The First Asset DEX 1-5 Year Laddered Government Strip Bond Index ETF has closed its offerings of common units and adviser units and commenced trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).
Barry Gordon (pictured), president and chief executive of First Asset, says: “The First Asset DEX 1-5 Year Laddered Government Strip Bond Index ETF combines the safety and higher yields of Canadian government strip bonds, with the ‘tried and true’ methodology of a bond laddering strategy. With no management fee on the common units until 1 July 2014, we believe that this fund represents unbeatable value for a portion of any investor’s fixed income portfolio.”
The ETF has been designed to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of a Canadian 1-5 year laddered government strip bond index, net of expenses. The current index is the DEX 1-5 Year Laddered Government Strip Bond Index, which measures potential returns of a portfolio of strip bonds, both coupons and residuals, derived from bonds issued by the Government of Canada (including Crown Corporations) and Canadian provincial bonds (including provincially guaranteed debt securities) issued domestically in Canada and denominated in Canadian dollars based upon five distinct annual groupings of maturity. The index seeks to maintain a continuous maturity laddered portfolio, meaning that securities holdings are scheduled to mature in a proportional, annual sequential pattern. The index will initially be comprised of approximately 25 securities, five of which will be equally weighted in each of the five maturity groupings. The index is rebalanced annually in June.
