Royal taps into growing ETF market

Article Excerpt

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $53 (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $74.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) plans to enter the fast-growing market for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Canada. The bank will offer eight new ETFs that will mirror the performance of various corporate bond indexes. Unlike regular mutual funds, ETFs trade on stock exchanges. They also have lower management fees. This move will help Royal compete with large, U.S.-based investment firms, such as Vanguard Group Inc., which will soon start selling its ETFs to Canadian investors. Royal Bank is a buy. buy…