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A new suite of four multifactor ETFs from Toronto-based Manulife Investments, a division of Manulife Asset Management Ltd., is set to begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) on Monday.

Dimensional Fund Advisors Canada ULC, the Canadian subsidiary of Austin, Tex.-based global investment manager Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, is subadvising the four new ETFs, which include:

> Manulife Multifactor Canadian Large Cap Index ETF, which has a management fee of 0.4%

> Manulife Multifactor U.S. Large Cap Index ETF, which is available unhedged with a management fee of 0.35%; and hedged with a management fee of 0.4%

> Manulife Multifactor U.S. Mid Cap Index ETF, which is available unhedged with a management fee of 0.45%; and hedged with a management fee of 0.50%.

> Manulife Multifactor Developed International Index ETF, which is available unhedged with a management fee of 0.50%; and hedged with a management fee of 0.55%.

The ETFs are designed to track indices Dimensional has developed, which employ the firm’s approach of focusing on the factors that have been shown to have the potential for higher expected returns.

“Decades of academic research into the factors that drive higher expected returns have found that in equity markets, relative performance among stocks largely depends on company size, relative price, and profitability,” says Eduardo Repetto, co-CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, in a statement. “We have worked with Manulife to construct indexes that the ETFs seek to track which emphasize and balance those factors while managing investment costs.”

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