A summary of the Canadian ETF launches that occurred in May 2023.
TD Asset Management launched three new ETFs. The newly launched TD Canadian Bank Dividend Index ETF will track the Solactive Canadian Bank Dividend Index, which provides exposure to the big six Canadian banks. The Index uses a rules-based weighting methodology that ranks the holdings based on dividend growth and puts more weight on the issuers with higher dividend growth. The remaining two ETFs are currency-hedged versions of existing mandates, the TD Global Technology Leaders ETF and TD Active U.S. Enhanced Dividend ETF. The former invests in global mid- and large-capitalisation companies related to technology, while the latter invests in dividend-paying equity securities of companies located in the United States.
Purpose Investment Inc. launched the Purpose USD Cash Management Fund. The actively managed solution invests primarily in high-quality, short-term money market instruments denominated in U.S. dollars.
RGC Global Management launched ten new ETFs. Earlier in the month, the firm launched six RBC Target Maturity Government Bond ETFs, which focused on providing investors with efficient and targeted access to government fixed income. The government bond ETFs hold a mix of federal, provincial and agency bonds with the same maturity dates as the ETFs, which range from 2024 to 2029.
The firm also launched the RBC U.S. Discount Bond ETF, RBC U.S. Discount Bond ETF (USD Units), and RBC U.S. Discount Bond (CAD Hedged) ETF, each seeking to provide investors with exposure to a diversified portfolio of primarily short-term bonds issued in the US market by US governments and US and foreign corporations that are trading below the average price of the US short-term bond universe at the time of purchase. The RBC U.S. Discount Bond (CAD Hedged) ETF also hedges currency fluctuations between the US and Canadian dollar.
Finally, the firm launched USD units of the RBC U.S. Dividend Covered Call ETF. This new unit option allows Canadian advisers and investors to purchase and receive distributions of the recently launched RBC U.S. Dividend Covered Call ETF in US dollars.
Manulife Investment Management launched two new ETFs, the Manulife Smart Global Dividend ETF Portfolio and Manulife Smart Global Bond ETF. The former is a fund of funds that invests in Manulife ETFs focused on global dividend-paying securities, while the latter invests mostly in global investment-grade bonds, though it may also invest in high-yield securities directly, through derivatives or through other funds.
Fidelity Investments Canada launched four new actively managed ETFs. The recently launched funds are, Fidelity Global Innovators ETF, which seeks to identify and invest in companies across the globe that are positioned for growth through the application of innovative and disruptive technologies, or inventive new business models. The Fidelity Greater Canada Fund seeks to offer investors long term capital growth by identifying value in out of favour stocks and investing in equity securities of Canadian companies. The Fidelity Canadian Large Cap Fund focuses primarily on equity securities of large capitalisation Canadian companies and aims to deliver investors long term capital appreciation through a value-oriented strategy. Finally, the Fidelity Global Small Cap Opportunities Fund focuses on small capitalisation companies across global markets and provides investors with long term capital growth through selection of equity securities that the portfolio manager believes are mispriced due to the market’s under reaction to positive change or over reaction to negative change.
First Trust Portfolios Canada launched the First Trust Cboe Vest Fund of Buffer ETFs (Canada) ETF. The ETF provides investors with capped exposure to U.S. large capitalisation companies, included in the S&P 500 index, while limiting downside risk through investment in an equally weighted portfolio of First Trust Cboe Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETFs. Investing in the laddered portfolio of Underlying ETFs will allow the downside protection and cap levels to be reset on a quarterly basis.
CI Global Asset Management launched a suite of six asset allocation ETFs. The CI Asset Allocation ETFs simplify investing by providing a convenient one-ticket solution, that invests in a blend of passive equity and fixed-income ETFs from CI GAM and external ETF providers. The ETFs leverage CI GAM’s deep expertise in asset allocation to deliver and manage portfolios tailored to a range of investor risk and return profiles. The names and strategic asset allocation for each ETF is as follows: CI Conservative Asset Allocation ETF (80 per cent Fixed Income/20 per cent Equity), CI Balanced Income Asset Allocation ETF (60 per cent Fixed Income/40 per cent Equity), CI Balanced Asset Allocation ETF (40 per cent Fixed Income/60 per cent Equity), CI Balanced Growth Asset Allocation ETF (30 per cent Fixed Income/70 per cent Equity), CI Growth Asset Allocation ETF (20 per cent Fixed Income/80 per cent Equity), and CI Equity Asset Allocation ETF (100 per cent Equity).
Ninepoint Partners LP launched the Ninepoint Web3 Innovators. The Ninepoint Web3 Innovators Fund, previously known as Ninepoint Bitcoin ETF, now reflects a revised investment objective that allows for the manager to invest primarily in equity and equity-related securities of companies that give investors exposure to emerging technologies such as Web3, the blockchain and digital asset-enabled internet (“Web3”).
Web3, the “Read-Write-Own Web” is a decentralised internet intended to allow individuals to securely trade assets like money, securities, intellectual property, and art privately and peer to peer. As with prior eras of the Internet, the Ninepoint Partners LP expects Web3 will become an integral technology for business. As Web3 becomes more widely used, investors may capture the upside by investing in public equities and other publicly traded securities that offer exposure to the most dynamic organisations in this space.
