TD Asset Management, a subsidiary of Toronto-Dominion Bank, has reduced the expense ratios of six ETFs providing core portfolio exposures.
Bruce Cooper, CEO of TD Asset Management.
Five of the funds are equity strategies targeting Canadian, US, and global ex-North America stock markets, while the fifth offers access to multiple Canadian bond sectors.
While each ETF is benefitting from a fee cut of one or two basis points, the funds are already priced amongst the lowest-cost broad market index ETFs in Canada.
Collectively, they house over C$2.9 billion in assets under management.
The C$820 million TD Canadian Equity Index ETF (TTP CN) has had its expense ratio lowered from 0.05% to 0.04%. The fund tracks the Solactive Canada Broad Market Index which covers all size segments of the Canadian stock market. The index currently includes 299 stocks weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization.
The C$720m TD US Equity Index ETF (TPU CN) has had its expense ratio lowered from 0.08% to 0.06%. The fund tracks the Solactive US Large Cap Index which is essentially a proxy for the S&P 500.
The C$30m TD US Equity CAD Hedged Index ETF (THU CN), which is a currency-hedged version of the above fund, has also had its expense ratio lowered by two basis points to 0.06%. The ETF tracks the Solactive US Large Cap Hedged to CAD Index.
The C$800m TD International Equity Index ETF (TPE CN) has been trimmed from 0.18% to 0.17%. The fund tracks the Solactive GBS Developed Markets ex-North America Large & Mid Cap Index which, with 984 current constituents, covers approximately 85% of the market capitalization in each developed market country outside of North America.
The C$5m TD International Equity CAD Hedged Index ETF (THE CN) has similarly been trimmed from 0.18% to 0.17%. The fund is also a currency-hedged version of the above ETF. It tracks the Solactive GBS Developed Markets ex-North America Large & Mid Cap Hedged to CAD Index.
Meanwhile, the C$540m TD Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF (TDB CN) has lowered its expense ratio from 0.08% to 0.07%. The fund tracks the Solactive Broad Canadian Bond Universe TR Index which measures the performance of the Canadian investment-grade fixed income market, covering government, quasi-government, and corporate bonds.
Bruce Cooper, Chief Executive Officer at TD Asset Management, commented, “At TDAM, we believe that our broad market index ETFs can be used as core building blocks in client portfolios by active managers or do-it-yourself investors alike.
“By waiving a portion of the management fees charged on these products, we continue to provide investors with excellent value and exposure to North American and Global broad market indices which can help further diversify and enhance investor portfolios.”
TDAM has expanded its ETF offering this year. In June, the firm rolled out five new actively managed ETFs that deliver a range of equity strategies including global growth, Canadian low volatility, US low volatility, US dividend, and global infrastructure exposures.
More recently, in August, it launched three asset allocation ETFs catering to investors looking for single-ticker portfolio solutions.
Cooper added, “TDAM continues to provide investors with an expanded suite of ETFs that capitalize on our expertise including actively managed funds, quantitative strategies, fixed income solutions and more recently, our three new TD One-Click ETF Portfolio asset allocation solutions. As always, we strive to provide investors with high-value ETFs backed by our expertise, depth of experience, and competitively priced solutions.”