Tim Pickering on Managed Futures, Part 2
Here’s part two of my interview with Tim Pickering, president of Auspice Capital Advisors, who manages both the Horizons Auspice Managed Futures Index ETF (HMF) and the iShares Broad Commodity Index...
View ArticleAnother Weak Criticism of Indexing
The investment industry has never been kind to index investing, but the criticisms are getting weaker and more desperate. An article in yesterday’s Globe and Mail gets off to a bad start by suggesting...
View ArticleBMO Takes on the Big Boys
BMO has announced some interesting new changes to some of the ETFs—and one of them may lead to the first genuine price war in the Canadian marketplace. The company recently announced that the BMO Dow...
View ArticleMore ETFs Close Their Doors
This month, two ETF providers in the US announced they were closing shop. First up was FocusShares (associated with the online brokerage Scottrade), who will shutter its entire roster of 15 ETFs. Then...
View ArticleVanguard ETFs Get New Indexes
Vanguard has announced it is changing the benchmark indexes on four of its Canadian and 22 of its US ETFs, including some of its most popular funds. Over the next several months, Vanguard will be...
View ArticleBarry Gordon on Building an Index
Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, all ETFs tracked well-known third-party indexes like the S&P 500. But it wasn’t long before all of the major benchmarks were spoken for and ETF providers began...
View ArticleBarry Gordon on Building an Index: Part 2
In Monday’s post I shared part one of my interview with Barry Gordon, CEO of First Asset, who explained how his firm worked with Morningstar to create new ETF indexes. In part two the interview, Gordon...
View ArticleInside the BMO and PowerShares Low-Vol ETFs
In the last 14 months or so, Canada’s ETF providers have launched several funds based on low-volatility strategies. As we saw in my last post, the research suggests it may be possible to build a...
View ArticleInside the iShares Minimum Volatility ETFs
Last week we looked at two low-volatility ETF strategies based on beta and the standard deviation of daily price movements. Now let’s complete our roundup by looking at a third methodology used by...
View ArticleAsk the Spud: Adding a New REIT to the Index
Loblaw recently announced it will be creating a new real estate investment trust (REIT). Once it goes public, how would it be added to existing real estate ETFs? And considering how large the proposed...
View ArticleNew iShares ETFs Give Canadians the World
In an era when ETFs are becoming increasingly narrow and specialized, the new iShares funds launched this week were a pleasant surprise. Granted, they were late to the game with the iShares S&P 500...
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How Well Does Your ETF Track Its Index?
The ideal index fund would deliver the precise return of its benchmark, but we all know that’s not realistic. ETFs and index funds may be cheap but they’re not free, and fees almost always cause them...
View ArticleWhat Causes an ETF’s Tracking Error?
Last week I explained the importance of monitoring an ETF’s tracking error, which is the difference between a fund’s actual performance and the returns of its index. The most significant reason index...
View ArticleWhen You Can Ignore Tracking Error
In Monday’s post, I reviewed the major factors that contribute to an index fund’s tracking error. Here are some other things to consider when you’re comparing your fund’s performance to that of its...
View ArticleMore on Socially Responsible Index Investing
Here’s part two of my conversation with Timothy Nash, president of Strategic Sustainable Investments and the blogger behind The Sustainable Economist. (Part one is available here.) Next week I’ll go...
View ArticleWhy Use a Strip Bond ETF?
Barry Gordon admits he was surprised when he first read Justin Bender’s entry in First Asset’s Search for Canada’s Next Top ETF contest, which I introduced in my previous post. “It runs against the...
View ArticleTwo Core ETFs Get New Indexes
Vanguard announced last October that it would be ending its relationship with MSCI, one of the largest index providers in the world, and using new benchmarks for many of its most popular ETFs. That...
View ArticleIs One Index Really Better Than Another?
Couch Potato investors try to capture the returns of entire asset classes rather selecting individual securities. And we do that with passively managed funds designed to track indexes that represent...
View ArticleThe Wait is Over: New ETFs From Vanguard
“Ask and ye shall receive.” That should be the refrain of Couch Potato investors during the last 10 months or so as the industry has filled just about all the gaps in the ETF marketplace. First it was...
View ArticleDoes “Smart Beta” Really Beat Cap-Weighting?
“Smart beta” has become a buzzword in investing circles, especially among pension funds and other institutional investors. The term may be new, but the idea isn’t: it’s about looking for ways to...
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