Canadian fund manager Harvest Portfolios has launched the Harvest Banks & Buildings Leaders Income ETF (HCBB CN), an actively managed equity ETF focused on income-paying financial and real estate stocks.

Michael Kovacs, president and chief executive officer of Harvest Portfolios.

It has been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

The investment objective of HCBB is to generate monthly income and maximise total returns by investing primarily in a portfolio of banking issuers, other financial issuers and real estate related companies and/or REITs listed on a recognised stock exchange in North America.

The portfolio has an active asset allocation process, with movements between sub-sectors and positions throughout the cycle.

The fund may also hedge foreign currency exposure back to the Canadian dollar from time to time at the determination of the portfolio managers.

The fund currently has 21 individual holdings, the largest of which is the Royal Bank of Canada (6.6%), followed by Toronto Dominion Bank (6.3%) and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (6.1%).

HCBB is currently yielding 5.5% and has a management fee of 0.85%.

“We want to provide our Canadian investors with convenient and lower cost access to our longest running income strategy,” commented Michael Kovacs, president & chief executive officer of Harvest.

He went on: “The new ETF is based on the Harvest Banks & Buildings Income mutual fund, a popular strategy designed in 2009, for investors seeking income and potential capital appreciation.”