Index Funds
Index funds (or index mutual funds) are mutual funds that invest in a portfolio of stocks that is designed to duplicate the return of a particular stock market index (such as the S&P/TSX 60).
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) may have a place in your portfolio. That’s because, unlike many other financial innovations, they don’t load you up with heavy management fees or tie you down with high redemption charges if you decide to get out of them. Instead, they give you a low-cost, flexible, convenient alternative to mutual funds.
ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just …read more »
The long-term outlook remains bright for emerging market economies and stocks. One of the best ways to profit from that growth is through low-fee exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
ISHARES S&P INDIA NIFTY 50 INDEX FUND $20.44 (Nasdaq symbol INDY; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an ETF that aims to track the S&P CNX Nifty Index, which represents the 50 largest, …read more »
ISHARES MSCI SOUTH KOREA INDEX FUND $54.02 (New York Exchange symbol EWY; buy or sell through brokers), is an exchange-traded fund that aims to track the MSCI Korea Index.
The fund’s top holdings include Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Co., Posco (steel), Hyundai Mobis (auto parts), Shinhan Financial, Kia Motors, LG Chemical, KB Financial, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hynix Semiconductor.
The South Korean …read more »
ISHARES AUSTRALIA INDEX FUND $23.26 (New York symbol EWA; buy or sell through brokers), is an ETF that holds the 73 largest Australian stocks. Its MER is 0.53%.
The fund’s top holdings include BHP Billiton, 14.1%; Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 8.9%; Westpac Banking Corp., 7.8%; Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, 6.5%; National Australia Bank, 6.5%; Wesfarmers, 3.8%; Rio Tinto, 3.5%; …read more »
ISHARES DOW JONES CANADA SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX FUND $19.60 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through a broker; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highest-yielding Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of its assets. The fund’s MER is 0.50%. Its yield is 2.7%.
The fund’s …read more »
ISHARES DEX SHORT TERM BOND INDEX FUND $29.29 (CWA Rating: Income) (Toronto symbol XSB; buy or sell through a broker) mirrors the performance of the DEX Short-Term Bond Index.
This index consists of a wide range of investment-grade federal, provincial, municipal and corporate bonds with between one- and five-year terms to maturity. The fund holds 264 bonds with an average term …read more »
The Bank of Canada is holding interest rates steady, even though the current inflation rate of 3.1% is well above the bank’s 2% target. The bank doesn’t want to slow Canada’s economic growth with higher rates, or push the dollar any higher.
Still, the long-term outlook is for higher interest rates. The heavy deficit spending of the past few years and …read more »
ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $14.20 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through a broker; ca.ishares.com) holds the 13 Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. The weight of any one REIT is limited to 25% of iShares CDN REIT Sector Index Fund’s value.
iShares CDN REIT’s expenses are just 0.55% of its assets.
RioCan REIT …read more »
ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX FUND $19.21 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through a broker; ca.ishares.com) is a good, low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units are made up of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index, which consists of the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. Expenses are just 0.17% of …read more »
ISHARES DOW JONES CANADA SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX FUND $21.64 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through a broker; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highest-yielding Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of assets. The fund’s MER is 0.50%. It yields 2.7%.
The fund’s top holdings …read more »
