Aston Hill Capital Growth Fund
If you are not familiar with this small fund it’s worth your time to find out about it. It was a closed-end fund until May 2011 but it is now a regular mutual fund with an initial investment requirement of only $500. The numbers it has been posting are eye-popping, to say the least. As of mid-October, the A units had gained an astonishing 25.5% for 2011, making the fund far and away the top performer in the North American Equity category. That came on top of profits of 18.3% in 2010 and 36.1% in 2009, all first quartile finishes.
Read MoreBMO Dividend Fund
This fund falls into the “what have you done for me lately” category. It was a top performer for a long time and earned our top $$$$ rating. But it started to slip in 2008, losing 26.3%, and has been a sub-par performer since with a fourth quartile finish in 2009 and below average results in 2010 and so far in 2011.
Read MoreAGF Canada Class
This fund has been distinctly unimpressive in recent years. While the Canadian stock market as a whole was performing well, the returns here lagged well behind those of the peer group and we don’t see any indication that will change. Manager Martin Hubbes uses a bottom-up investment style with a focus on mid to large-cap growth stocks.
Read MoreBeutel Goodman American Equity Fund
Managers Glen Fortin and Gavin Ivory have put together a well-diversified portfolio of blue chip U.S. stocks and have carefully avoided overweighting any one sector. Major holdings include Wells Fargo, one of America’s strongest banks, Kraft Foods, Metlife, ConocoPhillips, Comcast, IBM, and Chevron. The fund also has a relatively large position in Irish pharmaceutical and biotech company Covidien.
Read MoreAGF Emerging Markets Fund
According to a survey recently conducted by Franklin Templeton, many Canadian investors see emerging markets as the best places to invest in terms of profit potential going forward. If you’re in that group, this is a fund you should look at. Manager Patricia Perez-Coutts is doing a great job with it.
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