February 2013 Market Recap

Investors Rewarded Despite Mixed Signals

February was another profitable month for investors with all major equity and fixed income markets moving higher. In Canada, the S&P / TSX Composite Index gained 1.3% on the month.

U.S. equities were higher with the S&P 500 gaining 1.4% in U.S. dollar terms. For Canadian investors, the gain was amplified, as the Canadian dollar dropped from $1.0008 on January 31 to end the month at $0.9723. In Canadian dollar terms, the S&P 500 was up 4.7%. The MSCI EAFE and MSCI World were both higher in Canadian dollar terms, gaining 2.0% and 3.2% respectively.

Canadian bonds were positive, with the DEX Bond Universe gaining 1.0%. Corporate bonds modestly outpaced governments and long bonds outpaced short term bonds. Only real return bonds that were down during the month.

Read more…

February 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 February 2013 Investment Fund Ranking Report here.

February 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 February 2013 Socially Responsible Investing Report here.

February 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 February 2013 WRAP Fund Report here

February Portfolio Review

It was another positive month for the portfolios, as all were modestly higher over the month. With the exception of the Growth Portfolio, they all outpaced their benchmarks. Contributing to the strong performance on both a relative and absolute basis was the Manulife Strategic Income Fund, the Renaissance Global Healthcare Fund and the Mackenzie Ivy Foreign Equity Fund. The CI American Value and the CI Signature Canadian Resource Fund were the biggest detractors from performance.

Each of the portfolios continues to post returns that are within the expected ranges, based on the risk reward profile of each portfolio.
You can download our detailed Portfolio Review here.