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.

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22420388S1

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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!

ING THRiVE Chequing vs BMO

I've been an ING Direct saver since early 2010, having made a cool $2000 with the their Orange Key referral program. I also invest monthly into a TFSA (the streetwise mutual fund, to be exact). Earlier this year, ING Direct opened what they call THRiVE Chequing.

Given that I've had a BMO Chequing account for over two years, switching to THRiVE wouldn't be something I do without due diligence. ING Direct list their primary selling points for their new chequing account on their website. I decided to dig a little deeper and discover how BMO compares before making my decision.

No-fee daily chequing
I pay for the BMO Plus plan a a cost of $8.50 a month. This fee is waived if I don't let the balance dip below $2000.

THRiVE, however, is free – you don't pay a monthly fee. But there are fees associated with other services.

For example, replacement debit cards with THRiVE are $15 but you get one free a year. BMO provide free replacement cards no matter how many you lose (I wasn't charged either time when I lost my debit card twice in one year).

ING charge $10 for Canadian drafts, but BMO charge $6.50 (in any currency).

A book of twenty cheques will cost THRiVE customers $10 (but the first twenty are free). This could add up considerably if you write a lot of cheques. BMO, however, don't charge at all for cheques.

In summary, given that I'm careless with debit cards, BMO are the winners. Maintaining my chequing balance above $2000 to avoid the $8.50 fee isn't a problem.

Pays Interest

THRiVE pays 0.25% on balances below $50000. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't think people who could afford to keep $50000 in their chequing account would be swayed by the paltry interest rate on offer. Most people would be better served by keeping amounts this large in high interest savings accounts. ING's high interest savings account currently pays 1.5%

BMO pay no interest on their chequing accounts, but you can connect chequing accounts to the Smart Saver account paying 1.35% and switch money in and out online (you're allowed unlimited deposits, but only one free withdrawal from the Smart Saver account each month)

Given the small difference in rates on the high interest savings accounts, we're tied on this point

Free email alerting

THRiVE customers get email alerts for specific account transactions (like payments, balances etc). That's a pretty neat service – BMO do not offer anything similar.

Free ABM Access

ABM access is pretty important if you're an online bank, and THRiVE customers can use the THE EXCHANGE® Network to withdraw cash. I searched http://www.the-exchange.ca for ABMs in my home town of Waterloo and found eight. BMO just edge them out with ten.

Free Whoops! Protection

ING offer free overdraft protection up to $250 (but you have to pay this back in 30 days, otherwise you'll be charged $2.50 a month). This is amusingly called the Whoops! service.

BMO offer overdraft protection of up to $2500 (upon application) but charge you interest on the total.

I'm pretty savvy with money and I've never been in the red, so this isn't a factor for me.

Mobile Banking

If you're a proud owner of an iPad, iPhone or Blackberry, you can bank while mobile with the THRiVE account. BMO are technological Luddites and don't offer this service.

Summary

ING primarily advertise THRiVE as a no-fee chequing account. Since I effectively don't get charged for my BMO chequing account (as long as maintain a balance of $2000), this isn't a factor. So ING's offering has to stand on its other merits.

I currently hold a BMO credit card, and their online services allow me to see my balances across all my accounts. This unified website is a very big plus for me. ING Direct don't (yet) offer a credit card, so I'd have to constantly switch between two websites to keep track of my day-to-day finances.

THRiVE's other benefits, however, aren't enough for me to shift my banking to ING. I still value the presence of a physical BMO branch barely a mile from me more than I do THRiVE's other selling points like free overdrafts and email alerts.

In short, I'll keep my chequing account with BMO until ING decide to raise their game.

ING Direct Canada Orange Key Promotion

If you 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.

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30684987S1

17465528S1

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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 a rundown of 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

Once you have your own Orange Key, visit this site and post it in a comment. I'll then feature it in a new blog post!

ING Direct Streetwise Balanced Income Fund

I thought I'd blog about the Balanced Income Mutual Fund today. I've always veered away from bond-based funds myself, possibly for no good reason. I've always thought that you could get the same risk diversification simply by investing in savings accounts and lower-risk mutual funds. However, given recent financial events, I've been looking at them in a more favorible light. Given that I'm a satisfed ING Direct customer, I took a closer look at their bond-based mutual fund.

The Balanced Income Fund has grown by 4.75% in the 12 months ending September 30th 2010.  Not a bad return given the 1.5% I'm getting in my BMO savings account. It's a fine fund if you're risk averse, but want greater growth than the dismal returns from bank savings accounts

These are the top 25 holdings of the Streetwise Balance Income Fund.   It's largley invested in Canadian Bonds (70%) but the rest is largely equities.

Holding	Percent of Portfolio
Government of Canada	3.70%
Government of Canada	3.00%
Canada Housing Trust	2.70%
Government of Canada	2.60%
Government of Canada	2.40%
Canada Housing Trust	2.30%
Government of Canada	2.10%
Province of Ontario	1.50%
Province of Ontario	1.40%
Province of Ontario	1.30%
Cash and Cash Equivalents	1.30%
Government of Canada	1.30%
Government of Canada	1.20%
Government of Canada	1.00%
Government of Canada	1.00%
Canadian Credit Card Trust	1.00%
Government of Canada	1.00%
Canada Housing Trust	0.90%
Canada Housing Trust	0.90%
Province of Quebec	0.80%
iShares S&P 500 Index Fund	0.80%
Government of Canada	0.80%
Government of Canada	0.80%
Canada Housing Trust	0.80%
Province of Newfoundland	0.80%
TOTAL	37.40%

Geographically, the fund is invested 80% in Canada. Accordingly, you're not in danger of considerable currency fluctuation.

If you're new to ING Direct, use any of these reader-submitted Orange Keys to open an account (just enter the key at the appropriate point on the online application form). You'll get $25 (so will the owner of the Orange Key).

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You'll also get your own Orange Key so you can get your own referalls (simply visit this site again, post it in a comment, and I'll feature it in a blog post)

ING Direct Streetwise Fund Performance 2010

It's rapidly approaching the end of 2010, so I thought I'd update my previous post on the performance of the ING Direct Streetwise mutual funds.

This chart shows the price performance of the Income, Balanced and Growth funds.

 

Along with the rest of the stock market, the funds have risen gradually during the latter part of the year.

This chart shows the fractional month-on-month change of each of the funds.

 

 

The performance isn't stellar, but I haven't lost money.  I've been buying units every month this year, and the price has gradually since July.

Since I started investing in the Streetwise Balanced fund in February, my total investment of  $4183.3 ($100 in February plus $408.33 every month after that) is now worth $4390.22. That's an increase of 4.9% - a bit better than a savings account.

By the way, if you're considering opening your first account with ING Direct, then use this reader-posted Orange Key

3068497S1 

You'll get a $25 bonus when you make an initial deposit of $100.  You'll also get your own Orange Key, so you can make your own referrals.  Every time someone opens an account with your Orange Key, both you and the account opener get $25.  

There are bonuses for every 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 people you register, and you could make as much as $2000.  

When you get your Orange Key, post it in a blog comment and I'll feature it in a new post.

Working ING Direct Orange Keys for October 2010

More ING Direct Orange Keys for Canadians who want to make money!

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17289125S1 

If you want your Orange Key posted, simply enter it into comments box and I'll feature it in a blog post!