Ms. Nancy Paquet reports

NATIONAL BANK DIRECT BROKERAGE LAUNCHES INVESTCUBE, A TURNKEY SOLUTION FOR DO-IT-YOURSELF INVESTORS

National Bank of Canada's National Bank Direct Brokerage is launching InvestCube, a turnkey solution designed for investors seeking control over their investments without having to worry about rebalancing their portfolio.

This innovative concept, which is a first among the brokerage firms of the major Canadian banks, addresses a need that do-it-yourself investors have repeatedly expressed.

"InvestCube is intended for clients with sound investment knowledge but without a lot of time to spend on analyzing their portfolio. Our experts have designed five portfolios, which investors can select themselves based on their risk tolerance. Once the transaction is complete, they no longer need to worry about rebalancing their various assets," explained Nancy Paquet, president of National Bank Direct Brokerage.

The five portfolios have been designed around specific investor profiles, namely: conservative, moderate, balanced, growth and equity. All five are made up of exchange-traded funds from independent providers such as BlackRock iShares, Horizons or Vanguard, and represent different asset classes (equities, fixed income and others). Portfolios are reviewed each month and rebalanced as needed to maintain the targeted asset allocation of the selected portfolio. This new turnkey solution also offers low fees. For example, the annual fee for the balanced portfolio is only 0.99 per cent, including management fees and rebalancing fees.

InvestCube is available for all types of Canadian-dollar accounts (including registered retirement savings plans, tax-free savings accounts, registered education savings plans, locked-in retirement accounts/locked-in retirement savings plans, registered retirement income funds and cash accounts). Clients can also invest systematically in the portfolio of their choice by setting up regular fund transfers.