Topic: How To Invest

ISHARES CDN LARGECAP 60 INDEX FUND $15.54 – Toronto symbol XIU

ISHARES CDN LARGECAP 60 INDEX FUND $15.54 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through a broker) (units split 4-for-1 in August 2008) is a good, low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units are made up of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index, which consists of the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. Expenses on the units are just 0.17% of assets.

Most of the stocks in the index are high-quality companies. However, as it must ensure that all sectors are represented, the index holds a few we wouldn’t include, such as Biovail Corp.

The index’s top holdings are: Royal Bank of Canada, 7.2%; EnCana Corporation, 5.2%; Research in Motion, 5.2%; TD Bank, 4.9%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 4.2%; Manulife Financial, 4.0%; Potash Corporation, 3.9%; Canadian Natural Resources, 3.7%; Suncor Energy, 3.7%; Barrick Gold, 3.7%; Goldcorp, 2.9%; Canadian National Railway, 2.8%; Bank of Montreal, 2.6%; and CIBC, 2.5%.

The units trade on the Toronto exchange, just like stocks. Prices are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You’ll have to pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell them, but you will quickly make these back because of the low management fees.

Like most index funds, shares are only added or removed when the underlying index changes. As a result of this low turnover, you won’t incur the regular capital-gains bills generated by the yearly distributions most conventional mutual funds pay out to unitholders.

iShares CDN LargeCap 60 units are a buy.

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