The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that one of the ways to reduce portfolio risk is to own one or more low-volatility funds. Globe columnist Gordon Pape writes that low-volatility funds invest in stocks with a low beta, which means the stock prices move less than the broad market (which has a beta of one). These funds tend to underperform when the markets are strong, but limit the downside when equities fall. Do they actually work? Yes, says Chris Heakes, senior portfolio manager with Harvest ETFs, which is based in Oakville, Ont. He noted a recent BNP Paribas study that looked at the performance of U.S. equities between 2011 to 2025, which covered the period that included the COVID-19-pandemic market drop. Charts show they have a striking correlation between lower volatility/lower beta stocks, and improved absolute and risk-adjusted performance outcomes. The synergy is not 100-per-cent perfect, but the pattern is clear. The BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF (ZLB) shows a gain of 25.15 per cent year-to-date (Nov. 30) and an average gain of 12.86 per cent a year since it was launched in October, 2011. Mr. Pape points out, however, that ZLB's annualized distribution yield is only 1.95 per cent.