Jon Chevreau recently blogged (see John Bogle says investors getting killed by ETFs) on John Bogle’s analysis of returns experienced by investors in Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and the results are not pretty: In 68 out of 79 ETFs, the returns experienced by investors lagged that of the ETFs themselves by an average of 4.5%. Bogle [...]

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At first glance, index mutual funds available from CIBC sport expenses that are a bit on the high side. Unlike TD e-Series funds, which charge MERs ranging from 0.31 to 0.48, CIBC’s index funds charge MERs that are about 1%. But as a reader pointed out the other day, CIBC offers a management fee distribution [...]

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The weekend edition of the Globe and Mail carried a column by Noreen Rasbach, who is pondering a switch from mutual funds to ETFs, but is worried about the extra costs for small investors:
One of the downsides of ETFs is that they are bought and sold on exchanges, so you have to pay commissions, and [...]

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Canadian investors who want to passively track our equity markets through ETFs have two choices - the iShares CDN Large Cap 60 Index Fund (XIU) or the iShares CDN Capped Composite Index Fund (XIC). As the name suggests, the XIU tracks the performance of a capitalization-weighted index of 60 large, liquid stocks that trade on [...]

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The following question is from Jamie:
My portfolio is quite similar to your Sleepy Mini Portfolio with a few variations in asset allocation. However, I’ve come across the currency neutral versions of the US and International funds. I’m not sure what the advantages and disadvantages of the three options ($CAD, $USD, Neutral) are and [...]

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After innovating and leading in online high-interest savings accounts for years, ING Direct is introducing three low-cost, index-based, mutual funds under the “Streetwise” name. The Streetwise funds offer one-stop convenience for all-inclusive fees of 1% - no minimums, no sales loads and no administration fees. The Balanced Streetwise fund has a classic portfolio split - [...]

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I am a big fan of TD e-Series Index Funds but if you already have an account with a discount broker other than TD Waterhouse, the Precision series index funds from Altamira would an acceptable, albeit slightly more expensive option. A couple of readers also mentioned that TD Mutual Funds are not ideal for RESP [...]

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