# Globe's guide to ETFs (series begins today)



## Siwash (Sep 1, 2013)

What are your thoughts and opinions on this piece from the Globe this morning? Good, bad, okay?

My wife and I are only starting out with a $5000 investment so I wondering if an index fund is a better choice…I've head ETFs are advantageous when investing $50K + (not sure why!?)


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...best-etfs-for-your-portfolio/article15354755/


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

i'm not any kind of big ETF owner but i thought that piece of research in the Globe this am was very solid. Apparently it's the first in what is going to be a series. Folks with accounts large enough to support broker commissions for buying ETFs might even want to download or print these articles in order to keep them as reference materials.

siwash, for investors who are starting out with a $5000 investment, congratulations for this first step. And yes, you've figured things out correctly. Broker commissions at all brokers except questrade will be daunting for an account with less than $25-30k; probably 50k is a better estimate.

the best alternative is td e-funds. These cost nothing to buy. If you are a young couple, you might choose to risk all of the $5000 in an equity e-fund, as long as you have other savings plus your housing costs & plans under control. You might consider opening a TFSA account to hold this first e-fund investment. Please keep in mind that, if you are saving to buy a house soon, or even a car, you would not want to risk an equity fund; in such a case it would be better to buy a couple of GICs.

assuming you have other bases well covered & you can spare the $5000 for a long-term investment period of 10 years or more, might i suggest a canadian equity e-fund to start with? my reason for this is simply that you will recognize the names of the principal holdings; they will all be well-known canadian publicly-traded companies.

this will start you thinking about these companies as investments. You'll start noticing their news in the newspapers. Because they are local canadian companies, newspapers here will report on them fairly copiously. In other words, choosing a basic canadian equity e-fund as a first or early investment will also serve as a handy educational module in finance!


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

I thought it was good as well. Looking forward to the rest of the series. 

@Siwash, XIU and ZCN are my personal favourites from this list, for the reasons Rob Carrick listed. I think an index fund for your $5,000 might be too early, and would agree with Humble on this one, start with TD e-funds since you'll save on the commissions of buying those funds and there are no account fees.
http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/products-services/investing/mutual-funds/td-eseries-funds.jsp


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## Siwash (Sep 1, 2013)

humble_pie said:


> i'm not any kind of big ETF owner but i thought that piece of research in the Globe this am was very solid. Apparently it's the first in what is going to be a series. Folks with accounts large enough to support broker commissions for buying ETFs might even want to download or print these articles in order to keep them as reference materials.
> 
> siwash, for investors who are starting out with a $5000 investment, congratulations for this first step. And yes, you've figured things out correctly. Broker commissions at all brokers except questrade will be daunting for an account with less than $25-30k; probably 50k is a better estimate.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the replies, folks. I thought the ETFs were out of our league… I have read about the TD e-funds. _Millionaire Teachers_ mentions them in his book. 

Here's our profile: We are both unionized employees with solid paying jobs (grossing $150 K+). Our work pensions are also solid (70% of our top grossing years upon retirement), so we have security. Our investment today represents some "gravy" for tomorrow, if you will. Therefore, I would be apt to "risk" all and put $5000 to $8000 into something like an e-fund - if you folks think that's advisable and prudent. 

We are planning to buy within 2 or 3 years (we are renting now waiting to see what happens with this crazy GTA housing market!). Our budget and housing costs are under control and well-monitored. I am looking at long term - a buy and hold strategy, and that's why I found Andrew Hallam's recommendations for Index funds so appealing… building wealth slowly but surely and avoiding the cowboy mentality. 

Now is this e-fund an index? What exactly is it? I will research after posting this, but I am interested to see what you folks say about it. 

Hallam really pushed index funds in his book - why do you deter me from buying an index fund? 

Also, I've read that buying some form of a "world market" fund is a good choice as it tends to outperform Cdn equity markets. Thouts?

Sorry, I know there's a lot of questioning here, but I'm a newb!! Thanks so much!!


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## Siwash (Sep 1, 2013)

I just re-read pages110-112 of Hallam's book - the section on "e-series". Is this the same thing you folks are recommending? The info in the book is from 2010 so a bit dated. I'll assume little has changed. He has a chart on page 112. It is an "age-related portfolio recommendation" for Canadians. It includes:

*Cdn Bond Market Index
*Cdn Stock Market Index
*U.S. Stock Market Index
*Total International Stock Market Index

Do I really need a bond component? We are in our 30s and we have absolute job security and pensions (as mentioned previously). What if I went with a Cdn Stock Market Index and Total Intl' Stock Market Index? Maybe $3000 in each then open a TFSA and hold them in that? We're eligible for up to $51,000 in TSFAs. The rest of our savings would be put into a HISA/TFSA account. 

What do you folks think of this strategy? We can always re-jig the portfolio allocation in future years, adding some bond component later… or U.S. market exposure. 

We plan to contribute $200 to $300 per month into this investment. 

Thoughts?


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

i'm hoping My Own Advisor or another expert on e-funds, index funds, etfs etc will back me up on this ... but the core td e-funds are going to be either index funds or else extremely close proxies.

what distinguishes e-funds are the low MERs because e-funds have no printed paper or mailing costs. This is why - for new investors with accounts that are still relatively small - it's cheapest of all to commence with e-funds.

somewhere around 50k value in an account, it makes sense to move into exchange-traded etfs even though these are bought & sold with brokers' commissions. It makes sense because etfs have MERs (as well as TERs, which i was very pleased to see journo Rob Carrick pointing out in his Globe article this am) which are even lower than e-fund MERs.

re "Do i really need a bond component?" 

now that you have told us a bit about your circumstances, i would think not at present. 

as for this:



> Also, I've read that buying some form of a "world market" fund is a good choice as it tends to outperform Cdn equity markets. Thouts?


my "thout" on this issue is a maverick one. I believe that big canadian multinationals - for example most among our big 5 chartered banks are multinational, energy companies are often multinational - do offer international investment exposure.

i believe that, especially for young or new investors, a canadian fund is a good jumping-off place because canadian companies are so widely reported on. Their news is so widely accessible to us. Your own bank is probably going to be included in a canadian e-fund (as well as other leading canadian banks.) Your grocery chain might be included, the integrated energy company that ends up selling gas for your car might be included, some software used by your employers might be created by a company in the waterloo region, your telco ... bref, your canadian investment is going to feel familiar & it will be an easy educational route to follow.

meanwhile, it will have some international exposure. Your waterloo software developer is going to be mostly selling in the US of A, for example. Your CN railroad in that fund is, in reality, the 2nd largest railroad in the US. It's a bellwether of the US economy. It's not really a canadian company any more. Same thing for potash; its principal customers are in asia, its CEO lives in illinois, it's a global company now.

lastly, you're 100% right when you say you can rejig the portf as you go along, adding US & overseas e-funds, etf or stocks later, as you pick up speed in researching them.

btw, did we urge you to open TFSAs yet? how about RRSPs? your incomes are quite high so i daresay you need every tax break you can take.


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

Articles like this ALMOST justify paying the Globes's online subscription fee.

Enjoying my morning coffee here in Mexico... Humble, your thoughts and investing wisdom are appreciated as always. :encouragement:


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

I'm no ETF expert, but I will backup pies' statements. The TD e-series finds are very close proxies to the ETFs described in the article.

Now for the fun controversial stuff...

Bonds and foreign equities...

Bonds are important, regardless of age and duration of portfolio. They are still and continue to provide low correlation to other assets in a balanced portfolio. As recently as this credit crisis, bonds held and even were the highest gain categories for a few years. Over the long term, you cannot expect the same return from bonds as equities, however, when equities crash, you can use monies from bonds to invest when stocks are low. This is critically important. Rebalancing naturally harnesses the benefits of value investing.

As for the even more controversial, foreign equity exposure... I still believe it is important, the cost of the exposure is slightly greater, greater taxation, often higher fees to access the holdings, but these are marginal. i don't have full support, but I believe EAFE markets still show relatively low correlation to North American markets. What I would extend is that emerging markets still show very low correlation and those should play a large role in a young person's portfolio. Mebane Faber has done a lot of research recently showing the low correlations.

I think the most important step at this stage is to start a relatively low risk/volatility, low fee, diversified portfolio, continue to invest as you have money, and learn the intricacies of what is involved. Additionally, plan for financial goals, if the investing is meant for long term goals, retirement etc, great, but treat this differently than money you expect to use to buy a house, keep that money safe, in GICs or HISAs.

Welcome and good luck!


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

sampson how can he be diversified with five thousand dollars?

what i was hoping to get across was start with 5k canadian now, adjust to that, then maybe start adding the $200/300 monthly increments into a foreign/overseas/emerging type fund ...

don't u think with a new investor it's too much to try to force-feed the entire planet upon em right at the startup. You remember how you fed your infants ... how newborn they had only milk ... then you got em to pureed baby foods age 3-6 months ... mashed bananas ... finally prime alberta beef, mushroom & rapini but only after they had developed some teeth ...


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

with no transaction fees, the e-series give this ability. not only access to high quality investments (broad index tracking funds), but also multiple asset classes. I know the sum is small, but how is the benefit of concentration ( higher potential returns) different now, than whent he portfolio is valued at $50,000?

I think the best way to access is modeling the Canadian Couch Potato portfolio, there is an e-series version, with Cad, US, EAFE, aequties and bond component. This is what I think should be fed to newborns, toher complexities really are not required, this is as simple as it gets. Even with $200 monthly, plenty of opportunity for annual rebalancing, and easy to set up $50 in eqch of those categories from the beginning.

typos continue to abound.


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## Siwash (Sep 1, 2013)

Thanks folks.. great info and appreciate your thoughts on this.

This is what I have planned and suggested to my better half:

We have $105,000 to work with. $5000 will be left in our checking account for regular expenses - we rent so no worries about "new roof" or "new furnace" - ah, the beauty of renting!

$3000 to $5000 in TD Canadian Index - e

$2000 to $3000 in TD International Index

$1000 in TD Canadian Bond Index

So invest somewhere in between $6000 to $9000 in the e-series accounts. Then, open a People's Trust TFSA and hold these e-series investments in that TFSA. People's seems most attractive because its TFSA is 3%. 

Now because we can contribute up to $51,000 in TFSAs, I figured the rest of that amount (approximately $41K to $44K) should be held in "TAX-FREE Savings GIC" (divided accordingly between the wife's and my eligible amount). People's advertises a Tax-Free GIC at 2.1% - I'm assuming this is a TFSA? 

The other portion of our savings - approximately $50,000 - should be placed in a GIC or HISA. One-year GICs can be purchased for up to 2.1% (Peoples). Or, we can just put it in a HISA (I'm seeing anywhere from 1.8% to 2.25% from People to PC, although PC is only valid from Nov 1 to Jan 31). 

Our goal/strategy here is to invest a relatively small portion in the "riskier" equity markets through the e-series and hold a majority of our cash in zero-risk accounts where can shelter as much as possible from the tax man and make a little bit of money along the way. We would like to buy that home within 2 years… (possible one year if a great deal came along).

Along the way, we will obviously add to our savings on a monthly basis. Possibly up to $2000 per month. I am thinking to just save this in the HISA or regular checking account. 

What are you opinions of this strategy? 

Thanks again!


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## Siwash (Sep 1, 2013)

Sampson said:


> with no transaction fees, the e-series give this ability. not only access to high quality investments (broad index tracking funds), but also multiple asset classes. I know the sum is small, but how is the benefit of concentration ( higher potential returns) different now, than whent he portfolio is valued at $50,000?
> 
> I think the best way to access is modeling the Canadian Couch Potato portfolio, there is an e-series version, with Cad, US, EAFE, aequties and bond component. This is what I think should be fed to newborns, toher complexities really are not required, this is as simple as it gets. Even with $200 monthly, plenty of opportunity for annual rebalancing, and easy to set up $50 in eqch of those categories from the beginning.
> 
> typos continue to abound.



Sampson, which one of these falls into the Cad, US, EAFE and bond component? Or are you suggesting we buy individual e-series from this list? Thanks 

TD Canadian Bond Index - e
TD Canadian Index - e
TD Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM Index - e
TD Dow Jones Industrial AverageSM Index ($US) - e
TD European Index - e
TD International Index
TD International Index Currency Neutral
TD Japanese Index - e
TD Managed Index Aggressive Growth - e
TD Managed Index Balanced Growth - e
TD Managed Index Income - e
TD Managed Index Income & Moderate Growth - e
TD Managed Index Maximum Equity Growth - e
TD Nasdaq® Index - e
TD U.S. Index - e
TD U.S. Index ($US) - e
TD U.S. Index Currency Neutral - e


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

Siwash said:


> This is what I have planned and suggested to my better half:
> 
> 1) We have $105,000 to work with. $5000 will be left in our checking account for regular expenses - we rent so no worries about "new roof" or "new furnace" - ah, the beauty of renting!
> 
> ...



1) good

2) excellent

3) in your place i would not bother because you'll have enough in fixed income already

4) oops. No, td e-funds have to be bought via TD & held directly with td. There are 2 ways:

(a) u can open a tddi broker account, this will be a small account so at first, while small, it has to be an all-e-account. It can hold any of the td funds including any of the e-funds.

(b) u can open an e-funds account directly with TD asset management, the issuers & managers of the e-funds, however this route is more convoluted. You'd have to pass by a td branch & open a regular TD mutual fund account. Put *all* of the money into canadian money market fund because it will be only temporary.

the td branch representative will try very hard to sell regular mutual funds to you. Resist all blandishments. Persist with the e-funds idea. Once your new TDAM fund account is up & running, you will immediately use the $$ in money market fund to purchase the e-funds.

you see, what the simpletons at the bank are doing with all this hoo-ha is giving the branch mutual fund salesman a chance to acquire you as a regular mutual fund client. We've had many stories here of new e-funds investors who run the gauntlet at the branches & they all manage to escape alive with their e-fund accounts in perfect shape, in the end. There you have it. Forewarned is forearmed.

5) (a) i believe you'd have more than 90k left over. Part of this (51k) could go into TFSAs, one for each of you. A GIC or HISA at wherever you can find the best guaranteed rate, as you say. Ideally ask them what are their transfer-out fees; ideally there should be none (this is for much later, when you might want to move your tax-free accounts.)

(b) the balance - perhaps something like 40k - could go into a HISA or short-term GICs as this will be your house savings account. Of course, the TFSAs can also be easily raided to purchase a future home. At the same time, perhaps you might put RRSPs on your study plan as their tax advantages would be helpful.

6) excellent

7) good. However i believe that if it were myself, i might divide my monthly new savings between my house savings account & my equity e-funds account. I thought your ratio of somewhat more canadian equity than international was good, so i'd keep that up. Sampson is suggesting an emerging markets e-fund to you; that might be a good sector to start up with the future contributions.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

TD Canadian Bond Index - e
TD Canadian Index - e
TD International Index - e
TD U.S. Index ($US) - e

(I think there should be an 'international' e-series also, but I don't see that on your list, I myself own one in our kids RESPs so I know it is there)

Keep it simple at the beginning as pie suggests. With the current 4 holdings, something like 10%/40%/25%/25% (CAD bond/Canadian index/US index/International index) would seem very suitable.

Unfortunately there is no emerging market e-series fund. I would lump that into a future directions category. Once you have the plain vanilla couch potato going for a few years, after you buy your house, after you settle and gain some more investment knowledge, then two areas I would branch out into are the emerging markets, using an ETF (VWO), and REITs.

Canadian Capitalist has a nice post on his blog about the how-to's of opening an e-series account - watch out for the sales tactics and keep in mind you want the e-series products only.


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## JamJam23 (Nov 8, 2013)

I use Scotia iTrade. They have a list of 50 commission free ETF's including:

HXT (which was listed in the Globe article)
CRQ (also listed in the article)

I do the following for my "iTrade couch potato" portfolio:

CRQ (Canadian Fundamental Index)
CLU.C (US Fundamental Index, USD)
CIE (International Fundamental Index)
CBD (Balanced Income)

For those who don't know what a "fundamental index" is:
Regular indexes, like XIU or HXT just use Market Cap for weighting in the index.
A fundamental index uses multiple factors, like sales, dividend yield, cash flow, etc. The MER's are a little bit more, but I think it's a better way to invest in companies, rather than simply using their market value. Some companies are way over-valued (I'm looking at you Twitter...)

I use CBD instead of a bond index, because I don't see bonds making virtually any money in the years to come, so it's less risky than an equity index, but has higher returns than a bond index.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

Siwash said:


> Sampson, which one of these falls into the Cad, US, EAFE and bond component? Or are you suggesting we buy individual e-series from this list? Thanks
> 
> TD Canadian Bond Index - e
> TD Canadian Index - e
> ...



this is what i mean when i say one cannot force-feed an entire planet upon a new investor.

siwash, my view is that you have to get your own knowledge of finance & investing to the point where you can easily answer, for yourself, the very questions you have posed above.

it's never a good idea to blindly follow any anonymous voice on an internet forum ...

as for me i'm sticking to the knitting. AFAIK you're contemplating your very first equity purchase. It's a stock fund. It's a tiny amount. To keep costs as low as possible, an e-fund would probably be a good idea. 

to help with the learning process that should surely follow, it would be useful to buy & own a mainstream canadian e-fund. It would be an educational launch pad, i've explained why & how.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

humble_pie said:


> this is what i mean when i say one cannot force-feed an entire planet upon a new investor.


The OP has already read Andrew Hallam's book and certainly has some investment knowledge. Owning 3 holdings vs. 1 is hardly a difficult task to manage and to understand. In fact, I would argue that if a novice investor cannot understand the benefits of diversification, then they would be best off holding onto their money as cash until they achieve that 'level'.

This is the inherent beauty of the couch potato, and one combined with the low fee, no transaction cost TD e-series investments. All one has to understand is that diversification is good, fees are bad, and off we go. The simplicity lies in the fact than even after years of reading and gaining investment acumen, there remains as strong an argument to continue using the strategy. It isn't anything you have to grow into, its something you can start from the beginning, learn about its intricacies during knowledge maturation, and continue using it in perpetuity.


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## uptoolate (Oct 9, 2011)

Good work and good advice. 

At your age and with your pension plan, I would probably not bother with the bond fund either at this point as your pension could be viewed as rather like a bond. I like the idea of a Canadian Index fund for a third of the money. I wouldn't be shy about US equities at this point although some might think that US markets may be a bit overvalued. From my point of view, the US market is just to large and important not to invest in. With your large pensions, you may not have too much RRSP room but US holdings are best put in the RRSP so that withholding taxes can be recovered. Withholding taxes cannot be recovered if they are held in a TFSA as far as I know. HP's comment about large Canadian companies doing business internationally is very true and others, including Jack Bogle, a pioneer in indexing and past chairman of Vanguard, has said in the past that exposure to international markets is not that important if you have broad exposure to the US market. Many moons ago, I started with the TD Canadian Index, TD US Index and a bunch of GICs. This was of course after learning about indexing, prior to that it was the overpriced mutual fund of the week and a bunch of GICs! 

Good luck and Andrew Hallam's Millionaire Teacher is an excellent book.


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## Siwash (Sep 1, 2013)

Thank you so much for this input. I am very grateful. This can be a daunting task. At times, it seems like you've figured it out then you realize you know squat! 

I wil most likely have a *few more questions*!!! for now, I am going to absorb this info. Within the next week or two, this money will be invested in one or a few of the above strategies. 

Thanks..

Siwash

P.S. I think I will omit the bond component for now...


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## Siwash (Sep 1, 2013)

ANd if the TD series funds must be held within TD, can I not just simply put them into a TD TFSA or do you mean they cannot be held is a TFSA at all? How can you shelter them, if this is the case? 

I think Hallam stated throughout his book that one of the beauties of indexing is the tax advantages. Don't know if I misunderstood him, but I think he meant that you can defer paying capital gains until your cash in. If you buy and hold, then you don't pay the taxes until the gains are "realized" - Why do I think i may have misunderstood this part of the book?!


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## liquidfinance (Jan 28, 2011)

Not sure if it got mentioned but don't forget it's free to buys etfs with Questrade. 

Probably the best solution for lower value accounts.


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## uptoolate (Oct 9, 2011)

e-funds can be held in a TFSA at TD. US equities are better held in an RRSP if you have room available. 

Index investing is more tax-efficient than active investing because of low turnover in index funds. Many active mutual funds have annual turnovers of over 100% and capital gains must be paid as you go. Low turnover in index funds keeps selling to a minimum and reduces the capital gains tax payable. I think as well, index ETFs have further tax benefits due to their structure and don't suffer increased taxable events when redemptions are high as mutual funds do.


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## Siwash (Sep 1, 2013)

This looks interesting:

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/model-portfolios/

Not sure which one I'd chose but for the sake of simplicity the Global Couch Potato Option 2 seems to be what I am considering minus the bond component… $9000 at $3000 per is what I think we'll do…


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## PrairieGal (Apr 2, 2011)

uptoolate said:


> e-funds can be held in a TFSA at TD. *US equities are better held in an RRSP if you have room available. *
> 
> Index investing is more tax-efficient than active investing because of low turnover in index funds. Many active mutual funds have annual turnovers of over 100% and capital gains must be paid as you go. Low turnover in index funds keeps selling to a minimum and reduces the capital gains tax payable. I think as well, index ETFs have further tax benefits due to their structure and don't suffer increased taxable events when redemptions are high as mutual funds do.


Why is this? 

I am thinking of starting to venture into the land of ETF's. So, an ETF based on the U.S. stock market should go in my RRSP?


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

In a TFSA, there's withholding tax on the dividends from US equities, and you can't recover it. In the RRSP there's a tax treaty with the US so no withholding tax.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Siwash said:


> ... Now is this e-fund an index?
> What exactly is it? ...


Mostly yes ... though there are a few that I'm not sure I'd call an index.

From TD's website, one can check the details for each fund.

The general introduction is here:
http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/products-services/investing/mutual-funds/td-eseries-funds.jsp

You can click on the link for specific ones from the list here:
http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/produc...s/td-eseries-funds.jsp?tab=what-does-td-offer

The ones labeled "managed index" are the ones I'm not sure I'd call an index as the point or benefit of the index is to avoid a fund manager making decisions about what to buy/sell/hold.




Siwash said:


> ... I've read that buying some form of a "world market" fund is a good choice as it tends to outperform Cdn equity markets ...


Part of it as well is to diversify beyond Canada and/or the US ... just bear in mind that some of the Canadian companies in the Canadian index have a large international presence (ex. BNS is getting something like 1/3 of their revenue from their international operations).




Siwash said:


> ... the section on "e-series". Is this the same thing you folks are recommending? ...


I believe so as the link posted of the specific funds includes all that you have listed.


Cheers


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

Siwash said:


> ... I think Hallam stated throughout his book that one of the beauties of indexing is the tax advantages.
> 
> Don't know if I misunderstood him, but I think he meant that you can defer paying capital gains until your cash in. If you buy and hold, then you don't pay the taxes until the gains are "realized" - Why do I think i may have misunderstood this part of the book?!


As others posted, I suspect he means that there is a low turnover in investments held by the index fund as investments will be sold only when the index authority drops companies from the index.

It can't be deferring capital gains as when I've held an ETF in a taxable account, the tax info that breaks down the various types of income include capital gains (plus a range of other types including dividends, income, foreign income, return of capital etc.).

For example - take a look at the "Annual Distributions" section for the iShares XIU ETF distributions from this link:
http://ca.ishares.com/product_info/fund/distributions/XIU.htm





Spudd said:


> PrairieGal said:
> 
> 
> > Why is this?
> ...


This is true for buying US stock directly ... but where the investment is an ETF (or MF), then the country of origin matters.

If the MF/ETF that holds US stock is domiciled in Canada, it is paying the withholding tax to the IRS and the withholding tax is not recoverable.
If the MF/ETF that holds US stock is domiciled in the US, it is exempt from the withholding tax and if held in an RRSP that is also exempt.

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/2012/09/17/foreign-withholding-tax-explained/
http://canadiancouchpotato.com/2012/09/20/foreign-withholding-tax-which-fund-goes-where/



Cheers

*P.S.*

This may be something to skip if one is learning investing and possibly worrier about later.
My reasoning is that the amounts affected are likely small, where the US dollar risk might be more significant. 

For example, Vanguard Canada's S&P 500 fund has yet to pay US dividends and has paid roughly $0.02 US taxes on $0.14 distribution. It's like to change over time as this is a new fund.


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