Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat: What do you think of me holding the BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF to lower the overall volatility of my portfolio? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: The BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF, $30.67, symbol ZLB on Toronto (Units outstanding: 47.2 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; www.etfs.bmo.com), provides exposure to a low beta-weighted portfolio of Canadian stocks. The ETF selects the 40 or so (currently 46) of the lowest beta stocks from the 100 largest and most-liquid securities in Canada. The underlying portfolio is rebalanced in June and reconstituted in December. The BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF has an MER of 0.39%. It currently yields 2.6%. The ETF’s current top holdings are: Fairfax Financial, 4.4%; Dollarama, 3.6%; Waste Connection, 3.5%; Intact Financial, 3.5%; Empire Company, 3.2%; Hydro One, 3.1%; Canadian REIT, 3.1%; Emera, 2.9%; SmartCentres REIT, 2.7%; and RioCan REIT, 2.7%. This ETF relies on beta scoring, a commonly used but sometimes misleading measure of volatility. To calculate a stock’s beta, an index like the S&P/TSX Composite or the S&P 500 is assigned a beta of 1.0. The historical volatility of different stocks relative to the index…