FT Portfolios launches First Trust Senior Loan ETF in Canada

By Jennifer Chiou

New York, Aug. 28 - FT Portfolios Canada Co. announced the launch of the common and advisor class of units of the First Trust Senior Loan exchange-traded fund (CAD-Hedged).

According to a news release, the fund is the first actively managed senior loan ETF in Canada. It will focus on attractive yields in the senior loan market, seeking a high level of current income by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of senior floating-rate loans and debt securities, with capital appreciation as a secondary objective.

The company said that the fund offers an element of protection against rising interest rates.

The fund attempts to outperform the S&P/LSTA U.S. Leveraged Loan 100 index, the release stated.

The ETF will primarily invest in loans rated at or below BB+ by Standard & Poors or Ba1 or less by Moody's Investor Services, Inc.

"First Trust Canada is pleased to offer Canadians the first actively managed senior loan ETF," president and chief financial officer Fraser Howell said in the release.

"We believe an allocation to senior loans may address two issues critical to investors in today's low interest rate environment: the search for yield and the desire for protection against rising interest rates.

"We are equally pleased to tap the expertise of the leveraged finance investment team of our affiliate First Trust Advisors LP, a group of experienced senior loan and high-yield managers in the U.S., to manage the fund," Howell added.

First Trust Canada is based in Toronto.

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