Topic: How To Invest

Thanks for all your good advice. What do you think about the iShares 1-5 Year Laddered Corporate Bond Index ETF and the BMO S&P/TSX Laddered Preferred Share Index ETF? Thanks for your help. This is an excellent service.

Article Excerpt

iShares 1-5 Year Laddered Corporate Bond Index ETF, $19.82, symbol CBO on Toronto (Units outstanding: 93.1 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; ca.ishares.com), invests in a portfolio of short-term bonds drawn from the DEX (formerly Scotia Capital) Bond Index. The ETF first sold units to the public at $20 each and began trading on Toronto on February 25, 2009. Its MER is 0.28%, and it currently yields 4.2%. The fund’s 46 holdings are divided into five staggered, or “laddered,” maturities that generally range from one to five years. Each maturity is equally weighted. Each year, the two- to five-year bonds will be a year closer to maturity, and one-year bonds will reach maturity. The fund uses the proceeds of the matured bonds to “roll over,” or buy new bonds that restore the desired one- to five-year portfolio balance. The ETF’s portfolio is weighted 65.0% toward financials, followed by infrastructure (22.7%), energy (6.6%); industrials (2.2%), real estate (2.2%) and unclassified industries (1.3%). Its largest holdings are bonds…