Switching from e-Series funds to ETFs + MORE May 2nd

Q: “I currently have $30,000 invested in the TD e-Series funds. When the time comes to move to ETFs, what is the best way to do this while still making automatic contributions? Should I put my biweekly contributions into a money market fund and then make ETF purchases four times per year?” –  C.D.
Too many investors think of the TD e-Series funds as little more than a stepping stone, and they can’t wait to “graduate” to ETFs. The appeal is understandable, since a portfolio of ETFs will typically carry a management fee of about 0.15%, compared with about 0.45% for the e-Series funds. But when I get this common question, I encourage the investor to think carefully before making the leap to ETFs, especially if their portfolio is small and they’re making automatic contributions.
For starters, management fees don’t tell the whole story. Index mutual funds are more investor-friendly than ETFs, and while the cost difference can be dramatic on large portfolios, the gap is narrower on smaller accounts…

The Ontario Securities Commission claims the former executives misled investors by issuing false financial statements

The tumble in energy stocks means the Canadian market is less exposed to commodities and a safer place to invest. Or is it?
Investors who are building their own portfolios might feel there is less risk these days, but they should remember that as the market’s weighting to commodities goes down, the exposure to banks is getting even higher.
On May 7 in downtown Toronto during our Invest for Success event, you can join market and investing experts to get a better sense of the big picture in market trends, as well as a healthy dose of common-sense advice on how to be smarter in how you approach investing.
Ahead of the event, editor-in-chief David Thomas asked Kurt Reiman, chief investment strategist for BlackRock Canada, how he feels about the outlook for the Canadian market.

DT: Kurt, despite the heightened level of uncertainty that continues to cloud financial markets, you are relatively positive on equities. The Canadian market is much less exposed to volatile commodity prices but you’ve been keen to stress that the Canadian stock market has a new imbalance that investors should be aware of, right?
KR: Because of the collapse in commodity prices and the associated fall in the profitability of energy and materials companies, investors now depend on financials for more than 50% of the earnings and nearly half of the dividends on the S&P/TSX Composite Index…

Q: “I currently have $30,000 invested in the TD e-Series funds. When the time comes to move to ETFs, what is the best way to do this while still making automatic contributions? Should I put my biweekly contributions into a money market fund and then make ETF purchases four times per year?”
–  C.D.
A: Too many investors think of the TD e-Series funds as little more than a stepping stone, and they can’t wait to “graduate” to ETFs. The appeal is understandable, since a portfolio of ETFs will typically carry a management fee of about 0.15%, compared with about 0.45% for the e-Series funds. But when I get this common question, I encourage the investor to think carefully before making the leap to ETFs, especially if their portfolio is small and they’re making automatic contributions.
For starters, management fees don’t tell the whole story. Index mutual funds are more investor-friendly than ETFs, and while the cost difference can be dramatic on large portfolios, the gap is narrower on smaller accounts…