13.5%, and the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD) rose 9.8%. Other ETFs that made significant advances were the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) which gained… Read More