Two bond funds with top-quality holdings

Article Excerpt

The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate to 0.50% from 0.75% in July 2015. The move came after the bank dropped its 2015 growth forecast for the Canadian economy to 1.1% from 2.0%. The cut partly reflects falling prices for oil and other commodities. Even so, the long-term outlook is for higher interest rates. That’s because heavy deficit spending and the expansion of the money supply in the past few years make higher inflation more likely. We continue to advise against investing in bonds right now. That’s because today’s low interest rates make bonds unattractive, and rising rates would push down their future value. However, if you need stable income and want to hold bonds, these two bond funds offer low fees and high-quality holdings. ISHARES CANADIAN SHORT-TERM BOND INDEX ETF $28.69 (Toronto symbol XSB; buy or sell through brokers) mirrors the performance of the DEX Short-Term Bond Index. This index consists of a range of investment-grade federal,…