We like this ETF’s holdings—but not its ‘capping’

Article Excerpt

BMO S&P/TSX CAPPED COMPOSITE INDEX ETF $28.09 (Toronto symbol ZCN; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Conservative; Market cap: $7.3 billion) tracks the S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index. The index includes over 200 top-ranked Canadian stocks, which represent more than 90% of the Canadian equity market. Individual stock weights are capped at 10%. The ETF started up in May 2009 and charges a very low MER of 0.06%. The fund yields 3.3%. We like most of the stocks this ETF holds. However, we see the “capped” aspect of its mandate as a negative, since it introduces a filtering mechanism. The fund managers rebalance its portfolio every quarter to keep any single holding at 10%. But we see “capping” as a feature that could backfire. It could lead the fund to arbitrarily sell off shares of its biggest winners. That means its investors will miss out on further gains from its top performers. Every switch like this increases costs and adds risk due to the random factor. To top things off,…