What’s new from fund manufacturers

Investment Executive regularly lists notable developments in Canada’s investment product landscape. Here are some newly released funds.

• Five new RBC iShares ETFs that track indexes began trading on Feb. 13.
  • The iShares Core Canadian 15+ Year Federal Bond Index ETF (TSX:XFLB) invests in federal bonds with remaining maturities of 15 years or more, an “asset class typically considered a strong hedge for Canadian equity exposure in periods of economic uncertainty.” The management fee is 0.15% and the risk rating is low to medium.
  • The iShares 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index ETF — available unhedged (TSX:XTLT) and CAD-Hedged (TSX:XTLH) — invests in U.S. treasuries with remaining maturities greater than 20 years. The management fee is 0.18% and the risk rating is medium for the CAD-hedged version and medium to high for the unhedged version.
  • The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index ETF (TSX:XEMC) invests in issuers located in emerging markets, excluding China, “allowing investors to take a tailored approach to their equity allocation for the region.” The management fee is 0.30% and the risk rating is medium.
  • The iShares Global Electric and Autonomous Vehicles Index ETF (TSX:XDRV), the latest in the Megatrends suite, invests in firms that could benefit from the development and adoption of electric and autonomous vehicles. The management fee is 0.39% and the risk rating is medium to high.
• IA Clarington Investments Inc. introduced two global funds, one for socially responsible investing, on Feb. 6.
  • The IA Clarington Inhance Global Small Cap SRI Fund, sub-advised by Vancity Investment Management Ltd., screens out a number of issuers including coal, oil, natural gas and pipelines. “The small-cap universe contains many quality companies with exposure to sustainability and socially responsible-linked secular themes,” said Marc Sheard, portfolio manager, equities with Vancity, in a release. The management fee is 1.95% for Series A and the risk rating is medium.
  • The IA Clarington Global Dividend Fund invests in companies with the potential to grow their dividends over the long term. The management fee is 0.75% for Series F and the risk rating is medium.
• CI Global Asset Management is launching a private markets fund that will give exposure to venture capital, private equity, credit, infrastructure and real estate. For now, the strategy is only open to investments by other CI GAM funds “as part of their less-liquid portfolio sleeve,” the firm said. The firm is not identifying which funds until the investments are finalized. The private markets fund will be available to accredited investors later this year.
• Invesco Canada is terminating 14 ETFs and 22 mutual funds. The ETFs, some of which trade on the TSX while others are on NEO, will be delisted on April 17. Most mutual funds will terminate on April 6, with an allocation fund to follow on May 5. In a release, Invesco said it wanted to “simplify the firm’s product offerings to enable it to sharpen the focus on areas of highest client demand.” The closing funds cover areas including preferred shares, REITs, low-vol strategies and bonds.