Streetwise Mutual Funds 2012 - Yearly Review

It's about time for my yearly review of ING Direct's Streetwise mutual funds. So after the stock market turbulence of 2007 to 2009, the last three years has seen fairly steady gains. The ING Streetwise funds suffered in 2008 with large falls, but their recent performance is a source of hope.

Here's the most recent 2012 performance figures for the Streetwise Balanced Income, Balanced Portfolio and Balanced Growth Portfolio (taken direct from ING Direct Canda's website).

All funds have seen healthy gains over the year to date, with the Balanced Growth Portfolio clocking in at just over 12%.

Of course, the Streetwise funds were launched during the market turbulence of 2008, so the growth since launch has been rather anemic, to say the least. However, since I dollar-cost average into the Balanced Growth fund every month since launch, I managed to buy some initial units at a cheap price, so I'm looking at a larger gain.

Here are one-year performance benchmarks for the Streetwise Funds.

The Sharpe Ratio for the Streetwise Balanced Income fund over the last year is a healthy 2.33 (respectable in anyone's eyes). The Sharpe Ratios for the other two funds are lower at just over one (still not bad). However, the modestly good Sharpe Ratios masks rather poor mean annual returns for all three funds.

The alpha for all three funds are negative, indicating that they have under-performed their benchmark. The beta for the three funds are around 0.9 - 1. This indicates that their volatility matches that of their benchmark, or is slightly lower.

I'm not overly impressed by the performance figures. But I'm a buy-and-hold kind of guy. I'll maintain my monthly investment plan inside a TFSA in the Streetwise Balanced Growth fund.

ING Direct Canada still have a referral reward system. If you use the Orange Key 40014077S1 when you open any account (with an initial $100 deposit by cheque), you'll get a $25 bonus (or $50 before the end of 2012).

You'll also get your own Orange Key so you can get your own referrals! Magic!

ING Orange Key: 40014077S1

Here's a fresh ING Orange Key, hot off the presses: 40014077S1

From now until the 31st December 2012, any savvy savers who open any ING Direct Canada account with this code (with an initial deposit of $100) will be rewarded with a $50 bonus.

The bonus falls to $25 in January 2013, so you'd better open your account now.

Musings on the Streetwise Mutual Funds

Well, I haven't updated this blog in a long time, so I thought it was time I made an effort.  Many, many people have submitted their ING Orange Keys so they can get referrals; I encourage all new ING Savers to do the same.

The ING Orange Key program is still going strong, with many new savers earning their two thousand dollars in referral fees.

I've previously given my thumbs up to the Streetwise mutual funds. I think, now, I have to adjust my previous enthusiasm.  The Streetwise funds have really not performed well since their inception.  Consider this performance chart for the Streetwise Mutual Funds, complete to December 2011

Since launch, the Balanced Income fund has gained around seven percent in value.  The Balanced and Balanced Growth funds, however, have lost value

Of course, we've had a great deal of financial turmoil in the world's stock markets so I'm sure ING aren't totally to blame.

I've invested in the Balanced fund. I would have got a better return had I invested in the TFSA Savings Account instead.  These are, of course, still eligible for the ING Orange Key referral scheme.

Remember to post your Orange Key in the comments!

ING Direct Canada Orange Key 2011

Here's some brand Orange Keys:

33866519S1
33866519S1
32981155S1
32754139S1
17465528S1
35638912S1
15846511S1
35812506S1
35853623S1
35821095S1
35669143S1

As ever, post your Orange Keys in a comment, and I'll feature them in the next blog post.

By the way, check out ING Direct's new Cafe in Toronto.  I wanna go!

ING Direct Streetwise Mutual Fund Holdings

These are the top 10 holdings of the Streetwise Mutual funds.

Top Ten Holdings of the Streetwise Income Fund

Government of Canada 2.50%			2.10%
Government of Canada 1.50%			1.90%
Government of Canada 3.75%			1.80%
Government of Canada 5.75%			1.70%
Government of Canada 2.00%			1.40%
Government of Canada 3.25%			1.30%
Canada Housing Trust 4.60%			1.30%
Government of Canada 5.75%			1.20%
Government of Canada 3.00%			1.10%
Canada Housing Trust 4.55%			1.10%
			TOTAL 14.9%

Top Ten Holdings of the Streetwise Balanced Fund

Government of Canada 3.75%			1.90%
iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund 1.9%			1.90%
Canada Housing Trust 4.60%			1.50%
Royal Bank of Canada			1.40%
Government of Canada 3.50%			1.30%
The Toronto-Dominion Bank			1.20%
Government of Canada 1.50%			1.20%
iShares S&P 500 Index Fund			1.10%
Suncor Energy, Inc.			1.10%
The Bank of Nova Scotia			1.10%
			TOTAL 13.7%

Top Ten Holdings of the Streetwise Growth Fund

Royal Bank of Canada			1.70%
iShares S&P 500 Index Fund			1.60%
The Toronto-Dominion Bank			1.50%
Suncor Energy, Inc.			1.30%
The Bank of Nova Scotia			1.30%
Barrick Gold Corporation			1.20%
Government of Canada 3.75%			1.20%
Canadian Natural Resources Limited			1.10%
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.			1.00%
Canada Housing Trust 4.60%			0.90%
			TOTAL 12.8%

The Growth fund has a strong Banking and Natural Resources theme, while the Balanced Fund revolves around Banking and Government Bonds.  The Income fund, not surprisingly, focuses on Government bonds.

I wouldn't necessarily recommened the Income fund, unless you're concentrating on capital protection.  The Balanced and Growth funds show greater growth potential.

Remember to post your Orange Key in a comment, and I'll feature it in a blog post!

Streetwise Fund Performance

Here's the latest performance chart for ING Direct Streetwise mutual funds.

Since the low point in Febuary 2009 (in tandem with almost all stock market indices), all three Streetwise funds have demonstrated steady growth.  From August 2009 to August 2010 the funds meandered, but that's been followed by a sustained period of better growth. Let's hope it continues!

I buy into the Streetwise Balanced fund every single month in my TFSA - it's far less stressful than putting your whole $5000 TFSA balance in at once. 

By the way, you're welcome to post your ING Direct Orange Key in comment, and I'll feature it in a blog post.

ING Direct Orange Key 2011

These are the twelve latest new ING Direct Orange Keys submitted by the readers of this blog.

17453092S1

34880608S1

22420388S1

34600281S1

14221340S1

14460703S1

35537435S1

35665122S1

33808427S1

35736756S1

35746720S1

35561445S1

Open any ING account with an initial deposit of $100, and specify any of these working Orange Keys during the online application.  You (and the owner of the Orange Key) will get $25 each. It doesn't get much more difficult than this.

You'll also get your own Orange Key so you can make your own referrals, and get $25 each time, up to a maximum of $2000. Here's the referral scheme

Refer 10 friends - get $25*10 + $50 bonus = $300
Refer 20 friends - get $25*10 + $100 bonus = $350
Refer 30 friends - get $25*10 + $150 bonus = $400
Refer 40 friends - get $25*10 + $200 bonus = $450
Refer 50 friends - get $25*10 + $250 bonus = $500
TOTAL = $2000 plus your original $25 bonus = $2025

Once you've got your own Orange Key, visit this site and post it in a comment. I'll then feature it in a new blog post! I made my $2025 in seven months.  How long will it take you? Get started!