The S&P/TSX Composite is a market cap weighted Index tracks about 250 of Canada’s largest public companies. It is viewed as a barometer of the Canadian economy, and is analogous to the S&P 500 Index in the United States. Companies must maintain strict liquidity and market capitalization requirements in order to remain part of the index.The term Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) refers to a Canadian stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1861, the TSX is Canada’s premier stock exchange with more than 1,500 listed companies, including those from the energy, mining, technology, and real estate sectors. The exchange is also home to international listings and exchange-traded products.1 It became fully electronic after closing its trading floor in 1997.2
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The Nikkei is short for Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average, the leading and most-respected index of Japanese stocks. It is a price-weighted index composed of Japan’s top 225 blue-chip companies traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Nikkei is equivalent to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Index in the United States. The Nikkei is a price-weighted index, which means the index is an average of the share prices of all the companies listed.
The DAX—also known as the Deutscher Aktien Index—is a stock index that represents 30 of the largest and most liquid German companies that trade on the Frankfurt Exchange. The prices used to calculate the DAX Index come through Xetra, an electronic trading system.
The Australian Stock Exchange was born on 1 April 1987, incorporated under legislation of the Australian Parliament as an amalgamation of the six state securities exchanges. It merged with the Sydney Futures Exchange in 2006 to become The Australian Securities Exchange. From 2010, Australian Securities Exchange Limited became known as ASX Limited. A variety of asset classes and services are available. Amongst others, the exchange offers shares, debt securities, derivatives and commodities. The company provides trading, settlement, clearing and listing services. ASX Limited as a group entity maintains many whole owned subsidiaries, which have different roles within the group. ASX Limited and Australian Securities Exchange Limited are licensed to operate financial markets while ASX Clear, ASX Clear (Futures), Austraclear Limited and ASX Settlement Pty Limited are licensed to operate clearing and settlement facilities.
The XRT ETF offers exposure to the U.S. retail industry, a targeted sub-sector of the consumer discretionary space that may have appeal for investors looking to bet on increased consumer consumption in the domestic market. XRT is probably too targeted for any investor with a long-term buy-and-hold strategy, Filled with numerous home furnishings & decor companies as well as some automotive dealership groups as well
XLV ETF is one of the most popular options for gaining exposure to the U.S. health care sector, and as such might be an attractive option for investors looking to tilt exposure towards lower risk industries. XLV is among the cheapest ways to gain access to health care companies, and offers impressive depth of holdings as well. XLV can be a good option for a sector rotation strategy or as a means of establishing a long term tilt towards the health care sector.
XLU utilities sector is a low volatility and relatively high distribution yields, is useful for establishing low risk equity exposure or for enhancing the current returns generated by the equity side of a portfolio. XLU is probably most appealing to those implementing a sector rotation strategy or looking to establish a tactical tilt towards this low beta sector of the U.S. market. Those building a long-term, buy-and-hold portfolio will likely achieve utilities exposure through broad-based equity funds
XLRE tracks a market cap-weighted index of REITs and real estate stocks, excluding mortgage REITs, from the S&P 500. XLRE represents the new real estate sector concentrated portfolio of mostly large-caps . XLF provided roughly $3B in AUM in the form of REITs to XLRE in return for its shares, which were then distributed to XLF shareholders, thus providing a massive boost to XLRE’s AUM.
The XLP offers exposure to the consumer staples sector, making it an appealing option for investors looking to implement a sector rotation strategy or tilt exposure towards corners of the U.S. market that may perform well during a downturn. XLP offers impressive liquidity, cost efficiency, and depth of exposure, making it one of the best ETF options for playing
offshore oil rig at sunset
XLE is U.S. energy industry, including many of the world’s largest oil producers. Compared to other energy options, XLE is impressive in terms of both cost efficiency and liquidity; investors can generally expect to execute at penny wide spreads. But like many funds offering exposure to the energy sector, XLE maintains some concentration issues, as a few stocks account for big chunks of the total portfolio.