Fidelity Small Cap America
Fund Card Despite dropping 1.4% in the third quarter, the fund’s outperformance continued. The Russell 2000 was down 6.9% in Canadian dollar terms, while the average U.S. Small / Mid Cap equity fund lost nearly 5%. The recent outperformance was the result of strong relative returns from a number of technology and consumer discretionary names, with Ingram Micro and Jardine Group helping the...
Read MoreManulife Strategic Income Fund
Fund Card Managed by a team headed by Dan Janis, this tactically managed global bond fund focuses on four key risks for investors; interest rate risk, credit risk, currency risk, and liquidity risk. For the quarter, it gained 1.75%, outpacing its peers. In a recent commentary, Charles Tomes, a trader, and member of the management team of this fund said they expect the recent high levels of...
Read MorePH&N Total Return Bond Fund
Fund Card Starting the quarter with a duration that basically matched the FTSE/TMX Universe Bond Index was one of the factors that allowed the fund to outperform its peers in the third quarter. This longer duration allowed it to see a nice gain after the Bank of Canada cut its benchmark overnight lending rate in July. As the quarter progressed, the focus shifted to the market’s expectation over...
Read MoreBrandes Emerging Markets Value Fund
Fund Card To say this fund has struggled of late would be a bit of an understatement. Over the past year (to September 30), it has lost more than 20%, significantly underperforming its peers. In the past quarter alone, it was down 14%, again lagging both its peers and its benchmark. Does that mean the fund has lost its mojo? No. The problem the fund is experiencing at the moment has more to do...
Read MorePH&N Monthly Income Fund
Fund Card I continue to be disappointed by the performance of this fund. After a solid 2011 and 2012, it has lagged dramatically. I am a fan of PH&N on the fixed income side, and had hoped that was enough to offset middle of the road equity management. To date, I have been wrong. Right now, the only positive I can find in the fund is the cash flow it generates, which is currently about 5.4%....
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