In our last blog/video, we introduced the all-equity ETFs from iShares and Vanguard. These ETFs make it easy to gain and maintain exposure to global stock markets with the click of a mouse, eliminating the hassle of juggling several ETFs in your all-equity portfolio. Vanguard and iShares don’t offer their services for free though. The MERs for their all-equity ETFs are slightly higher than the... Source ..read more

By now, you should be more familiar with the equity ETF offerings from Vanguard and iShares. But you may still feel uncomfortable building and managing a portfolio of ETFs on your own. For example, how much of your portfolio should you allocate to Canadian vs. foreign equity ETFs? And when should you rebalance these allocations? Not to worry. If you’re comfortable dialing up your portfolio risk to... Source ..read more

On March 13, 2023, BlackRock announced an investment strategy update for the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index ETF (XEC). Prior to these changes, XEC gained its equity exposure by investing in its U.S.-based counterpart, the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG). Going forward, XEC will invest primarily in thousands of individual emerging markets stocks. This should be welcome... Source ..read more

By now, you’re probably getting the hang of how to handle foreign withholding taxes, based on our past blog/video on international equity ETFs. But complex lessons bear repeating. So, this time, let’s take what you’ve learned on foreign withholding taxes, and apply it to emerging markets equity ETFs. Recall that the amount of withholding tax payable on foreign dividends depends on two important... Source ..read more

In our past few blogs/videos, we explored the developed international equity landscape. Now let’s take on emerging markets and their equity ETFs.  Using the ETFs found in the Vanguard and iShares asset allocation funds (along with their Canadian or U.S.-listed counterparts), we’ll discuss four representative solutions in this blog/video: The Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap Index... Source ..read more

 In our last blog/video, we learned, when holding an international equity ETF in an RRSP, you can expect a similar foreign withholding tax drag whether you hold a U.S.-listed ETF like IEFA, or a Canadian-listed ETF that holds the stocks directly, like XEF or VIU. We also pointed out, there’s more to know before you just throw a dart to decide which fund type to prefer. Today, we’ll take a... Source ..read more

As mentioned in our initial foreign withholding tax lesson, the amount of foreign dividend withholding taxes you incur as an ETF investor depends on two important factors. The first is the structure of the ETF that holds the foreign stocks. And the second is the account type in which you hold the fund—such as an RRSP, TFSA, or non-registered account. Depending on these two factors... Source ..read more

Registered Education Savings Plans (or RESPs) are one of the best ways, if not the best way for Canadian parents to save for their children’s post-secondary education. However, we all know kids grow up fast, which is why it’s important to have an RESP asset allocation strategy in place that adjusts as they get older. In this blog/video, I’ll give you some pointers on how to use low-cost ETFs to... Source ..read more

Unless you were literally born yesterday, you’re probably already aware that 2022 was an extraordinary year for investing … extraordinarily bad, that is. It hardly mattered which asset mix you invested in. Both stock and bond markets experienced double-digit losses, so even conservative investors with bond-heavy holdings saw their portfolio values plummet. That’s investing for you. We may not like... Source ..read more

So far, we’ve covered some of the tricks and traps involved in diversifying your portfolio’s equity allocations across Canada and the U.S. That’s a great start, but why limit yourself to North America? In this blog/video, we’ll head overseas, to further diversify your portfolio by adding ETFs from other developed markets around the globe. This time, we’ll zero in on three broad-market ETF... Source ..read more