Brandes Global Small Cap Fund
Fund Card This deep value offering from Brandes had a very strong quarter, gaining 5.5%, matching the peer group, but lagging the index. It ended the year with a gain of more than 22%, putting it firmly in the upper quartile of all global small and mid-cap funds. It is managed using a value focused process that looks to buy companies that are trading a significant discounts to their true value....
Read MoreTrimark Fund
Fund Card This bottom up managed global equity fund has been one of my favourites for a long time now. The managers look for companies that are industry leaders, have strong barriers to entry, high levels of free cash flow, and excellent management teams that have a history of generating high returns on invested capital. The companies trade at a discount to what they believe the stock is worth....
Read MoreRBC Global Corporate Bond Fund
Fund Card This actively managed global bond fund invests mainly in investment grade corporate bonds from issues anywhere in the world, as well as high yield and emerging market bonds. At the end of December, it held about 15% in high yield issues, and about 10% in emerging market bonds. The fund was down 0.1% while its index was up by 0.1%. It was a tough quarter for global bonds with the U.S....
Read MorePH&N Total Return Bond Fund
Fund Card This remains my top Canadian bond fund pick for a couple of reasons. The first is the excellent management team and investment process used by PH&N. Second, with interest rates in Canada more likely to stay flat or move lower, this fund, with its duration of 7.3 years and yield to maturity of 2.4% is more likely to generate stronger returns than either the TD Canadian Core Plus...
Read MoreCI Signature High Income Fund
Fund Card Despite gaining 1.2% in the quarter, the fund underperformed its peers. There were a couple of reasons for this underperformance. The fund has about half of its bond exposure invested in high yield issues, which were hit hard in the final quarter of the year. It also has an overweight position in REITs, which have struggled and had a tough Q4. Finally, financials, particularly U.S....
Read MoreTD U.S. Equity Index Fund
Fund Card The fund had a decent year, gaining 20.5% compared with the S&P 500, which was up by 20.8%. This underperformance is not surprising, given it is designed to track the Canadian dollar return of the S&P 500, net of fees. I should emphasize that nearly 19% of the gain was the result of the falling Canadian dollar, something that is not likely to be repeated in the coming year. If...
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