| Fund Company | EdgePoint Wealth Management |
| Fund Type | Canadian Equity Balanced |
| Rating | A |
| Style | Bottom Up Value |
| Risk Level | Medium |
| Load Status | Optional |
| RRSP/RRIF Suitability | Excellent |
| TFSA Suitability | Excellent |
| Manager | Tye Bousada since November 2008 Geoff MacDonald since November 2008 |
| MER | 2.14% |
| Code | EDG 188 – Front End Units EDG 388 – Low Load Units |
| Minimum Investment | $15,000 |
Analysis: EdgePoint Wealth Management was launched in 2008 by former Trimark managers Tye Bousada and Geoff MacDonald. They were joined in 2011 by another Trimark veteran, Ted Chisholm.
Their investment philosophy is conceptually very simple – they are long term investors looking to buy an ownership stake in a small number of high quality businesses at prices that are below their estimate of its true value. For the equity sleeve of the fund, they employ a fundamentally driven, bottom up investment process that is based on the old Trimark approach.
For the fixed income component of the fund, they are looking for securities that will provide an attractive total return through coupon payments and capital appreciation while focusing on the issuer’s ability to pay. They can invest in any type of fixed income security, but it is heavily weighted towards corporate bonds. They can invest in either investment grade or high yield bonds, depending on their relative attractiveness. Any non Canadian fixed income exposure is hedged back to Canadian dollars.
The asset mix can vary widely, depending on the relative attractiveness of the various asset classes. The fixed income exposure can range between 25% and 60% of the fund. In setting the asset mix, the managers want to ensure that they are properly concentrated for the risk they accept. As of September 30, the fund was 33% in bonds, and 67% in equities.
Performance has been strong on both an absolute and relative basis, finishing first or second quartile in each year since its launch. The volatility of the fund has been in line with the category average. The MER is 2.14% for the front end version of this fund, which below the category average.
This is a great core balanced fund for investors who have a medium to high risk tolerance and a long term time horizon. Given their investment style and discipline, it may experience short term periods of underperformance, but over the long term, I expect that it will deliver above average returns with average risk.