Topic: How To Invest

I would appreciate your opinion on the iShares Diversified Monthly Income Fund ETF. This ETF seems very boring and steady—something that is really appealing at this moment—and delivers a good, healthy yield. Are there any drawbacks to this "boring old way" of getting a return on my investment? Thanks, as always, for your advice.

Article Excerpt

iShares Diversified Monthly Income Fund ETF, $12.22, symbol XTR on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 37.5 million; Market cap: $458.3 million; ca.ishares.com), holds units of nine different iShares ETFs. Among these holdings are units of four bond funds that add up to 60.7% of the iShares Diversified Monthly Income Fund ETF’s assets. These include the iShares DEX Hybrid Bond Index Fund and the iShares DEX All-Corporate Bond Index Fund, both of which hold corporate bonds. As a general rule, the safest bonds are issued by or guaranteed by the federal government. Next are provincial issues or bonds with provincial guarantees. After that come corporate bonds. The risk on corporate bonds varies widely. Some corporates are almost as safe as government bonds and offer only slightly higher yields. Some corporates are far riskier but may not offer enough extra interest to offset that risk. Their high yields may signal danger rather than a bargain. You risk capital losses as bond prices fall along with the share price of…