Low fees give these six ETFs a big edge

Article Excerpt

The six ETFs we update below mainly hold high-quality stocks that are widely traded on Canadian and U.S. exchanges. Each fund tracks the performance of a major stock market index. That’s different from ETFs focused on narrower indexes or themes such as cryptocurrencies or biotechnology. Of course, you pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell these investments. But low management fees give them a cost advantage over most mutual funds. We recommend five of these six funds for new buying. ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX ETF $24.79 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) is a good low-fee way to buy the top companies listed on the TSX. Specifically, the fund’s holdings represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index. It focuses on the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. The ETF began trading on September 28, 1999. Its MER is just 0.18%; it yields 2.9%. The S&P/TSX 60 Index mostly consists of high-quality companies. However, it must ensure that all sectors are represented,…