Toronto-based Vanguard Investments Canada Inc. has launched its first investment products designed specifically for qualified institutional investors and plan sponsors in the form of a series of 10 target retirement funds.

The 10 funds will invest in a combination of six new index-based pooled funds in which the asset allocation will gradually and automatically become more conservative as the target date approaches.

The six new index-based pooled funds are:

> Vanguard Canadian All-Cap Equity Index Pooled Fund
> Vanguard U.S. All-Cap Equity Index Pooled Fund
> Vanguard Developed All-Cap ex North America Equity Index Pooled Fund
> Vanguard Emerging Markets All-Cap Equity Index Pooled Fund
> Vanguard Canada Universe Bond Index Pooled Fund
> Vanguard Global ex Canada Fixed Income Index Pooled Fund, which is hedged to the Canadian dollar.

“Vanguard Target Retirement Funds offer thoughtfully constructed portfolios that will help investors achieve long-term investment success. The funds provide a prudent, age-appropriate asset allocation in a simple, low-cost investment vehicle,” says Atul Tiwari, managing director of Vanguard Investments Canada Inc., in a statement released on Thursday.

More details about these new funds can be found on Vanguard Canada’s website (https://www.vanguardcanada.ca/documents/press-release-target-retirement-funds.pdf).

The firm’s parent company Vanguard Group Inc., based in Valley Forge, Pa., has offered target retirement funds in the U.S. since 2003. Vanguard Group manages almost US$358 billion in target-date assets.