Saturday, October 4, 2014

VCN -Canadian Equity vs ZEB

Objective

My idea of keeping VCN in the portfolio is to have a broad sector of the Canadian Stock market, but I also have ZEB which is the Canadian banks.

One would think that there may be a risk exposure in that if I also invest in ZEB because they are major players in the Canadian stock market. To see if this is the case, let's compare them in Yahoo Finance...

Key dates to check for in VCN are in red above. If both charts move on the smae dates in the same direction...

It would show that there is a clear risk of not being diversified enough. When VCN dropped in price, so did ZEB.

This is a summary of ZEB

This is a summary of VCN'

Notice that ZEB is a much LARGER ETF Fund --over 3 times larger than VCN. The P/E is also lower (12 vs 18). The average volume traded is also 80 times more for ZEB, so it may be difficult to sell VCN.

If I had to choose between the two, I'd pick ZEB. I should therefor sell my stake in VCN when I can.

Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF seeks to track, to the extent reasonably possible and before fees and expenses, the performance of a broad Canadian equity index that measures the investment return of large-, mid- and small-capitalization, publicly traded securities in the Canadian market.

Currently, this Vanguard ETF seeks to track the FTSE Canada All Cap Index (or any successor thereto). It invests primarily in large-, mid- and small-capitalization Canadian stocks.

Top 10 holdings
As of close 31-08-2014
Rank	Holdings
1	Royal Bank of Canada
2	Toronto-Dominion Bank
3	Bank of Nova Scotia
4	Suncor Energy Inc.
5	Canadian National Railway Co.
6	Bank of Montreal
7	Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.
8	Enbridge Inc.
9	Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce/Canada
10	TransCanada Corp.
Top 10 approximately equals 36.8% of net assets

ZDV. vs VAB vs ZEB

** The idea of making ZDV 30% of the TSFA was to keep the portfolio on the conservative side, without buying bonds, since it is not the time to buy into bond ETFs. I ended up buying VAB as well.

ZDV Portfolio Strategy:

BMO Canadian Dividend ETF has been designed to provide exposure to a yield weighted portfolio of Canadian dividend paying stocks. The Fund utilizes a rules based methodology that considers the three year dividend growth rate, yield, and payout ratio to invest in Canadian equities. Securities will also be subject to a liquidity screen process. The underlying portfolio is rebalanced in June and reconstituted in December.

ZUE -US Equities Hedged to C$, 20% of portfolio

ZUE provides a single ETF to invest in the US market. My current target allocation is 20% for this ETF across my portfolio (TSFA, HSAC, RSP)

Portfolio Strategy

The BMO S&P 500 Hedged to CAD Index ETF has been designed to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the S&P 500 Hedged to Canadian Dollars Index (Index), net of expenses. The ETF invests in and holds the Constituent Securities of the Index in the same proportion as they are reflected in the Index. The U.S. dollar currency exposure is hedged back to the Canadian dollar.

The S&P 500 Hedged to Canadian Dollars Index (Index) is a world renowned float-adjusted market capitalization weighted Index that tracks the securities of the largest and most liquid public companies in the United States. Constituent securities must pass minimum float-adjusted and liquidity screens to qualify and maintain membership in the Index. Index weights are reviewed quarterly. The U.S. dollar currency exposure is hedged back to the Canadian dollar.

http://www.etfs.bmo.com/bmo-etfs/holdings?fundId=72049

XEF 10% of TSFA

The investment seeks to replicate, net of expenses, the performance of the MSCI EAFE Investable Market Index. The fund will invest in majority of the assets in the securities that consist of the underlying index.The index is a market capitalization-weighted index provided by MSCI that includes securities from Europe, Australasia and the Far East and commonly used as a measure of broad international stock performance.

Insert picture of holdings. Japan, uk, etc

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSCI_EAFE

ZRE 10% of TSFA

Portfolio Strategy
The BMO Equal Weight REITs Index ETF has been designed to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the Dow Jones Canada Select Equal Weight REIT Index, net of expenses. The Fund invests in Canadian real estate investment trusts. The Fund invests in and holds the Constituent Securities of the Index in the same proportion as they are reflected in the Index.

Benchmark Info
The Dow Jones Canada Select Equal Weight REIT Index consists of the Canadian securities that fall within the Real Estate Investment Trust sector. Each security in the Index is allocated a fixed weight rather than a market capitalization weight. To be included as a Constituent Security, an issue must meet certain minimum trading volume requirements and be incorporated in, or has its primary market listing in Canada.

XDV

The iShares Canadian Select Dividend Index ETF seeks to provide long-term capital growth by replicating, to the extent possible, the performance of the Dow Jones Canada Select Dividend IndexSM, net of expenses. The Index is comprised of 30 of the highest yielding, dividend-paying companies in the Dow Jones Canada Total Market Index, as selected by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC using a rules-based methodology including an analysis of dividend growth, yield and average payout ratio. Effective March 24, 2014, the name of the fund was changed from iShares Dow Jones Canada Select Dividend Index Fund to iShares Canadian Select Dividend Index ETF.

Terms -Market capitalization

Definition: Market capitalization is the total value of a company. It's measured by the stockprice times the number of shares issued. For example, a company that has 1 million shares that are selling for $10 each would have a market capitalization of $10 million. This means you could buy that company for $10 million, if you had the money and all the current stockholders were willing to sell you their shares.

Market capitalization is usually called market cap for short. It also refers to the total value of a stock exchange. For example, the market cap of the NASDAQ would equal the market cap of all the companies traded on the NASDAQ combined.

Small medium and large cap

Investors use market cap to divide the stock market into at least three categories.Small cap companies have a market cap of less than $1 billion. They are smaller companies, many of which recently went through their Initial Public Offering, orIPO. They are riskier, because they are more likely to default during a downturn. On the other hand, they have lots of room to grow, and could become very profitable.

Mid cap companies are less risky, but may not have the same potential for growth. They typically have a capitalization of between $1 billion to $5 billion. A recent study showed they actually outperformed both small cap and large cap stocks over the last 20 years.

Large cap companies have the least risk, because they typically have the financial resources to weather a downturn. Since they tend to be market leaders, they also have less room to grow. Therefore, the return may not be as high as small or mid cap stocks. On the other hand, they are more likely to reward stockholders with dividends. The market cap for these companies is $5 billion or more.

Is market cap a good way toevaluate companies?

Market cap is a relatively good way to quickly value a company. That's because stock prices are generally based on investors' expectations of a company's earnings. As earnings rise, stock traders will bid more for the stock price. Including the number of shares in the calculation offsets the impact of stock splits.

Market cap would be a great way to value companies if they all had the same price to earnings ratio. However, some industries are seen as slow growing or stodgy. Their stock prices are undervalued, and so are the market caps of companies in that industry.

There are several other ways to determine the value of a company. One good way is to determine the net present value of its future cash flow, or income. This gives the buyer an idea of what the return on investment will be. If a company's market cap is lower than the net present value of its cash flow, then it is undervalue, and a candidate for takeover.

Another more conservative approach is to determine the total resale price of all a company's assets. The drawback is that some assets would be difficult to value. Others may be worth more than their resale value. However, this is a good approach for a company that just wants to buy the company and sell off the assets for quick cash. A company whose market cap was much lower than its resale value would be a target for this kind of takeover.

During the "Greed is good" days of Ivan Boesky, many companies were worth much less than their resale value. Conversely, during the Internet bull market in 1999, many companies' capitalization values were worth far more than their income or asset value. Irrational exuberance drove stock prices beyond a reasonable valuation. When the tech bubble burst, it led to the recession of 2001. (New York Times, Confronting a Law of Limits, February 24, 2012)

Largest Companies by Market Cap

In 2012, Apple became the largest company as measured by market cap. Its share price was more than $500 a share, and people wondered how it could grow much more. Apple built its business by being a technological innovator, and creating brand loyalty by understanding its customer base. Here's a list of the top 20 largest companies by market cap:

Apple - $469 billion
Exxon Mobil - $416 billion.
Google - $409 billion.
Microsoft - $318 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway - $286 billion.
Roche Holding - $266 billion.
Johnson & Johnson - $261 billion.
General Electric - $256 billion.
Wells Fargo - $244 billion.
Nestle - $244 billion.
Wal-Mart - $242 billion.
Royal Dutch Shell - $238 billion.
PetroChina - $225 billion.
Novartis - $224 billion.
Chevron - $220 billion.
JPMorgan Chase - $215 billion.
Procter & Gamble - $213 billion.
Samsung - $209 billion.
Pfizer - $205 billion.
HSBC - $199 billion.
Philip Morris International

Most of these companies are all well-known, household names. Many have been on the top 20 list for years. In fact, only 11 different companies have held the number one slot since 1926. (Source: PWC, Market Capitalization of Top 100 Companie s , March 2014)

The dow jones industrial index vs S&P500

From

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/10/introduction-to-the-dow.asp

Structure of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
The DJIA was created in 1896, and it is the second-oldest stock market index in the U.S. Only the Dow Jones Transportation Average has a longer history. The DJIA consists of 30 large-cap blue chip companies that are, for the most part, household names. Ironically, the DJIA is no longer a true proxy for the industrials sector, because only a fraction of the companies that make up the Dow are classified as industrials. The remaining companies are assigned to one of the remaining sectors found in the Global Industry Classification System. The only sector that is not represented by a company in the DJIA is the utilities sector.

As of April 30, 2013 – The DJIA sector allocation looks like this:

Industrials: 20.41%
Consumer Services: 16.36%
Technology: 15.58%
Health Care: 11.45%
Financials: 11.13%
Oil & Gas: 10.92%
Consumer Goods: 6.16%
Telecommunications: 4.73%
Basic Materials: 3.26%

In addition to the sector diversity of the Dow, further diversification is provided by the multinational operations of its constituents. This means that investors can gain indirect exposure to the international markets, and use the global diversification of the companies in the index to hedge against the negative impact of a weak U.S. economy. Moreover, the companies that make up the Dow generate a significant amount of revenue each year. This helps to reduce the business risk of the companies that make up the index.

Criticism of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
While the DJIA has many excellent attributes, one of its biggest criticisms stems from the fact that it is a price-weighted index. This means that each company is assigned a weighting based on its stock price. In comparison, most companies that make up an index are weighted according to their market capitalization. The S&P 500, an index that is different from the DJIA in many ways, is a good example of this. As you can assume, there would be a significant difference in the weighting of the companies in the Dow if the index committee used market capitalization instead of stock price to structure the index proxy. That said, there is really nothing that makes a price-weighted index inferior to a market cap-weighted index, or even an equally-weighted index or a revenue-weighted index. This is because the idiosyncratic nature of each index construction methodology has many strengths and weaknesses that make it difficult to reach consensus on the best methodology to use.

An Important Distinction Between Risk and Volatility
When analyzing the performance of the Dow, it is important to keep in mind that it is considered by some to be a volatile index. Therefore, many investment professionals will not typically recommend investing in products that track the DJIA. That said, there is a significant difference between the business risk of the companies that make up the Dow and the volatility of the index. This is because the companies that make up the DJIA represent 30 of the most well-established companies in the world. Therefore, their business risk is relatively low because it is very unlikely that they will go bankrupt. Nevertheless, the stock price of these companies can fluctuate greatly over short periods. As a result, investment products that replicate the performance of the Dow can experience significant short-term gains and losses.

A Better Investment Vehicle for Today's Market Environment
Given the highly unpredictable and volatile markets that investors have experienced over recent years, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) should be considered the new investment vehicle of choice. ETFs are ideal products because they trade on a real-time basis, they have a low tracking error in relation to the index, their exposure to the market can be hedged through the use of put and call options, they can be margined in order to leverage performance, they can be sold short, they are tax efficient, they require a minimal amount of cash to employ and they are inexpensive. Given these features, ETFs have a significant structural advantage over mutual funds because they are more flexible and empower investors with more options for dealing with market uncertainty.
Old Investment Strategies for New Investors
Investors must understand that there is the potential for extreme losses if they invest in products tied to the Dow. Therefore, the following strategies are not for inexperienced investors who want to use an "invest and forget it" approach to investing. That said, if you have an interest in investing, and are willing to take the time and effort to learn more about it, there are a host of strategies that you can use that are superior to the strategies touted by most financial advisors. However, these strategies also require a change in philosophy - from the simple buy-and-hold mentality, to strategies that have a much shorter time horizon. The following is an example of three such strategies:

Protective Put
A protective put strategy consists of a long position in a Dow ETF and the purchase of put options on the same underlying ETF. This strategy will pay off if the DJIA goes up, and will protect your investment if the DJIA goes down.

Short Selling
In contrast, investors can implement a protective short selling strategy by selling short the Dow ETF and buying call options on the same underlying ETF. This strategy will pay off if the DJIA goes down and will protect your investment if the DJIA goes up.

Covered Call
Finally, investors can generate a modest premium on top of a long Dow ETF position by implementing a covered call strategy. This strategy entails buying the DJIA ETF and selling call options on the same underlying ETF. This strategy will profit if the Dow remains relatively flat, and does not exceed the strike price of the call options sold. That said, there is no downside protection provided by a covered call strategy, so investors must be confident that the Dow is going to remain flat before implementing this strategy.
The benefit of these strategies is that investors can select the amount of risk that they want to take, or the extra premium that they want to receive, by establishing the strike price on the put or call options that they use. As you can see from these examples, derivatives can be used to mitigate or eliminate the risk of loss on an investment, and they can be used to generate a modest risk-free rate of return. Based on these strategies alone, it should be clear that derivative instruments are not "weapons of financial mass destruction" - at least not if they are used appropriately by competent investors.

Now that your focus is on the Dow, and you know the type of investment vehicle that you should use and the appropriate investment strategy to use in each type of market environment, the next two questions that you should ask are: "How can I determine if the current level of the DJIA is undervalued, fairly valued or overvalued, and how can I determine which direction the DJIA is likely to move?"

Unfortunately, there is no sure way to forecast the future direction of the markets. However, investors can assess the premiums associated with the options tied to the Dow ETF to gauge the current view of the anticipated volatility in the market. This determination should be based on the cost of the options, where higher option premiums are indicative of higher implied volatility in the market. In addition, investors can use the cost of the options tied to the Dow to determine the breakeven amount on the DJIA ETF. By using these approaches, investors can determine if the current risk in the Dow merits market participation. Moreover, if you are willing to take the time to analyze the historical range of the stock prices associated with the components that make up the Dow, and then review the market multiples of the companies that make up the Dow, you should be able to accurately gauge the valuation level of the index, and therefore, its potential volatility. Finally, by using this approach, you should also be able to gauge the direction the Dow is trending, the appropriate strategy to employ and the risk and potential profit that you stand to make over your investment time horizon.

The Bottom Line
Individual investors who want to increase their investment knowledge, gain more hands-on investment experience and take control of their personal investment responsibilities should consider investing in an ETF that is tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. By following these strategies, not only will you increase your investment knowledge well above most investors, you will also likely develop a constructive hobby that will pay off with many direct and indirect future benefits.

ETFs -what you need to know

http://etfdb.com/etf-education/101-etf-tips-tricks-every-financial-advisor-should-know/

ETF Tutorial

http://www.investopedia.com/university/exchange-traded-fund/

Vol 2 EFT Guide: US Equity

Portfolio Strategy

here is the original

Rob Carrick's ETF Buyer's Guide, Vol. 2: U.S. Equity ETFs

Rob Carrick

The Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Dec. 06 2013, 5:45 PM EST
Last updated Monday, Jan. 27 2014, 5:54 PM EST

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The second instalment of The Globe and Mail ETF Buyer’s Guide covers what could be the most confusing category of them all for investors.
All the usual selection criteria apply when researching TSX-listed exchange-traded funds covering the U.S. stock market – including fees, the index being used and the diversification being offered. The extra step with U.S. equity funds concerns currency hedging. Many ETFs have it, a growing number don’t and a few others give you a choice of hedged or unhedged exposure to U.S. stocks.

A quick primer on hedging: It eliminates distortions to index returns caused by fluctuations in the Canadian dollar against the U.S. buck, while also adding a bit to an ETF’s fees in some cases, and contributing to tracking error. That’s where an ETF’s returns wander off the ideal path of index returns minus fees. Hedging means your U.S. returns won’t be undermined when our dollar rises, nor will they be enhanced when the dollar falls. If you forgo the hedge, you lose out when our dollar rises and benefit when it falls. The purpose of this guide isn’t to recommend hedging or not – that’s your call. Rather, it’s to round up your ETF options for investing in the broad U.S. market and help you make an informed choice.
ETFs are a low-fee version of mutual funds that trade like a stock. Traditionally, ETFs tracked major stock and bond indexes; today, many funds follow more obscure indexes or have a manager who picks stocks. To invest in ETFs, you need a brokerage account. For help on that, consult my latest ranking of online brokers (read it here).
The Globe and Mail ETF Buyer’s Guide will cover a variety of asset class, including Canadian, U.S. and international equity, dividend funds and bond funds. The first instalment appeared Nov. 9 and you can read it here). Look for further chapters in this space in the weeks and months to come.
Here is an explanation of the terms you’ll find in the ETF Buyer’s Guide:
Assets: Shown to give you a sense of how interested other investors are in a fund; the smallest funds may be candidates for delisting.
Management expense ratio (MER): The main cost of owning an ETF on an ongoing basis; as with virtually all funds, published returns are shown on an after-fee basis.
Trading expense ratio (TER): The cost of trading commission racked up by the managers of an ETF as they shuffle the portfolio to keep it in line with a target index; add the TER to the MER for a fuller picture of a fund’s cost. Note: Most U.S.-market ETFs do so little trading that their TERs round down to zero. Full year 2012 numbers are presented here.
Dividend yield: Mainstream indexes can be a source of dividend income
Average daily trading volume: Trading of less than 10,000 shares per day on average tells you an ETF isn’t generating much interest from investors.
Distribution frequency: How often are dividends paid out?
Top three sector weightings: U.S. market ETF are typically dominated by sectors that are under-represented in the Canadian market, notably technology and health care.
Top three stocks: Another view on what’s inside an ETF.
Launch date: Shows you how long an ETF has been around.
A final note about hedging: ETF that are hedged typically have the term “CAD hedged” in their name, with CAD being an investment industry short-form for the Canadian dollar.

Click here for a printable excel table.

Fund	Assets ($-mil)	MER (%)	TER (%)	Recent Price ($)	Dividend Yield (%)	Average daily trading volume/past 30 days	Top Three Sector Weightings	Top Three Holdings	Rtn. (%) 1-yr	Rtn. (%) 3-yrr	Rtn. (%) 5-yr	Comments
BMO Dow Jones Industrial Average Hedged to CAD Index ETF (ZDJ-T)	151	0.26	0	27.46	1.9	6,284	Industrials Technology Financials	Visa Inc. IBM Corp. Goldman Sachs	26.3	15.5	n/a	Are you sure you want the Dow Jones industrial average instead of the much more diversified S&P 500? If so, this ETF is the only game in town as far as TSX-listed ETFs go.
BMO Low Volatility U.S. Equity ETF (ZLU-T)	12.2	0.34	0	17.44	1.7	1,561	Health care Cons. Staples Utilities	Autozone Dollar Tree Family Dollar Stores	n/a	n/a	n/a	Bears watching as an option for investors who want U.S. exposure with less volatility than the broader market. Theoretically, low volatility should mean less extreme highs and lows. Would you be happy lagging the markets on the upside in exchange for missing the worst of a pullback? No currency hedging.
BMO S&P 500 Hedged to CAD Index ETF (ZUE-T)	474.9	0.23	0.01	27.61	1.7	22,936	Technology Financials Health care	Apple Exxon Mobil Google	30.9	17.1	n/a	Check out the one-year numbers for this ETF and its sibling, the unhedged ZSP. They're a clear illustration of how unhedged ETFs will outperform those with hedging when the Canadian dollar falls like it has in the past year. Of course, the opposite will happen when our dollar rises. Note: Vanguard's hedged S&P 500 ETF is cheaper.
BMO S&P 500 Index ETF (ZSP-T)	726.9	0.17	0	21.2	1.5	136,231	Technology Financials Health care	Apple Exxon Mobil Google	38.7	n/a	n/a	BMO's pricing tucks in just a bit below Vanguard's for this type of fund, but iShares has the lowest fees. Fees are even cheaper for U.S.-listed S&P 500 ETFs, but you'll be dinged by your broker's foreign exchange charges when you buy them.
First Asset Morningstar U.S. Momentum Index ETF (CAD Hedged) (YXM-T)	14.6	0.6*	n/a	10.61	n/a	9,091	Cons. Discret. Cons. Staples Energy	Rite Aid Nu Skin Enterp. Web MD Health	n/a	n/a	n/a	Tracks a new index of large, liquid stocks selected for their positive momentum in earnings and price. Back testing shown on the First Asset website suggests much better returns than the S&P 500 over time, but smart investors will wait for real-world results before deciding whether to jump in.
First Asset Morningstar U.S. Value Index ETF (CAD Hedged) (XXM-T)	25	0.6*	n/a	10.67	n/a	8,863	Cons. Discret. Cons. Staples Energy	Men's Warehouse Hewlett Packard Omnivision	n/a	n/a	n/a	The tamer sibling of YXM focuses on big companies that are considered "good value" based on factors like low price-earnings and price-to-cash flow ratios. As with YXM, this ETF would seem to be more of a complement to an S&P 500 ETF than a substitute.
Horizons S&P 500 Index ETF (HXS-T)	75.7	0.17	0.28	31.33	none	35,341	Technology Financials Health care	Apple Exxon Mobil Google	35.8	18.9	n/a	Consider this ETF if you're investing in a TFSA or non-registered account, where your dividends would be subject to a U.S. withholding tax. This ETF provides a total return for the S&P 500, which means share prices rise and fall by the change in the index plus dividends. No dividends are paid in cash to unitholders. The high TER here reflects the cost of the derivative-based structure - the fund does not hold actual stocks. Hedging was used on this ETF until March 31, 2013, and then discontinued.
iShares MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index Fund (XMU-T)	24.2	0.34	0	25.4	1.7	2,761	Software Pharma Food & Beverage	ADP Merck Wal-Mart	29.7	n/a	n/a	Competes against the identically priced ZLU, but with an index methodology that produces different top holdings and sectors. One to watch if you want a more docile take on the U.S. market.
iShares Nasdaq 100 Index Fund (CAD-Hedged) (XQQ-T)	34.8	0.39	0	28.94	1.5	3,212	Technology Cons. Services Health care	Apple Microsoft Google	32.1	n/a	n/a	For investors who want a TSX-listed way to buy the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index with currency hedging. PowerShares offers a cheaper but less popular fund of this type (see below).
iShares S&P 500 Index Fund (CAD-hedged) (XSP-T)	1,979	0.25	0	20.7	1.5	266,256	Technology Financials Health care	Apple Exxon Mobil Google	30.5	17.2	16.2	The oldest TSX-listed ETF focusing on the U.S. market is also the largest and most heavily traded by far. Most investors would do just fine with Vanguard's cheaper hedged S&P 500 offering.
iShares S&P 500 Index Fund (XUS-T)	67	0.14	0	24.01	0.6	12,160	Technology Financials Health care	Apple Exxon Mobil Google	n/a	n/a	n/a	The low-cost leader among TSX-listed S&P 500 ETFs that don't use currency hedging. If you want a REALLY cheap S&P 500 fund and don't care about hedging, check out the U.S.-listed Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), with a fee of just 0.05 per cent.
iShares U.S. Fundamental Index Fund (CLU-T)	204.6	0.72	0.01	24.55	0.9	11,823	Financials Cons. Services Industrials	Exxon Mobil Bank of America GE	34.4	17.5	17.7	Expensive as ETFs go, but the returns have been huge. Uses an indexing process where stocks are weighted using factors beyond size, including revenues, dividends, book value and cash flow. Not a small ETF, but clearly hasn't gained the wide market acceptance of more traditional S&P 500 funds.
PowerShares FTSE RAFI U.S. Fundamental (CAD hedged) Index ETF (PXU-T)	99.3	0.57	0.01	28.22	1.2	2,682	Financials Energy Cons. Discret.	Exxon Mobil Bank of America GE	34.8	n/a	n/a	Tracks the same index as CLU, but charges less in fees and thus has delivered a bit more in returns.
PowerShares QQQ (CAD hedged) Index ETF (QQC-T)	12.2	0.34	0.03	30.61	0.8	1,307	Technology Cons. Discret. Health care	Apple Microsoft Google	32.2	n/a	n/a	The U.S.-listed version of this fund is one of the most popular ETFs of all. It trades under the symbol QQQ and the cost to own it is just 0.2 per cent.
PowerShares S&P 500 High Beta (CAD Hedged) Index ETF (UHB-T)	3.4	0.4	0.08	27.19	0.5	1,846	Financials Energy Cons. Discret.	PulteGroup Vertex Pharma Genworth Financial	43.3	n/a	n/a	Whoa. Massive one-year returns that came in a fast-rising market. But what happens when stocks go south? Don’t buy until you know the answer.
PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility (CAD Hedged) Index ETF (ULV-T)	59.7	0.36	0.02	25.31	2.2	5,251	Utilities Cons. Staples Financials	Johnson & Johnson McDonald's Sigma-Aldrich	21	n/a	n/a	This third option for low volatility investing in the U.S. market has been around long enough to produce a one-year return. Notice how much less it made than S&P 500 ETFs; that may be your price for owning "safer" stocks.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (CAD-hedged) (VSP-T)	35	0.18	0	31.95	1.6	8,721	Technology Financials Health care	Apple Exxon Mobil Google	30.5	n/a	n/a	Unlike BMO and iShares, Vanguard prices its hedged and unhedged S&P 500 ETF the same.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VFV-T)	211.2	0.18	0	34.11	1.6	13,736	Technology Financials Health care	Apple Exxon Mobil Google	38.7	n/a	n/a	Not the cheapest, but still a good low-fee option for the investor who isn't interested in hedging.
Vanguard U.S. Total Market Index ETF (CAD-hedged) (VUS-T)	186	0.17	0	36.39	1.5	13,517	Financials Technology Cons. Services	Apple Exxon Mobil Google	31.6	n/a	n/a	VUN with currency hedging.
Vanguard U.S. Total Market Index ETF (VUN-T)	27.9	0.17	n/a	27.08	1.2	13,505	Financials Technology Cons. Services	Apple Exxon Mobil Google	n/a	n/a	n/a	This ETF's broader exposure to the U.S. market is reflected in the fact that there are roughly 3,500 stocks in the portfolio, compared to 500 for the S&P 500. A U.S.-listed version of this fund trades under the symbol VTI and has a fee of just 0.05 per cent.

* Note: These are management fees, which will be slightly lower than the MER once it’s established for these new funds.
Sources: ETF company websites, Globeinvestor.com

Follow Rob Carrick on Twitter: @rcarrick