Our latest advice on two bond funds

Article Excerpt

The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate to 0.75% from 1.0% in January 2015. The move came after the country’s inflation rate dropped to 1.5%—below the bank’s 2.0% target—reflecting falling oil prices and slowing growth. Inflation has since dropped even further, to 1.2%. 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 $28.73 (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, provincial,…