Here are IndexIQ’s top ETF-focused trends and insights. 1. Tax reform and other legislative priorities may provide fuel for U.S. Tax reform can be a large positive factor and could propel both large cap and small cap stocks higher. A reduction in taxes paid on repatriated profits could entice offshore cash to return to the US.

The reduction of the domestic tax rate would also benefit companies that generate most of their revenues domestically. While most equities would benefit, those that are well managed may be in the best position. Using a disciplined approach to identify these companies can potentially further improve returns. Despite an uncertain political environment, the merger and acquisition market has remained resilient.

With continued low interest rates, the possibility of a deal on foreign tax repatriation, and large cash reserves on corporate balance sheets, companies continue to look to the M&A market for deals. Over the last year we’ve seen more deals that can be thought of as transformational (e.g. Amazon/Whole Foods), where the combined entity is seeking to dramatically alter the competitive balance within an industry. These types of deals are likely to increase in frequency as deregulation changes the playing field and technology becomes ever more disruptive.

Regardless of the type of deal, merger arbitrage investing is likely going to be an important tool in helping to dampen portfolio volatility. With an expected growth rate of near 2%, the U.S. Factoring in the outperformance gap of the U.S. 8 years with lower valuations, higher dividend yields and more accommodative monetary policies for non-U.S. The spread of U.S. 10 year U.S. Treasuries is hovering near 3%. While not at a record low level, the spread is below its long term average and is at a level that has historically preceded sharp moves higher. According to Bloomberg, year-to-date inflows in U.S. 339B, which represents almost 11% of assets. Click here to learn more about IndexIQ. Sal is Chief Investment Officer at IndexIQ, where his primary responsibility includes developing and maintaining the firm’s investment strategies.

S&P Global Market Intelligence predicts that the amount of assets managed by robo advisors in the USA will quadruple in the USA. When LendEDU (a US-based platform that specializes in student loan refinancing) recently released a survey that polled over 500 Millennials, they reported that 53.6% of respondents stated that they were not using a traditional financial advisor.

The report went on to state that out of that pool of respondents, 24.3% were currently using a robo advisor, but possibly more tellingly, 61.2% had never heard of a robo advisor before. There are a lot of ways to interpret that information, but I think the trend of moving towards cheaper, more index-friendly automated investing services is here to stay - and that there is substantial room for growth. It’s tough to say what these worldwide trends will mean for us in Canada however.

As investors that pay the highest mutual fund fees in the world, it could easily be argued that Canadians have the most to gain from robo advisors out of everyone on the planet! On the other hand, Canadians have long been classified as some of the most financially cautious people on the planet. Perhaps it’s something about planning to get through long winters, but we as a group can be resistant to change when it comes to money trends (which is why our major banks have been such good long-term investments).

In terms of overall feedback within the industry, we can definitely say that positive responses outnumber negative responses for us by a ratio of 7-1 or so. If any other robo advisors wish to have us update their offerings, please let us know and we’ll get them up there. Also, I’m always interested in hearing about Canada’s robo advisors from the consumer side of things.

Exchange-traded funds have made it easier than ever for people to invest, and their low costs enable investors to tailor the market exposure they want in their portfolios without losing too much money to investing fees. Data source: Fund providers. The key to nearly any portfolio's success is having appropriate exposure to the stock market. Although some expect markets to pull back in 2018 after a long nine-year bull-market run, the same expectations last year caused many investors to miss out on the strong returns that 2017 provided.

A long-term strategy involves finding good investments and sticking with them rather than trying to time entries and exits based on market conditions, and it's prudent to invest most of your money with such an approach. The two aforementioned Schwab ETFs have low costs as their primary selling point. The U.S. Broad Market fund concentrates on stocks of all sizes in the U.S. International Equity fund fleshes out your portfolio with foreign company stocks. If you believe that international markets will play catch-up with the soaring U.S. ETF could amplify your return potential.