| Fund Company | Manulife Mutual Funds |
| Fund Type | Canadian Focused Small / Mid Cap Equity |
| Rating | B |
| Style | Growth |
| Risk Level | Medium – High |
| Load Status | Optional |
| RRSP/RRIF Suitability | Good |
| TFSA Suitability | Good |
| Manager | Ted Whitehead since November 1998 |
| MER | 2.71% |
| Code | MMF 388 – Front End Units
MMF 488 – DSC Units |
| Minimum Investments | $500 |
Analysis:Managed by Ted Whitehead, it invests primarily in small and mid-cap companies located in Canada. At December 31, it had 73% invested in Canada, 16% in the U.S. and the balance in Europe.
Stocks are selected using a mix of quantitative screening and bottom up fundamental analysis. The first step is to rank the selection universe based on the manager’s proprietary model. They then will conduct more detailed fundamental analysis on the top ranked names. Companies that tend to find their way into the portfolio generally are well managed, industry leaders that are trading at attractive prices.
There is strong risk management culture, with a dedicated risk management team that monitors the various risk factors in the fund. While this looks good from a process standpoint, I’m not sure how effective it’s been, given that volatility is slightly above average, and the downside capture has been more than 100% for the past three, five and ten year periods.
The portfolio is fairly well diversified, holding more than 70 names, with the top ten making up over a quarter of the fund. Portfolio turnover has averaged about 55% for the past five years.
Probably the best way to describe this fund is average. It has delivered average return with average volatility. There is nothing special about it. You will likely do okay with it, but there are funds that are better than this.