AGF Dividend Income Fund
AGF announced in June that Marc-André Robitaille has returned as manager of this fund after a six-month hiatus during which Martin Hubbes filled in. Robitaille had run the fund since its launch in April 2003. It’s not clear why he parted company with AGF at the start of 2007 but the press release announcing his return described it as a “long-term exclusive arrangement” so we have to assume he’ll be in the job for the foreseeable future.
Read MoreAGF Canadian Bond Fund
This fund has been a dependable performer for many years; never sensational but decent, with steady returns. We didn’t expect the managerial change that took place in 2006 to alter that, however we note with some concern that the results since then have been sub-par. This is a conservative fund from a portfolio safety perspective, investing primarily in government or government-guaranteed issues.
Read MoreAGF Canadian High Yield Bond Fund
This fund invests in high-yield bonds from around the world, including emerging markets – in fact 16.5% of the portfolio is held in emerging markets debt. The fund has been an above-average performer over the past three years with an average annual gain of 5.6% compared to 3.9% for the High-Yield Bond category (to June 30/07). Distributions are paid monthly and recently have been slightly more than 2c per unit, down from last year.
Read MoreAGF Asian Growth Class
How can we only give a $ rating to a fund that gained 44.7% in the year to June 30/07? It’s easy when we look at the broader picture. That “great” gain was actually sub-par for the category and this fund shows a below average record over all time frames. Yes, it has made money – just not as much as many of its competitors. This is a large-cap Asian fund which invests throughout the region, with the exception of Japan.
Read MoreAGF American Growth Class
Tony Genua took over this underperforming fund at the start of 2005 and it has shown some improvement since. Over the year to June 30/07 the fund showed a gain of 15.3%, about three percentage points ahead of the category average. This is highly encouraging, to say the least, and may finally signal a return to past glories. For a time in the 1990s, AGF American Growth was a powerhouse under the direction of Steve Rogers.
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