Beutel Goodman Balanced Fund
This is essentially a fund of Beutel Goodman managed funds including Beutel Goodman Canadian Equity and Beutel Goodman Income. It invests in the American and International Equity Funds to gain its foreign equity exposure. Mark Thomson, who also runs the Canadian Equity fund is responsible for the asset mix. It has a target mix of 40% bonds and 60% equities. It is not expected to stray too far...
Read MoreSteadyhand Global Equity Fund (SIF 140)
After a very rough 2014, it looks like the fund’s contrarian, value focused style is starting to reward investors. To the end of May, it has gained 15.3%, outpacing the MSCI World Index. Much of this outperformance can be attributed to the fund’s Japanese holdings. At March 31, it held nearly a third of the portfolio in Japan, and another 16% in other Asian names. They like Japan for a few...
Read MoreBMO Equal Weight REITs Index ETF (TSX: ZRE)
After a strong January, Canadian REITs have struggled to capitalize on that momentum, remaining flat. The main reason for this is the interest rate environment. January’s gain was the result of the Bank of Canada’s surprise cut in rates. Since then, we’ve seen some upward pressure on yields, which has made it tough for REITs to make any real headway. REITs are attractive because of the juicy...
Read MoreiShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF (TSX: XSP)
The outlook for the Canadian economy is uncertain, and the valuation of EAFE names are not quite as compelling as they were a few months ago, making U.S. equities once again a strong contender. For U.S. exposure, this ETF remains my top pick. It is designed to track the S&P 500 and it fully hedges its currency exposure, so you receive the same return that a U.S. domiciled investor would have...
Read MoreBMO MSCI EAFE Index (C$ Hedged) ETF (TSX: ZDM)
Earlier in the year, the valuation levels of EAFE equities looked quite compelling. That’s not the case so much anymore, after an impressive 8.7% gain in the past three months helped close that valuation gap. Most of these gains were driven by the European Central Bank’s stimulus program was launched in March, and recent economic data that shows growth is returning to many European economies. At...
Read MorePowerShares FTSE RAFI Canadian Fundamental (TSX: PXC)
The theory of a fundamentally constructed ETF is very sound. Instead of building the portfolio based solely on the market capitalization of a stock, as is done in traditional indexing, fundamental ETFs use factors that are believed to better predict outperformance. These factors include sales, cash flow, book value, and dividends. The main criticism with a traditional cap weighted index is the...
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