Topic: How To Invest

Pat: What do you think about the iShares S&P/TSX Capped Materials Index Fund as a way to hold resource stocks? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

iShares S&P/TSX Capped Materials Index Fund, $20.49, symbol XMA on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 12.8 million; Market cap: $262.3 million; ca.ishares.com), holds 66 stocks in resource-related fields, such as mining, fertilizer production and forestry. The fund’s MER is 0.55%. This fund aims to mirror the performance of the S&P/TSX Capped Materials Index, which is made up of the largest resource stocks in Canada. The weight of any one company is capped at 25% of the index’s market capitalization. So, every three months, if the market cap of any given stock has risen above 25% of the total market cap of all the stocks in the index, the fund will sell shares of that stock to bring its weight down to the 25% cap level. The fund then uses the proceeds of the sale to buy other stocks in the index on a proportional basis. The fund’s top holdings are Barrick Gold at 13.3%; Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, 13.1%; Goldcorp, 12.0%; Teck Resources,…