Wisdom Tree Canada’s first 6 ETFs; plus 6 ways to prolong nest eggs

We mentioned this was coming in the FP early in June but it’s now official: the first batch of WisdomTree ETFs are now available in Canada.

While WisdomTree Canada opened its office earlier this year, the first six products started trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange Thursday (July 14).

The US parent company is best known for its dividend-weighted ETFs and currency-hedged equity strategies. The initial lineup is focused on the U.S., European and broad international equities. The Head of WisdomTree Canada is Raj Lala, pictured below.

Here’s what he said in a press release today:

“By combining the best elements of active and passive investing, WisdomTree’s Smart Beta ETFs give Canadians the opportunity to participate in effective, risk-managed investments. We look forward to growing our business in Canada through a commitment to anticipating and addressing key investor needs.”

Here are the six ETFs and their TSX tickers:

WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Index ETF (EHE) is a fundamentally weighted index providing exposure to dividend paying European equities while also neutralizing exposure to fluctuations between the Euro and the Canadian dollar. Annual management fee is 0.58%.

WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Index ETF (DGR/DGR.B) provides exposure to dividend-paying U.S. companies with growth characteristics. The ticker “DGR” represents the hedged units, while the ticker symbol “DGR.B” represents the non-hedged units. Management fee is 0.38% for hedged units and 0.35% for non-hedged units.

WisdomTree International Quality Dividend Growth Index ETF (IQD/IQD.B) provides exposure to dividend-paying developed=market companies with growth characteristics.  “IQD” is hedged units with management fee of 0.58%, “IQD.B” non-hedged with fee of 0.48%.

WisdomTree U.S. High Dividend Index ETF (HID/HID.B) provides exposure to U.S. companies with high dividend yields selected from the WisdomTree Dividend Index. “HID” for hedged units, fee of 0.38%; “HID.B”  non-hedged, fee 0.35%.

WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Dynamic Hedged Index ETF (DQD) is a fundamentally weighted index providing exposure to dividend-paying U.S. companies with growth characteristics, and hedges currency back into the C$.  Management fee is 0.43%.

WisdomTree International Quality Dividend Growth Dynamic Hedged Index ETF (DQI) is a fundamentally weighted providing exposure to dividend-paying developed-market companies with growth characteristics, and also hedges currencies. Management fee 0.63%.

For more information, click on www.wisdomtree.com.

Retired Money: 6 ways to prolong the life of your nest egg

The latest instalment of my twice-monthly Retired Money column was published today at MoneySense.ca. You can find it by clicking on this link: 6 ways to extend the life of your retirement nest egg. It features Vancouver-based fee-only advisor, Adrian Mastracci, a frequent contributor to the Hub.

The big fear of many of his older clients is running out of money. Mastracci tries to allay those fears by getting retirees to address six key issues:

1.) Estimate your life expectancy

If you’re that worried about living too long, one of the first things you should do is check the life expectancy of immediate family members, including spouses or partners.

2.) Factor in rising health costs

The longer you live, the greater the impact may be of rising health costs. Find out the probable costs by speaking to your local health units.

3.) Don’t get too conservative

When it comes to investing your nest egg, it may be a mistake to bow to conventional wisdom and invest more and more in bonds as you age, and less in stocks. Get your advisor to make periodic retirement projection estimates on just how much capital preservation will be necessary to meet family income goals. You need a sensible balance between incurring risk and seeking investing returns.

4.) Monitor your drawdown rate

Spending too quickly can place a retirement plan in jeopardy, and this is exacerbated by low interest rates and poor investment returns. An annual drawdown rate of 3% (a little less than the well-known 4% rule) may be prudent although the level can be tweaked as required.

5.) Consider the bite of rising inflation

Inflation is an insidious process that steadily cuts purchasing power for those on fixed incomes. One way to reduce this impact is to consider delaying, until closer to age 70, the receipt of certain streams of income. Remember CPP and OAS are indexed to inflation, so by delaying the onset of benefits, not only will you have a higher level of benefits than if you had begun at 60 or 65, but you will have a greater level of inflation indexing.

6.) Work longer, at least on a part-time basis

If you’re going to live longer, it may make sense to work a bit longer too. Even earning $1,000 or $2,000 a month part-time in retirement can greatly reduce the drawdown of a portfolio, according to an analysis by Larry Berman of ETF Capital Management. More on this in future columns.