ETF investing for beginners: Your guide to ETF investing in Canada

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are an increasingly popular way for Canadians to invest. ETF investing provides a convenient, low-cost way to invest in stocks, bonds and other assets like commodities or foreign currencies.

Whether you’re new to investing or you’re interested in what an ETF can do for your existing portfolio, this guide is designed to help you understand what ETFs are and the role they can play in your investment strategy.

ETF Investing in Canada: How to invest in ETF in Canada

ETF investing in Canada is as simple as buying into a mutual fund or buying stocks. ETFs are easy to search and buy in a self-directed investment platform. There may be management fees involved, but they are often lower than other types of investments. [2]

Find a platform for your investment

ETFs can be bought and sold as direct investments on online trading platforms, including Scotia iTRADE. When you are looking for a platform for trading ETFs, consider what kind of funds are available and the commissions you will have to pay for transactions.

Research & choose your investments

Many online trading platforms come with screeners to help investors narrow down their options and find the ETF they’re looking for. [3] There are over $9 trillion invested in ETFs globally, with no shortage of options. [4] ETF screeners allow investors to locate the industry, sector or market they want to target while also screening for factors such as volatility, ratings and performance-based criteria. [5]

Identify the purpose of your investment

There are many types of investments available through ETFs. Before choosing one, it helps to know your own goals, timeline and the asset attributes you want to add to your portfolio. Whereas an ETF that tracks a stock exchange may be growth-oriented, it may also come with higher risks in a market crash than an ETF focused on investment-grade bonds. [6]

Choose an ETF investment strategy

Given the wealth of options you have for investing in Exchanged-Traded Funds, it helps to narrow down your investment strategy. To begin with, you have to choose between active and passive ETFs. [7] Passive ETFs are designed to track an index, sector or another asset, while active ETFs are professionally managed with the goal of beating an index or other asset’s performance. Consider risks and potential growth when you create an ETF investing strategy.

Make the trade

ETFs are traded on exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. There may be a brokerage fee, but it can be done quickly on an online trading platform or with the help of your financial advisor.

Why invest in ETFs: The benefits of investing in ETFs

They diversify your portfolio

ETFs are often used as a quick and convenient way to add diversification to a portfolio. [8] Before the invention of ETFs, the cost of broad exposure to a basket of assets outside a mutual fund was a barrier for many retail investors. ETFs have removed the high minimum costs to buy certain stocks, as you don’t need to purchase a minimum of one share to gain exposure to that asset. ETFs have brought down the cost of diversification.

They are easy to purchase and sell

One of the advantages of investing in ETFs over mutual funds is their flexibility when it comes to trading. Mutual funds can usually only be traded when markets close at the end of the day. [9] It can take up to several days to make changes to a mutual fund.

ETFs on the other hand can be traded throughout the day when markets are open. ETF prices rise and fall throughout the day based on the performance of the underlying assets, and investors can quickly see the prices at which they bought and sold.

They often have lower fees

Typically, ETFs have lower fees than mutual funds. [10] The lower costs are the result of lower administrative fees, fewer transactions made within the fund, lower capital gains taxes that follow transactions and low fees charged by the brokerages where individual investors can buy ETFs.

ETF investment strategy: How to evaluate an ETF

There are two types of fees involved in ETF investing: commissions and management expense ratios. [11] Management expense ratios are a combination of management fees and operating expenses incurred and paid for by the fund. Management expense ratios reduce the fund’s returns, and investors may want to compare management expense ratios before choosing an ETF.

Commissions are paid by the person investing in the ETF at the time of the transaction. ETF commissions are like those paid for stocks. They are paid to the brokerage or investment firm you use to invest. [12] Commissions can affect your returns considerably if you trade frequently.

Scotia iTRADE now offers a number of commission-free ETFs. Choose between balanced, equity, fixed income and commodity ETFs and download the list of commission-free options.

Volume can be a factor in an ETF’s liquidity and your ability to trade it. [13] Many ETFs are open-end funds, which means that they do not limit the number of shares that they can offer, and they can be bought into on-demand. [14] There may be temporary liquidity issues for buyers if an industry or market performs well, but new shares can be created fairly quickly. Low-volume ETFs may be less liquid because they are in more niche industries with lower interest and may be harder to sell, though this usually is not a concern with most ETFs.

Looking up an ETF’s past performance won’t tell you how it will do in the future, but it can show you how it has performed during past economic conditions. Find out how it kept up with growth compared to other ETFs or mitigated losses better than other funds. While many ETFs are designed to track a benchmark, they may also deviate from the benchmark’s performance. [15]

Because investors do not directly buy the assets held in an ETF, some may want to find out what exactly the ETF owns before they invest themselves. Investors who want to avoid certain companies or focus on socially responsible and ESG companies can look into the assets held by an Exchange-Traded Fund. Investors who want to make sure their money is being invested in socially responsible companies may want to look into Scotia Responsible Investing ETFs.

The impact of the ETF investment market

Investments in ETFs have grown rapidly since the first one came on the market in the 1990s. [17] While the industry remains relatively young, with over $9 trillion now invested in ETFs globally, ETFs have become a widely used investment tool for both institutional and retail investors.

Although ETFs share many similarities with mutual funds, they may offer more flexibility and lower costs than traditional mutual funds. [18] The barrier to entry is often lower than mutual funds that require a minimum investment, and ETF investing can open up your portfolio to new investments and strategies.

Investing in ETFs can add diversification to your portfolio and make it more convenient and affordable to increase your exposure to new assets.

ETFs offer a style of investment that combines more personal control and flexible trading with the assurance of a professionally managed fund.