There are now over 1500 Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) available to Canadians, holding over $500 billion (for comparison, there are 3400 Mutual Funds in Canada holding over $2 trillion).
Why are we still on the ETF sidelines watching?
If the goal is to lower fees, ETFs win.
If the goal is to match the market, ETFs can/may do that.
Lowering fees and matching the market are worthy goals, but they aren’t our primary goals.
Our goal is to lower risk (market corrections and bear markets are real).
Our goal is to grow money (compounding returns, money making money).
Our goal is to secure wealth (owning an investment portfolio that provides an income for life).
We are not saying no to ETFs, in fact, we’re earnestly watching them because interesting developments are underway. We’re pleased with how we’re doing with Mutual Funds and Managed Portfolios, so we don’t feel compelled to jump on the ETF bandwagon, until it’s proven that we’ll do better with ETFs.
Our thinking is really simple. We believe if we can invest with proven Portfolio Managers, who are carefully selecting investment securities, and adjusting the investment portfolio as world events unfold, and often investing their own money alongside ours, we’ll do better than having an ETF computer program rigidly managing an inflexible investment portfolio.
We expect the future is going to be hybrids; ETFs and Mutual Funds combining strengths; AI driven computer analyses guided by experienced Portfolio Managers. That’s probably going to be the time when we see a real advantage in achieving our goal of investing at the optimal balance of capital safety and capital growth.
source: Mackenzie Financial 2025 ETF Outlook, Investment Funds Institute of Canada
