ETFs don’t just track major indexes these days. There are hundreds of different issues that are as unique as individual stocks.
Many ETFs don’t even follow stocks. Some invest in fixed income. Others track the price of a commodity. And one just invests its money in high interest savings accounts from chartered banks or credit unions.
The Purpose High Interest Savings ETF (TSX:PSA) does exactly that. The payment fluctuates over time as interest rates go up or down, but the payout has been pretty consistently just over $0.04 per share each month for the better part of a year. That’s a yield of approximately 1%.
The ETF has 8.65 million shares outstanding with $432 million in total assets. Average volume is about 9,000 shares per day and it charges a 0.10% management fee.
There’s one main reason why investors would put their cash to work in this ETF. It allows them to collect a competitive interest rate without having to transfer funds out of their brokerage account into a high-yield savings account. In other words, it’s a place to park cash that offers a little yield while you’re waiting.
Other asset classes could offer something similar -- short-term bonds come to mind -- but there’s still a risk bonds could go down.
Also note the efficiency of the market. Shares will steadily climb from $50 to $50.04 during the month as investors earn interest. Once the monthly payout is official, shares immediately drop back to $50.
