Investing
Dividend
A cash (or sometimes stock) payment a company distributes to its shareholders out of profits, typically on a quarterly schedule. Dividends are one of the two ways equity investors earn a return; the other is price appreciation. In Canada, dividends from Canadian corporations receive preferential tax treatment via the dividend tax credit, while dividends from foreign companies (including U.S. ones) are taxed as ordinary income and may have foreign withholding tax applied.
Related terms in Investing
How your portfolio is divided across asset classes — equities, fixed income, cash, real assets — chosen to match your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance.
Spreading investments across different securities, sectors, and geographies to reduce the impact any single holding can have on the portfolio.
A pooled investment that trades on an exchange like a stock. ETFs typically offer low management expense ratios (MERs) and track an index, sector, or strategy.
The total annual cost of a mutual fund or ETF, expressed as a percentage of assets. Includes the management fee plus operating expenses. Higher MERs compound into materially lower long-term returns.