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DynamicEdge Growth Portfolio
This is part of a portfolio program offered by Dynamic Funds. It offers investors six strategic portfolios, covering the spectrum of investors, ranging from Conservative to Aggressive Growth. Each will invest in a well-diversified mix of mutual funds offered by Dynamic. This is the growth offering, with a target asset mix of 80% equities and 20% fixed income. The equity sleeve has about a third in Canada with the balance abroad. The focus is on large cap, but does have some exposure to small and mid-cap names. Sector exposure and country mix...
read moreCanoe Energy Class
To be honest, I’m not sure I’m ready to be putting any money in an energy fund at the moment. I’d like to see a bit more firming around the oil price before I dive in. However, if you’re ready to make that move and are looking for a good option in the space, the Canoe Energy Fund would likely be my pick. Manager, Ravi Tahmazian uses a macro analysis to find the subsectors in the energy space that he believes are well positioned for the expected environment. He focuses not only on oil and gas, but also pipelines, renewables, and energy service...
read moreIA Clarington Global Equity Fund
Fund Company IA Clarington Investments Fund Type Global Equity Rating C Style Large Cap Blend Risk Level Medium Load Status Optional RRSP/RRIF Suitability Excellent Manager Joe Jugovic since July 2014 MER 2.72% Fund Code CCM 3071 - Front End Units CCM 3072 - DSC Units Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: Last July, Joe Jugovic of Calgary based QV Investors took over the management duties of this fund. QV is a shop known for their focus on finding high quality companies trading at attractive valuations. While their track record on this fund is...
read moreGuardian Global Dividend Growth Fund
Fund Company Guardian Capital LP Fund Type Global Equity Rating C Style Blend Risk Level Medium Load Status Front End Load RRSP/RRIF Suitability Excellent Manager Sri Iyer since May 2011 Fiona Wilson since May 2011 MER 2.32% Fund Code GCG 570 - Front End Units Minimum Investment $5,000 Analysis: This go anywhere, global dividend fund is managed by Sri Iyer and his team at Guardian Capital, using a proprietary, multi factor quantitative model that screens the global equity universe looking for positive rates of change in the fundamentals of...
read moreSentry Conservative Balanced Income Fund
Fund Company Sentry Investments Fund Type Canadian Neutral Balanced Rating A Style Large Cap Blend Risk Level Low - Medium Load Status Optional RRSP/RRIF Suitability Excellent Manager Michael Simpson since January 2012 James Dutkiewicz since May 2012 MER 2.23% Fund Code NCE 734 - Front End Units NCE 334 - DSC Units Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: This conservatively managed balanced fund has been run by the team of Michael Simpson and James Dutkiewicz since 2012, and performance, particularly on a risk adjusted basis has been strong. For...
read morePIMCO Monthly Income Fund
Fund Company PIMCO Canada Fund Type Global Fixed Income Rating A Style Income Focus Risk Level Low - Medium Load Status Optional RRSP/RRIF Suitability Excellent Manager Alfred Murata since January 2011 Dan Ivascyn since September 2014 MER 1.38% Fund Code PMO 005 - Front End Units PMO 105 - Low Load Units Minimum Investment $1,000 Analysis: After coming out of the gate very strongly in 2011 and 2012, performance of this global bond fund has certainly moderated to more sustainable levels. For the year ending January 31, it gained 5.3%, lagging...
read moreBrandes Emerging Markets
The fourth quarter was a tough one for the fund, amid a precipitous drop in the price of oil, major currency devaluations (especially the Russian Ruble), and political instability in Brazil, Argentina and other EM nations. With its overweight position in both Russia and Brazil, the fund was hit particularly hard, dropping 9.3% in Canadian dollar terms. It was even worse in U.S. dollar terms, with the fund dropping 12.6%. In a recent commentary, the managers stated they remain commit-ted to their thesis on Russia. They believe “…it can offer...
read moreTrimark Global Endeavour Fund
While I have this fund in the Global Small and Mid-Cap Equity category on the Recommended List, it is really much more of an all cap mandate. Managers Jeff Hyrich and Erin Greenfield have built a concentrated portfolio of high quality names, with sustainable competitive advantages that trade at a discount to their estimate of intrinsic value. Their fundamentally driven, bottom up approach has resulted in a portfolio that looks nothing like its benchmark. They are very disciplined when it comes to valuation, and as a result, cash balances can...
read moreRBC O’Shaughnessy U.S. Value Fund
If you look at the quarterly performance of this fund compared to the other U.S. equity funds, you might be wondering what happened with it, posting a very modest 2.1% rise, while the others were all significantly higher. Well since you asked, I’ll tell you what happened -currency happened. Over the quarter, the Canadian dollar dropped by nearly 4%. The RBC O’Shaughnessy U.S. Value Fund hedges its currency exposure, while the other U.S. equity funds on the list are largely unhedged. When a fund is unhedged and the Canadian dollar drops in...
read moreIA Clarington Conservative Canadian Equity
For me, the big appeal of this fund is its conservative profile, which has allowed it to post decent returns over the long term, with significantly less downside than the market, and its peers. Historically, it has delivered about 70% of the upside of the market, yet only experienced between half to two thirds of the down-side. This helps to explain why I was so disappointed with its recent performance when it dropped lockstep with the market. I had the chance to speak with Ryan Bushell, one of the managers of the fund recently, and the main...
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