June 2012 Market Recap

Monthly Recap    

After a relatively tame first-quarter, volatility returned to the global equity markets with a vengeance, whipsawing stocks with a ferocity that was   reminiscent of 2008. Despite a modest rally in June, the S&P/TSX Composite Index still lost 5.67% on the quarter. Global markets seemed to hold up a little better, with the S&P 500 shedding 1.0% and the MSCI EAFE Index dropping 5.0% during the quarter. Not surprisingly, fixed income fared well, gaining 2.2% as investors flocked to bonds on their safe haven appeal.

Many of the issues that investors had ignored during the first quarter, namely the European debt crisis, the slowdown in China, and the lackluster pace of the U.S. recovery, became the focus of their attention. In   Europe, Greece was again at the forefront, as investors were sent back to the   polls after coalition talks failed to result in a government, after the May elections showed no clear-cut winner. In the lead up to the election, many had feared that the anti-austerity movement had gained some widespread popularity, resulting in one of their parties winning the election.   Fortunately, that did not happen, with the New Democracy Party, the main center-right party in the country winning the most seats.

Read more…

Monthly Fund Ranking Report

Each month, we analyze more than 1200 mutual funds, pooled funds, and hedge funds putting them through our proprietary quantitative valuation model. We then prepare our Monthly Fund Ranking Report which rates and ranks each of the funds in our universe.

You can download our June 30, 2012 Investment Fund Ranking Report here.

Monthly Socially Responsible Investing Report 

With environmental and human rights concerns becoming more important to people, interest in the Socially Responsible Investing segment has never been stronger. In an effort to help keep investors and advisors informed on the SRI funds available, we have created our monthly Socially Responsible Investing Fund Report, which will be published on a monthly basis.

You can download the June 30, 2012 Socially Responsible Investing Report here.

Monthly WRAP Funds Report 

Fund of Fund or WRAP funds have consistently led the mutual funds sales stats in the past few years. Investor and advisor interest   in the products are at an all time high, given the unprecedented levels of market volatility and uncertainty that is prevalent in the markets today. To help you zero in on the best WRAP funds available, we have created our Monthly WRAP Funds Report that will be published on a monthly basis. If there is a WRAP fund that you would like to see added to this report, please contact us and we will add it for our next edition.

You can download the June 30, 2012 WRAP Fund Report here.

Model Portfolio Review

It was a good month for the portfolios with each of them finishing in positive territory and outperforming their respective benchmarks. On June 1, we removed the Cundill Value Fund from the portfolios and replaced it with the Ivy Foreign Equity Fund.  The main reason for this switch is that in the past few months, we have noticed that volatility has been moving significantly higher with Cundill Value. In conversations with the company, we were told that this is because of the fund’s deep value style. The upswing in volatility has thus far not   rewarded investors with enough additional return to compensate for the higher   volatility, in our opinion.

We intend to hold the Ivy Foreign Equity Fund for the next several quarters because of its performance in volatile markets. As the situation in Europe settles down and markets look to move higher, we will likely be switching into a fund that provides more upside participation. But for volatile times, there are few funds better than Ivy Foreign Equity

You can download our detailed Portfolio Review here.

Mutual Funds that rise to the top of the RESP Class

By Shirley Won, Globe And Mail – Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Dave Paterson, fund analyst, D.A. Paterson & Associates Inc.

CI Signature High Income Fund (conservative)

The global neutral balanced fund run by a team at CI Investments Inc. invests in high-yielding equities   and corporate bonds. It has consistently finished in the first quartile   except for 2008, when it was hit with 21-per-cent loss, he said. “It pays a   monthly distribution of 7 cents per unit.”

Fidelity Canadian Large-Cap B (aggressive)

The Canadian focused equity fund has been managed since 2011 by Daniel Dupont of Fidelity Investments   Canada, after former manager Brandon Snow joined CI Investments Inc. The   value-oriented fund, which is 44 per cent invested outside of Canada, focuses   on capital protection, Mr. Paterson said.

You can read the entire article here.