These mutual funds will be ETF-beaters for some investors, and they’re now easier to buy
The polite spin on the exchange-traded funds offered by Toronto-Dominion Bank is that they have had an underwhelming impact on the marketplace so far,. The cold, hard truth is that TD Asset Management’s family of ETFs ranked 20th out of 35 firms as of the end of September with $240-million in assets, which is puny for a bank with TD’s big profile. This would be more of an issue if TD didn’t have something better than ETFs for a lot of investors.
The TD e-series of index mutual funds are not as cheap as the lowest-cost ETFs, but you can buy and sell them without brokerage commissions that can run as high as almost $10 a transaction. When you factor this into the total cost of ownership, these e-series funds can be cheaper to own for smaller accounts.Defensive stocks are getting pricey.
As the global economy slows, investors are scurrying to find stocks that can thrive in tougher times, Ian McGugan writes. The problem they face is that many defensive stocks have now soared to levels that undercut their appeal as havens. So where can investors now go in search of shelter? One notion is to look for exchange-traded funds that hold an assortment of stocks picked for their relatively low levels of volatility.
globeinvestor In 'Ask Ezra' column