AGF Monthly High Income Fund

Posted by on Feb 21, 2015 in Mutual Fund Updates | 0 comments

With two thirds of the fund invested in equities, combined with an overweight allocation to energy and materials, it is not hard to see why this was the worst performing balanced fund on our list in the fourth quarter. It lost 5%, while each of the other picks on the list were in positive territory. While the equity sleeve was aggressively positioned with a cyclical bent, the fixed income sleeve was somewhat defensive, with a duration slightly lower than the index, and a yield that was higher. Approximately 50% of the U.S. dollar currency exposure was hedged against currency movements, which dampened gains in the quarter. In December, they increased the hedge from 50% to 75%, which may be a further headwind in the face of the prospect of a falling Canadian dollar. With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that they got the positioning wrong for the short term. Understandably, I will continue to monitor this fund, and it’s positioning closely. I expect it to remain the most volatile of the balanced picks, but anticipate it will do well over the long term.

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