The Problem With Market Capitalization-Weighted Index ETF's

The majority of ETF investors in Canada are choosing low MER ETF’s which track broad indexes such as the S&P/TSX Composite Index or the TSX 60 Large Cap Index. While low fees are an attractive selling point, there are fundamental flaws when investing in market capitalization-weighted indexes. A solution exists, called fundamental indexing, and has proven to better protect investors during recessionary periods. Read on to learn more and invest better!

Tracking My 2020 Canadian Equity Portfolio

This year, in an effort to be as transparent as possible, I will be posting short weekly progress updates on how my 2020 Canadian Equity Portfolio is performing against its benchmark, the iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF (Symbol: XIC). You can also read more about the portfolio by clicking on 2020 on my website’s navigation menu and download an Excel version for yourself. My goal is to encourage more people to move away from passive ETF’s or expensive mutual funds and create a greater sense of ownership by building their own diversified, defensive equity portfolios.

The Case For Defensive Stocks

Are you looking to reduce the risk of your Canadian equity portfolio? You may want to consider adding some defensive stocks from sectors such as the Consumer Staples industry. These stocks have historically lower standard deviations and betas, but still have impressive return metrics. Read on as I make the case for investing in defensive stocks!

S&P/TSX Dividend Aristocrats Index

In Part 2 of our analysis of Canadian Dividend Index ETF’s, we take a look at the S&P/TSX Dividend Aristocrats Index and compare it with the S&P/TSX High Dividend Index. While both Indexes sound attractive to dividend investors, their methodologies are extremely different. We’ll compare and contrast the two, and take a look at their medium and long-term historical risk and return metrics to pick the winner.

Canadian High Dividend Index

Dividend investors believe that investing based on yields will deliver superior performance than just investing in a broad, market-weighted basket of stocks. But does this strategy make sense? Today I will begin part one of a two part series on dividend investing by looking at the popular S&P/TSX Composite High Dividend Index. I’ll give an overview of its methodology and take a look at its historical risk and return metrics and contrast them with its natural competitors: the S&P/TSX Composite Index and the S&P/TSX Large Cap Index. After seeing the facts, you can be the judge!