Three ETFs offer international diversification

Article Excerpt

We think that most Canadian investors should have high-quality, dividend-paying Canadian stocks (or ETFs that hold those stocks) make up the bulk of their portfolios. We also feel that virtually all Canadian investors should have, say, 20% to 30% of their portfolios in U.S. stocks (many of which also offer you international exposure through their foreign operations). Beyond that, top international stocks or ETFs can add valuable diversification to your portfolio. That’s through exposure to foreign businesses and to foreign currencies. Here we highlight three ETFs that hold high-quality international stocks. Also, see page 120 for more information on the benefits of portfolio diversification in general. VANGUARD TOTAL WORLD STOCK ETF $86.84 (New York symbol VT; ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $20.0 billion) tracks the FTSE Global All-Cap Index. The main country holdings are the U.S. (56%), Japan (7.0%), China (5.0%), the U.K. (4.3%), Switzerland (2.9%), Canada (2.8%), France (2.5%), and Germany (2.5%); emerging markets make up another 10% of the portfolio. The…