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iShares Balanced Growth CorePortfolio Index ETF - CBN

ETF Overview

The fund has been designed to replicate, to the extent possible, the performance of the Sabrient Balanced Growth Index, net of expenses.

The fund is comprised of exchange-traded funds in core asset classes, including Canadian and Global Equity, Emerging Markets Equity, Global Real Estate, Fixed Income, Preferred Shares and Commodities.

The strategic allocation of the index is rebalanced quarterly by Sabrient to preserve the original profile.

Additional Index Information

The Sabrient Global Balanced Indexes are designed to identify a group of existing ETFs that together provide a balanced allocation to equities and fixed income within defined ranges.

Key ETF Data

Fundamentals
Category (main) Global multi-asset classes - Balanced Growth
Category (other)Fund of funds
Underlying Index Sabrient Global Balanced Growth Index
ETF Structure ETF of ETFs (ie fund of funds)
Asset Class Multi-asset classes - Balanced Growth
Region Global
Issuer iShares Canada by Blackrock
ETF Home Page Available here
Fund Facts
Inception Date 20 Jun 2007
Total Holdings 21 (3,283) *1
Distribution Frequency Monthly
Leverage None
Significant Currency Exposure Yes
Currency Hedging Maybe *2

*1 Holds various iShares ETFs

*2 Prospectus states fund MAY employ currency hedging

Fees
Management Fee 0.25%
Management Expense Ratio (MER) 0.78%
Trading Information
Ticker CBN
Exchange TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange)
Currency CAD
Eligibility
Eligibility * RRSP, RRIF, RESP, TFSA, DPSP, RDSP
DRIP available ** Yes
PACC Plan available ** Yes
SWP available ** Yes

* Always check eligibility with your plan operator as plans and accounts can differ

** Not all brokers can facilitate these plans. Check with your broker.

Current Price, Fund Performance, Yield, NAV, Charts etc

To view the TSX or Morningstar fund page for this ETF click on the Fund Data menu tab or below:

ETF at TMX ETF at Morningstar

ETF Analysis

Blackrock need to improve their website and fund Fact Sheets.

Neither make these important aspects clear for this fund:

  • the country breakdown of the assets held (important for determining currency risk)
  • what currency risk the fund has
  • whether currency hedging is employed to mitigate or eliminate currency risk - we had to search through a 130+ page prospectus to determine that the fund MAY employ currency hedging at the discretion of the Blackrock fund manager
  • discretionary hedging is not good enough - the potential investor does not know whether it will be employed or not, so they do not know to the extent to which they are exposed to currency risk
  • the Canadian dollar has gained or lost up to 20% in a given year against the US dollar so currency risk is a significant risk no investor should ignore or take lightly

We also encourage Blackrock to look at ways of reducing the fund's MER ().

An MER that is circa 3x the Management Fee seems unreasonable and excessive to us.