ETF Insights

When evaluating the value of active management versus indexing, the S&P Indices Versus Active (SPIVA) reports have been widely referenced. These reports compare the performance of actively managed funds to their respective S&P index benchmarks.

Investing in the financial markets can be a rewarding endeavour, but it also comes with its fair share of challenges. One of the most significant challenges an investor might face is their own human behaviour.

In this blog we discuss covered calls strategies, which may provide opportunities for income-seeking investors. This approach may not be for everyone, so it is important to consider both the benefits and potential drawbacks of these ETFs.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become popular investment vehicles for their ability to provide diversification, liquidity and flexibility. Beyond these benefits, many investors seek income from ETFs, especially in today's higher-yield environment. In this blog post, we will explore the various ways ETFs generate income and take a deeper dive into one ETF income source that is often misunderstood.

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) were originally created to passively track indices, and to this day index-based strategies make up the lion’s share of ETF assets.

Near the end of every year, it can be a good idea to examine your portfolio and see what has worked and what hasn’t. If one of the ETFs in your taxable account has experienced a decline, you might want to consider a tax-loss harvesting strategy.

How Canadian-listed ETFs can benefit Canadian investors by reducing withholding taxes, accidental overweighting and currency fluctuations.

How to combine active and passive exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in your portfolio to provide low-cost potential for market outperformance.

Whether you're new, retired or seeking growth, the best ETFs will depend on the kind of investor you are. We break down the best ETFs for eight different investor types.

Investors can now easily access Corporate Knights' Global 100 Index, a ranking of the top 100 sustainable companies from a global leader in sustainability.

How to combine active and passive exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in your portfolio to provide low-cost potential for market outperformance.

Find out how bond ETFs work, the ways that bond ETFs can deliver investment returns and how bond ETFs could fit into your investment portfolio.

Many investors know about exchange traded funds, or ETFs as they’re better known. However, some investors are unaware that there are actually three categories of ETFs, and they can deliver far more than simply mimicking an index’s performance.

ETFs’ growing popularity seems to have no end in sight. Canadian ETFs currently hold almost $320 billion in assets, a 36.2% annual increase. Canadian investors seemingly can’t get enough of this flexible, low-cost, high-diversification option.

In spite of 2022 being a tough year, ETFs in Canada topped $300 billion for the second time ever. We explore five key ETF trends to watch out for in 2023.

When markets are tumbling, it’s easy to sense panic and make decisions that are overly emotional at best and downright damaging at worst. But we’ve all been there. Making investing mistakes is part of the process, and our goal should be to make sure we don’t compound those mistakes when they happen.

ETF liquidity is important because it can impact profitability. We explore how ETF liquidity works and how trading volume does not equal liquidity.

Investors can often feel like they have limited control over their equity investments, even at the best of times. Add to the mix high inflation and market downturns, and investors can begin to feel like their investments almost have a mind of their own.

With inflation at 40-year highs, and many asset classes suffering losses, investors endured a challenging first half to 2022. Despite these turbulent markets, however, we believe there’s considerable value in investing in global equities through a consistent, high dividend strategy.

Private and public infrastructure are investment assets that have been growing massively in popularity for more than a decade.

Whether to hedge or not is a question that most Canadian investors face at some point. Given the relatively small size of our economy (1.86% of global GDP) and stock market (3.13% of the MSCI World Developed Markets Index), diversification is essential. However, buying foreign assets leads to currency risk.

In this second and final part of the series, we delve into more questions that are rarely answered by ETF providers and look at how ETFs perform in periods of volatility, trading volumes and research resources.

ETFs’ popularity continues to grow among Canadian investors: a record-breaking $53 billion was invested in ETFs in Canada in 2021.

Over the past few years, ETF series have seen considerable growth. Essentially, an ETF series is simply a version of an existing or new mutual fund trust, such as series A, series D, etc.

In early 2022, we were reminded of what volatility can truly mean in terms of performance. Many single stocks (particularly in the growth space) experienced painful downward swings from their highs in 2021, and the Nasdaq confirmed it had entered a bear market.

Excess return and tracking error can be valuable tools when trying to measure the performance of an index ETF. But what do these terms mean, exactly?

One of the first decisions many investors make is regarding the asset allocation of their portfolio: this is typically the percentage of equities they’ll hold versus the percentage of fixed income assets.

An investing style can often reflect the investor’s style in other aspects of their life, from fashion-sense to hobbies and even food choice.

When the world’s first ETF was launched in Canada over 30 years ago, it was a fairly basic fund. It tracked the TSE-35 Index (the 35 largest companies in Canada listed on the TSX). Since then, ETFs have evolved enormously, but many people still think of them as simply replicating an index.

The Chinese word for crisis – 危机 – is made up of two characters: one meaning danger and the other opportunity.

No one likes to talk about their investment losses, but let’s be honest, it happens to even the world’s smartest investors from time to time.

Given that emerging markets account for 80% of the world’s population and almost 70% of the world’s GDP growth, this sector of the global economy is simply too big to ignore.

“Current inflation is just transitory.” How many times have you heard that recently? Both the Bank of Canada and the US Federal Reserve have been at pains recently to convince us that the current spike in inflation is only temporary.

Even before COVID-19, sustainable investments were experiencing a boom. In the two years to the end of 2019, responsible investing assets in Canada grew by 48%.

How seemingly similar index ETFs can have crucial differences – and how you can spot them

How seemingly similar index ETFs can have crucial differences – and why it matters

With Canada’s population aging at a rapid rate and demographics shifting, having enough income in retirement is becoming a key concern for investors.

We often hear that you should invest in what you know – Warren Buffet is a high-profile exponent of this advice. However, over-investing in sectors we’re comfortable with can be very risky to our financial health.

DIY investors hit the headlines in a big way in early 2021 when a group of them caused several stocks (such as GameStop) to have massive volatility.

Asset allocation is essential for investors looking to maximize their growth potential, while managing risk. It can account for up to 92% of the variation in a portfolio’s returns.

Over time, the market itself will move a portfolio’s asset allocation away from its intended mix.

Money changes hands, often. And new money comes into play, hopefully just as often.

With the expected ongoing growth of the ETF industry, investors and fund providers should welcome the continued scrutiny by regulators across the globe.

Fund providers are in the business of trust, and the monetization of trust is changing.

ETFs are the fastest-growing segment of the asset management industry and this momentum shows no sign of dissipating moving forward.

Over 80% of advisors surveyed in North America now use ETFs. This number has more than doubled in the last decade. Here’s how they are doing it and why, and from whom they may be taking their lead.

The application of ETF layers within an investment mandate or portfolio can be a powerful tool to allow active managers to focus more time on what they do best – security selection.