Topic: How To Invest

Dear Pat: Can I have your views on the iShares Canadian Fundamental Index Fund ETF? Thank you for your advice.

Article Excerpt

iShares Canadian Fundamental Index Fund ETF, $13.39, symbol CRQ on Toronto (Units outstanding: 16.8 million; Market cap: $225.0 million; ca.ishares.com), aims to track the FTSE RAFI Canada Index. The ETF’s top 10 holdings are Royal Bank, 7.2%; TD Bank, 6.2%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.0%; Manulife Financial, 4.6%; Suncor Energy, 4.4%; Bank of Montreal, 4.0%; Encana, 3.3%; CIBC, 3.0%; Canadian Natural Resources, 2.8%; and Sun Life Financial, 2.6%. Its expenses are 0.72% of its assets. The RAFI (Research Affiliates Fundamental Index) methodology aims to select companies by the highest fundamental measures of their size, rather than by market capitalization (or the value of all their outstanding shares). The index weights stocks using four main accounting factors: cash dividends, free cash flow, total sales (five-year averages) and current book value. By using these factors rather than market cap, RAFI tries to provide a way to take advantage of price movements by reducing holdings in stocks whose prices have risen and increasing holdings in companies…