Nervous Investors: The Safest Stock Canadians Can Buy Today

Not all Canadians want risky stocks. Many of us want stable income without having to worry.

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Investing continues to become popular with all Canadians, rather than just for the rich to get richer. As Canadians educate themselves on their own finances, investing no longer seems as scary as it once did.

Well, almost. On the one hand, the more we understand, the more we can invest confidently. On the other hand, the more we understand the more we realize we could lose. That can create a lot of anxiety for nervous investors wanting to get in.

And the biggest issue? Many Canadians may miss out on long-term returns because they’re far too nervous to invest in the first place. This is a huge problem. So it’s why today I’m going to talk about just one safe, stable stock to buy if you’re a nervous investor.

The best ETF for nervous investors

I’ll get straight to the point. If nervous investors want a solid, strong stock then they want a stable exchange-traded fund (ETF) like iShares Core Balanced ETF Portfolio (TSX:XBAL). It’s perfect for Canadians wanting passive income, focusing on long-term capital growth and income. It gives investors exposure to both equity and fixed income securities, creating stable income for, well, forever!

The fund currently has $982.15 million in assets, with a very low management fee of just 0.18%. Year to date, shares have fallen slightly, with a dividend yield of 1.98%. What financial experts love about this ETF is it gives nervous investors exposure to a diverse portfolio, both by assets and regions. It’s continuously monitored, and its managers rebalance as needed to reach targets. And of course, fees are super cheap.

More benefits

I’d now like to delve deeper for those wanting to learn more about not just this ETF, but why it’s a gold standard among ETFs for nervous investors. This will help you understand for the future when you’re perhaps seeking another ETF for your portfolio.

The great part of the iShares ETF is that it’s an all-in-one ETF. These ETFs provide strong efficiency and convenience, saving you time and money so you don’t need to choose stocks yourself. These options are perfect if you don’t have the time to dig into stocks yourself. Furthermore, they’re amazing if you then don’t want to worry yourself to death by not checking your shares every few hours.

And of course, all that time and cost savings helps you sleep better at night. You’re now seeing your shares rise by a stable amount, which also means any drops will only be minor dips compared to the stock market as a whole. These ETFs are therefore perfect building blocks for nervous investors not wanting to miss out on returns.

Don’t be fooled!

What you might hear is that these ETFs will then only give you the minimal amount of returns. Not true! If you invest properly, you can make tons of cash in the years ahead. Especially if you’re young or have a lot to invest. You can see your shares increase by leaps and bounds by making the right choice.

By choosing this iShares ETF, you can get in at a cheap price and see long-term stable growth. Year to date shares are down 3.79%, and up 3.83% in the last year. Yet since 2009, shares are up 85%. That means $10,000 invested at that time would be worth about $18,571 today!

If you were to take the averages and see them grow for 30 years, you could turn even a small $10,000 investment into something powerful. That $10,000 alone would be worth about $85,000 with dividends reinvested!

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium service or advisor. We’re Motley! Questioning an investing thesis — even one of our own — helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer, so we sometimes publish articles that may not be in line with recommendations, rankings or other content.

Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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