In early 2022, most real estate stocks and REITs were well on their way to recovering their pre-COVID highs. That was before investor worries about rising interest rates and a potential economic downturn set them back.
Nonetheless, for most real-estate classes (except for offices), occupancies are… Read More

Most real estate stocks and REITs were well on their way to recovering their pre-COVID highs when interest rates began to rise. But those higher rates worried investors and dramatically slowed that recovery.
Still, for most real-estate classes (except for office buildings), occupancies have risen back… Read More

Stock markets, especially in the developed world, continued their rise in May. Commodity-producing nations, including Canada, lead the way. Notably, ETFs holding gold and oil producers were some of the big winners for the month.
On the other hand, decliners in the month included a.. Read More

While inflation pressures appear to be rising, consumer prices have seen only modest increases so far. Still, factors leading to a sharper rise may be building. They include today’s very low interest rates and the massive spending and borrowing by governments around the world to… Read More

Equity markets in the developed world, especially North America, continued their upward climb in April while developing markets, especially India, struggled. REITs had another strong month, while selected commodities and miners also gained ground.
At the broad market level, the Vanguard Total World Stocks ETF… Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the global economy. Some businesses—like online retailers and video conferencing providers— have thrived. Many others have suffered, with their demand disappearing overnight. However, as businesses and consumers continue to adjust—and vaccines are distributed—these funds aim to strongly benefit from that… Read More

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

The six ETFs we update below mainly hold high-quality stocks that are widely traded on Canadian and U.S. exchanges. Each fund tracks the performance of a major stock market index. That’s different from ETFs focused on narrower indexes or themes such as cryptocurrencies or biotechnology.

Of… Read More

Precious metal ETFs were the star performers in August. The physical gold ETF SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) gained 12.1%, the iShares Silver ETF (SLV) rose 8.6%, and the Aberdeen Physical Platinum ETF (PPLT) improved 4.2%.
Gold miners fared equally well with the VanEck Gold Miners… Read More

ISHARES S&P/TSX REIT INDEX ETF $19.77 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds all 19 Canadian real estate investment trusts in the S&P/TSX REIT Index. The fund has an MER of 0.61%, and it currently yields a high 4.1%.
The ETF’s top holdings are Canadian Apart. REIT… Read More