Low-fee bond funds for steady income

Article Excerpt

The Bank of Canada is holding interest rates steady, even though the current 3.3% inflation rate is well above the bank’s target of 2%. The bank doesn’t want to derail Canada’s economic recovery with higher rates, or push the dollar any higher. Even so, the long-term outlook is for higher interest rates. That’s especially so in light of the potential for even higher inflation following the heavy deficit spending and expansion of the money supply that is still underway. We continue to advise against investing in bonds right now, because today’s low interest rates make them unattractive — and rising rates would push down their value. However, if you need stable income and want to hold bonds, here are two bond funds that have low fees and high-quality holdings. ISHARES DEX SHORT TERM BOND INDEX FUND $28.98 (CWA Rating: Income) (Toronto symbol XSB; buy or sell through a broker) mirrors the performance of the DEX Short-Term Bond Index. This index consists of a wide range…