Vanguard Investments Canada, the Toronto outpost of exchange-traded funds giant Vanguard, has launched two new ETFs on the Toronto Stock Exchange: the Vanguard FTSE Developed All Cap ex North America Index ETF (VIU), which targets small-, mid-, and large-cap equities listed on exchanges within developed markets excluding the US and Canada, and a CAD-hedged version Vanguard FTSE Developed All Cap ex North America Index ETF (CAD-hedged) (VI).
Atul Tiwari, managing director of Vanguard Investments Canada.
Atul Tiwari, managing director of Vanguard Investments Canada, commented: “We believe an all-cap approach moves investors closer to complete global market-cap weightings and fuller diversification benefits. Such diversified exposure, at a low-cost, can help investors manage investment risk, enabling them to better weather market swings.”
These launches are indicative of a move by Vanguard to provide a greater range of products offering all-cap exposure, a strategy the firm announced in June 2015. Vanguard is currently transitioning existing internationally-focused funds to all-cap indices and will subsequently offer 13 ETFs targeting equities across the capitalisation spectrum.
As of 31 October 2015, the ETF contains over 1,400 holdings classified as large-cap (25.0%), medium/large-cap (29.0%), medium-cap (23.3%), small/medium-cap (16.7%) and small-cap (6.1%). The major country exposures include Japan (23.0%), the UK (19.3%), France (8.9%), Switzerland (8.6%) and Germany (8.4%) while the major sector exposures are in financials (24.5%), consumer goods (19.9%), industrials (13.7%), healthcare (10.2%) and consumer services (8.5%). The fund carries a total expense ratio of 0.20%.
Vanguard now offer a further 21 ETFs listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF (VCN)
FTSE Canada Index ETF (VCE)
FTSE Canadian Capped REIT Index ETF (VRE)
FTSE Canadian High Dividend Yield Index ETF (VDY)
FTSE Developed Asia Pacific All Cap Index ETF (VA)
FTSE Developed Europe All Cap Index ETF (VE)
FTSE Developed ex North America Index ETF (VDU)
FTSE Developed ex North America CAD-Hedged Index ETF (VEF)
FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap Index ETF (VEE)
FTSE Global All Cap ex Canada Index ETF (VXC)
S&P 500 Index ETF (VFV)
S&P 500 Index ETF CAD-Hedged (VSP)
US Dividend Appreciation Index ETF (VGG)
US Dividend Appreciation CAD-Hedged Index ETF (VGH)
US Total Market Index ETF (VUN)
US Total Market CAD-Hedged Index ETF (VUS)
Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF (VAB)
Canadian Short-Term Bond Index ETF (VSB)
Canadian Short-Term Corporate Bond Index ETF (VSC)
Global ex-US Aggregate Bond CAD-Hedged Index ETF (VBG)
US Aggregate Bond CAD-Hedged) Index ETF (VBU)