The globally diversified products include features like downside protection and currency risk management
Investment Planning Counsel (IPC) has unveiled a new family of lower-cost ETF portfolios aimed at investors who seek “no-fuss, no-frills investment solutions.”
The new IPC Essentials Portfolios aim to raise the bar of lower-cost investing. The globally diversified portfolios include added features such as strategies for downside protection and currency risk management, the firm said in a statement.
“While low-cost investing tends to be associated with younger investors, or those with smaller portfolios, IPC Essentials are intended for investors across the wealth spectrum," said Kevin Hurlburt, executive vice president for Products and Services at IPC. He added that the new offerings “provide many of the benefits that come from working with an advisor.”
The portfolios, which take advantage of the broad ETF market in Canada, include:
- IPC Income Essentials Portfolio, designed to provide a monthly income stream while emphasizing capital preservation;
- IPC Balanced Essentials Portfolio, designed to provide long-term capital appreciation from a practical blend of stocks and bonds; and
- IPC Growth Essentials Portfolio, designed to let investors benefit from the growth of global markets over the long term.
The IPC Essentials portfolios also include other unique features such as:
- Flexibility to strategically manage allocations in light of changing market conditions;
- Strategies that dynamically reallocate to lower-risk holding in times of market stress; and
- Currency-hedging strategies aimed at reducing US dollar exposure when the loonie is anticipated to rise.
“These portfolios represent the essentials of what investors need: well-diversified, regularly rebalanced portfolios with important risk-reduction strategies not normally found in lower-cost solutions,” said Sam Febbraro, president & CEO of Counsel Portfolio Services, the portfolio-management arm of IPC. “We believe this is a great choice for investors who are not only motivated by cost savings, but also value the guidance of a financial advisor."
