Manulife Investments today expanded its presence in exchange-traded funds with the launch of Canadian small- and mid-cap equity and U.S. small-cap equity ETFs. Like Manulife's initial line-up launched in April, the new offerings listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange are based on strategic-beta indexes created and maintained by U.S.-based Dimensional Fund Advisors.
Manulife Multifactor Canadian SMID Cap Index (symbol: MCSM) has as its reference benchmark the John Hancock Dimensional Canadian SMID Cap Equity Index (CAD). This index is a subset of securities issued by companies whose market capitalizations are between the 75th and 251st largest Canadian companies, as at the time of rebalancing.
The other new investment mandate is Manulife Multifactor U.S. Small Cap Index, which is available in either unhedged (MUSC.B) or currency-hedged (MUSC) units. The reference indexes are the John Hancock Dimensional Small Cap Index (CAD) and its currency-hedged equivalent. The index constituents are a subset of stocks issued by companies whose market capitalizations are smaller than the 750th largest U.S. company but exclude the smallest 4% of U.S. companies, as at the time of rebalancing.
