I recommend a Canadian index fund such as from Vanguard eg VCE. Returns over 7% and low risk in the long run. Also REITs such as car.un and kmp.un
In general, the lower the risk lowered the return, and vice versa. On one extreme are GICs and bondsWith extremely low risk and very little return. At the other extreme are stocks with high risk and volatility but high return.
Stocks are the only way to get over 10% return. But the risk is high.
There are many major companies that went completely brike such as AOL, BlackBerry, Nokia, and enRon, sears, Nortel, and many dotcom companies. Mutual funds are therefore your best bet to protect against complete losses.