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Asset allocation ETFs were revolutionary when they appeared in 2018, but they were hardly the first products that allowed Canadian investors to own a diversified index portfolio with a single fund.<\/p>\n
Way back in 2008, the online bank ING Direct launched what they called the Streetwise Funds. Like the one-ticket ETFs that followed a decade later, these mutual funds held a mix of Canadian, US and international stocks, plus a helping of bonds, all tracking familiar indexes, and rebalanced automatically. Later rebranded as the Tangerine Core Portfolios<\/a>, they were the easiest and most cost-effective way for small investors to build a globally diversified passive portfolio. Justin Bender and I even wrote a white paper about their virtues, and they were a staple in my model portfolios until 2020.<\/p>\n While I still love the convenience and simplicity of the Tangerine Core Portfolios, their 1.06% MER has made them increasingly uncompetitive. Today you can use an asset allocation ETF at a zero-commission brokerage to build a hands-off portfolio<\/a> at roughly one-fifth that cost. Or, if you\u2019re willing to pay a little more for convenience, roboadvisors will build and maintain an ETF portfolio for you for less than you\u2019ll pay for the Tangerine funds.<\/p>\n No doubt Tangerine noticed this too, so late in 2020 they launched a new family of three Global ETF Portfolios<\/a>. In our latest blog-and-video collaboration, Justin and I look at how these funds compare with the Core Portfolios, and consider whether they\u2019re a good alternative to the Couch Potato models<\/a>.<\/p>\n