While crude prices retreated to under US$100 a barrel, chipmakers like Advanced Micro Devices and Qualcomm powered the rally for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average to yet more new record highs by the end of May.
AMD surged on increased demand for AI-related equipment and Qualcomm reached a deal with ByteDance to supply chips for AI data centers.
The top Canadian ETF performers for May were from the tech sector. The MegaLong (3X) US Semiconductors Daily Leveraged Alternative ETF (SOXU-T) is once again holding the top spot earning 77.80% price return. The Harvest CrowdStrike Enhanced High Income Shares ETF (CRWY-T) had a 58.48% increase for a single month on price alone. The third best performing fund was the Global X Space Tech Index ETF (ORBX-T) with a 47.00% price return.
Meanwhile, the month of May received 44 new funds in the Canadian marketplace.
National Bank ETFs
National Bank Investments Inc. launched ETF versions of the following twelve mutual funds:
NBI Canadian Equity Growth Fund (NBCG-T)
NBI Canadian Bond Index Fund (NBBX-T)
NBI SmartData Global Equity Fund (NSDG-T)
NBI International Value Fund (NBIV-T)
NBI Diversified Emerging Markets Equity Fund (NBEM-T)
NBI Canadian Equity Index Fund (NBCX-T)
NBI U.S. Equity Index Fund (NBUX-T)
NBI International Equity Index Fund (NBIX-T)
Meritage Tactical ETF Moderate Portfolio (NMMO-T)
Meritage Tactical ETF Balanced Portfolio (NMBL-T)
Meritage Tactical ETF Growth Portfolio (NMGR-T)
Meritage Tactical ETF Equity Portfolio (NMEQ-T)
These funds were structured to offer investors more flexibility to existing strategies.
Global X ETFs
Global X Investments Canada Inc. listed nine new funds to the market. The seven commodity-based funds include the following:
Global X Uranium Covered Call ETF (URCC-T)
Global X Silver Miners Index ETF (SLVX-T)
Global X Silver Miners Covered Call ETF (SVCC-T)
Global X Enhanced Silver Miners Covered Call ETF (SVCL-T)
Global X All-In-One Commodity Producers Equity Covered Call ETF (CMCC-T)
Global X All-In-One Commodity Producers Equity ETF (COMX-T)
Global X Enhanced All-In-One Commodity Producers Equity Covered Call ETF (CMCL-T)
Global X also launched the Global X Active U.S. Dividend ETF (DIVY-T, DIVY-U-T) to offer investors exposure to U.S. companies that seek to reward shareholders through dividends, share buybacks, or both.
Fidelity ETFs
Manulife Investments launched four funds each offering exposure to global and Canadian markets. The Fidelity Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund (FEMO-T) is a convenient solution for access to growth opportunities in emerging markets. The Fidelity Global Concentrated Value Fund (FGCV-T) focuses on value-oriented investments across different economies, industries, and business cycles. The Fidelity Alternative Bond Fund
(FFAB-T) and the Fidelity Multi-Alt Balanced Fund (FMAB-T) invests primarily in long and short positions of fixed income securities of issuers anywhere in the world.
Hamilton ETFs
Hamilton Capital Partners made two additions to its YIELD MAXIMIZER suite. The Hamilton International Equity YIELD MAXIMIZER™ ETF (IMAX-T) offers exposure to developed international equities (ex-North America) across Europe, Asia, and other global markets. The Hamilton Canadian Equity YIELD MAXIMIZER™ ETF (CMAX-T) focuses on Canadian equities. Both funds employ an active covered call strategy to reduce volatility and provide an attractive monthly income.
TD ETFs
TD Asset Management Inc. launched four ETF versions of existing mutual funds. The three fixed income ETFs include TD Ultra Short Term Bond Fund (TUST-T), TD Short Term Bond Fund (TSTB-T), and TD Canadian Corporate Bond Fund (TCCB-T). These funds provide exposure to short maturity bonds targeting investors searching for income generation, capital preservation, and portfolio liquidity. The TD Alternative Commodities Pool (TCOM-T) is an actively management portfolio of commodities spanning energy, metals, agriculture and livestock.
CIBC ETFs
CIBC Global Asset Management added four new funds in collaboration with Counterpoint Global, an investment team at global asset manager Morgan Stanley Investment Management. The Counterpoint Global CIBC U.S. Small Cap Growth ETF (CCUS-T) invests primarily in equity securities of small capitalization U.S. companies. The Counterpoint Global CIBC U.S. Large Cap Growth ETF (CCUL-T) invests primarily in equity securities of large capitalization U.S. companies. The Counterpoint Global CIBC Global Permanence ETF (CCGP-T) invests primarily in equity securities of companies located throughout the world across developed markets. Lastly, the Counterpoint Global CIBC International Permanence ETF (CCIP-T) invests in international equity securities outside of the U.S. and Canada.
LongPoint ETFs
LongPoint Asset Management Inc. added three new double leveraged single stock ETFs to its lineup. These ETFs provide two times (2X) leveraged long exposure to three U.S. publicly traded stocks, which includes Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTU-T), Robinhood Markets, Inc. (RBNU-T), and Meta Platforms, Inc. (METU-T).
Vanguard ETFs
Vanguard Canada launched two new dividend funds. The Vanguard U.S. High Dividend Yield Index ETF (CAD-hedged) (VUDH-T) and the Vanguard Developed ex-North America Dividend Appreciation Index ETF (VIGG-T) are passively managed solutions with a low management fee of 0.28%, targeting the dividend focused investor.
JPMorgan ETFs
J.P. Morgan Asset Management Canada expanded its Canadian ETF suite with three new active funds, two of which are Canadian hedged. The JPMorgan US Equity Premium Income Active ETF – CAD Hedged (JEPH-T) and the JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income Active ETF – CAD Hedged (JPQH-T) are designed to provide income alongside U.S. equity exposure while also managing currency risk. The JPMorgan Income Active ETF (JPIE-T) also delivers a monthly income through investments in a wide variety of U.S. and non-U.S. markets debt securities that have high potential to produce attractive risk-adjusted income and have low correlations to each other.
Other launches
Desjardins Investments listed the Desjardins US Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index ETF (DUIG-T) for investors looking for a low-cost fixed income solution for portfolio diversification. Currently, the fund seeks to replicate the performance of the Solactive Quarterly Select USD Investment Grade Corporate CAD Hedged TR Index.
Amy Mak is ETF Specialist at Inovestor.
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