| Fund Company | CIBC Asset Management |
| Fund Type | Health Care Equity |
| Rating | C |
| Style | Large Cap Growth |
| Risk Level | Medium |
| Load Status | Optional |
| RRSP/RRIF Suitability | Fair |
| TFSA Suitability | Fair |
| Manager | Ed Owens since December 1996 Jean Hayes since December 1996 |
| MER | 3.28% |
| Code | ATL 1161 – Front End Units ATL 1162 – DSC Units |
| Minimum Investment | $500 |
Analysis: In October of this year, it was announced that long serving manager, Ed Owens was retiring at the end of 2012. When Mr. Owens finally steps aside after 38 years in the investment business, he will be handing the reins of the fund over to Jean Hynes, who has co-managed the fund for a number of years. She will continue to be supported by Wellington’s team of health care investment professionals that includes four global industry analysts, most of whom have been working on the fund for the past 12 years.
There is not expected to be any material change to the fund’s investment process. It will continue to be a research driven, all cap approach that is characterized by a value bent and low levels of portfolio turnover. The will continue to be built using a bottom up process that focuses on companies operating in the medical technology, biotechnology, health care and pharmaceutical sectors.
The fund has a go anywhere mandate, but has historically found most of its opportunities in the U.S. That remains the case today, with nearly 70% of the fund invested in the U.S. as of September 30.
Long term performance numbers are strong, however the shorter term numbers have largely disappointed. Volatility has historically been in the lower half of the category.
A big issue with the recent performance can be attributed to the cost of this fund. The MER is now listed at 3.28% and it does not contain any embedded performance fee. The MER is 84 basis points above our favourite in the category, the CI Global Health Sciences Fund and higher than the 2.82% MER of the TD Health Sciences Fund, another of our favourites.
While we have confidence in Ms. Hynes ability to steer the fund and we are believers in the benefits of including health care funds in your portfolio, it is our opinion that the cost of this fund is just too high to warrant investing at this time.