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BMO Asset Management Inc. says it is slashing fees on its flagship bond ETFs, and that after they are implemented on or about June 22 BMO ETFs will sport some of the lowest-cost fixed-income ETFs in Canada.
Some of the fee cuts on its broad fixed-income products are more than 50%: Given the minuscule interest rates being paid out on bonds these days, that should get investors’ collective attention.
Here’s the new fee structure BMO issued in a press release today:
| BMO ETFs |
Ticker |
Current Maximum Annual Management Fee (%) |
New Maximum Annual Management Fee (%) |
| BMO Aggregate Bond Index ETF |
ZAG |
0.20 |
0.09 |
| BMO Discount Bond Index ETF |
ZDB |
0.20 |
0.09 |
| BMO S&P 500 Hedged to CAD Index ETF |
ZUE |
0.10 |
0.08 |
| BMO S&P 500 Index ETF |
ZSP/ZSP.U |
0.10 |
0.08 |
| BMO Short Corporate Bond Index ETF |
ZCS |
0.12 |
0.10 |
Kevin Gopaul, Global Head of ETFs for BMO Asset Management says the move follows earlier fee reductions in 2012, 2013 and 2014. “Clients are recognizing the value and liquidity of using low-cost ETFs for fixed income exposures in their portfolios.”
The 50% cut on the broad-market ZAG and ZDB makes them the lowest-cost fixed-income ETFs in the country, at nine basis points. As the chart shows, it has also reduced fees on its currency hedged and non-hedged S&P500 ETFs (ZUE and ZSP/ZSP.U respectively) to 8 basis points from the previous 10 basis points.
