Personal Finance Canada

First, pay off your debts, that's guaranteed returns by reducing the cost of interest.

Second, rethink the market. If it's volatility that's the problem you think you're having, there are ETFs that are 'covered calls' that have slightly lower volatility, but have higher returns because they're doing options trading (i.e. profiting from gamblers who pay to gamble).

Third, if you can't find anything on the markets, you're stuck with GICs and term deposits and government backed savings bonds. The returns are meager most of the time, and there's no guarantee you'll earn more than inflation.