Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, I have been looking for an ETF that would pay dividends and allow me to invest in the best companies throughout the world. Could you please give me your comments on the iShares Core MSCI Global Quality Dividend Index ETF.

Article Excerpt

A: The iShares Core MSCI Global Quality Dividend Index ETF, $21.10, symbol XDG on Toronto (Units outstanding: 850,000; Market cap: $17.9 million; www.blackrock.com/ca), aims to track the MSCI World High Dividend Yield Index. This index holds global stocks with above-average dividend yields and steady or increasing dividends. It also looks for companies that have strong overall financials, including solid balance sheets and less volatile earnings. The iShares Core MSCI Global Quality Dividend Index ETF started up on June 7, 2017. Its MER is 0.22%, and it yields 3.3%. This fund’s top holdings are as follows: Exxon Mobil Corp., 3.5%; Procter & Gamble, 3.0%; Cisco Systems, 2.8%; Pfizer, 2.7%; AT&T, 2.6%; Verizon Communications, 2.6%; Merck & Co., 2.4%, Coca-Cola, 2.3%; Novartis AG, 2.1%; and Roche Holding, 2.1%. The country breakdown is the U.S., 54.3%, the U.K., 7.8%, Japan, 6.3%, Switzerland, 6.1%, France, 5.2%, Germany, 4.8%, Canada, 4.1%, Hong Kong, 2.3%, Spain, 1.5%, Australia, 1.5%, the Netherlands, 1.4%, Singapore, 1.3%, and Others, 3.4%. The focus of the…