March 2013 Market Recap

Q1 Rewards Investors with Strong Gains

The first quarter of 2013 rewarded investors, as global equity markets surged higher. The U.S. led the way with the S&P 500 rising by nearly 13%, finishing at a record high. International equities were also strong, as the MSCI EAFE Index and MSCI World Index rose by 7.4% and 10.1% respectively. Were it not for the rise in the Canadian dollar, these gains would have been even higher.

At home, the S&P/TSX Composite lagged its global peers, gaining a modest 3.3%. Much of this underperformance can be attributed to the materials sector, which has continued to disappoint, negatively affecting the broader market. With concerns over a slow economy in China and the European recession continuing to weigh on commodity demand, the situation is not expected to change in the near term. Technology, healthcare, industrials and consumer focused sectors were the contributors to the performance.

Read more…

2013 Budget Impact – Funds closed as a result of the budget

In the budget announced March 21, 2013, the government proposed to eliminate the tax benefits associated with forward agreements used by some mutual funds to achieve capital gains treatment on income that would otherwise be treated as ordinary income.

To do this, very simply, a fund would enter into a forward agreement with a counterparty. The forward agreement would provide the fund with a rate of return that was linked to an underlying fund. The income from this forward agreement would be considered capital gains, rather than interest income. These actions will no longer be permitted.

Click here to see a list of some of the funds that were   capped because of this announcement.

March 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 March 2013 Investment Fund Ranking Report here.

March 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 March 2013 Socially Responsible Investing Report here.

March 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 new 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 March 2013 WRAP Fund Report here.

March Portfolio Review 

The portfolios were again positive, chugging higher for investors in March. They have been on quite a roll of late, with the Conservative Portfolio posting positive returns for the past ten months. Moderate Balanced, Balanced and the Balanced Growth Portfolios have also been on quite a run, posting gains for the past eight months in a row.

The Renaissance Global Health Care Fund, CI Harbour, and Mackenzie Ivy Foreign Equity were the biggest contributors to the overall performance during the month. Manulife Strategic Income and CI American Value were the biggest detractors of performance.

The portfolios continue to post returns that are within expected ranges based on the risk reward profile of each portfolio.

You can download our detailed Portfolio Review here.