Vanguard Investments Canada, a subsidiary of US-headquartered indexing giant Vanguard, manager of over $2.1 trillion in global assets, has submitted plans to broaden its family of TSX-listed low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to 11 with the addition of five new funds.

Atul Tiwari, Managing Director of Vanguard Investments Canada.

The firm has filed a preliminary prospectus with the Canadian securities regulators for four stock ETFs and one bond ETF.

The equity ETFs comprise: the Vanguard FTSE Canadian High Dividend Yield Index ETF, which will track the FTSE Canada High Dividend Yield Index; the Vanguard FTSE Canadian Capped REIT Index ETF, which will track the FTSE Canada All Cap Real Estate Capped 25% Index; the Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF, which will track the S&P 500 Index; and the Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF(CAD-hedged), which will track the S&P 500 Index (CAD-Hedged).

The firm’s single bond ETF, the Vanguard Canadian Short-Term Corporate Bond Index ETF, will track the Barclays Global Aggregate Canadian Credit 1-5yr Float Adjusted Bond Index.

Vanguard’s initial Canadian line-up of six ETFs was listed on Toronto Stock Exchange on December 6, 2011, and has attracted more than $300 million in total assets.

“We are pleased with the reception of Vanguard’s low-cost, index approach by Canadian advisors and investors to date. These offerings expand the ability of investors to assemble well-diversified, balanced portfolios,” said Atul Tiwari, Managing Director of Vanguard Investments Canada.

Vanguard is a global leader in ETFs with more than $215 billion in ETF assets, and has ETFs listed on exchanges in the US, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Australia. In the US, Vanguard led the industry with $36 billion in ETF cash inflows in 2011, and it continues to lead the industry in 2012, with $32.7 billion in net inflows through July. [See Vanguard takes lion’s share of US ETF inflows – for second consecutive month]

The expansion plans reflect growing confidence in the Canadian ETF industry, which has grown rapidly and currently stands at C$50 billion in assets under management, up 15.9 percent since the start of the year. A recent report from BMO Global Asset Management, itself a leading Canadian ETF provider, forecast that the strong pace of growth would continue for the remainder of 2012, driven by a combination of competitive pricing, more choice, new suppliers, increased distribution channels and the emergence of actively managed ETFs. [See BMO forecasts continued growth for Canadian ETF industry]