Below are a few of our recent fund updates. Log in or subscribe to see all of them.
CI Signature High Income Fund
Despite a modest 0.6% gain in the final quarter, the fund still posted a respectable 8.6% rise for 2014. Over the year, the managers had taken profits in many of their energy names, and built up a significant cash reserve. At the end of December, it had about 20% in cash and cash like investments. They have done this for two reasons. The first is to help boost the defensive positioning of the fund, helping it to better withstand any near term volatility. The second reason is for some “dry powder”, which will allow the managers to step in and...
read moreAGF Monthly High Income Fund
With two thirds of the fund invested in equities, combined with an overweight allocation to energy and materials, it is not hard to see why this was the worst performing balanced fund on our list in the fourth quarter. It lost 5%, while each of the other picks on the list were in positive territory. While the equity sleeve was aggressively positioned with a cyclical bent, the fixed income sleeve was somewhat defensive, with a duration slightly lower than the index, and a yield that was higher. Approximately 50% of the U.S. dollar currency...
read morePH&N Total Return Bond Fund
With more cuts to interest rates expected from the Bank of Canada, this high quality bond fund becomes my top pick. At the end of December, it had a duration of 7.3 years, which is slightly less than the 7.6 years of the FTSE TMX Canadian Universe Bond Index. The fund itself is very much like the stalwart PH&N Bond Fund, except the managers have a little more flexibility which allows them to invest a modest portion of the fund in non-traditional strategies such as high yield, mortgages and derivatives. A little more than half is invested...
read moreDynamic Advantage Bond Fund
When it had appeared that interest rates in Canada were likely going to rise, the defensive positioning of this fund resulted in it being my top bond fund pick. With a shorter duration and more conservative asset mix, it was well positioned to withstand the increased volatility in the bond market, and was expected to hold up better when yields started to rise. That all changed a few weeks ago when the Bank of Canada surprised everyone and cut its overnight lending rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%, with many expecting more cuts to follow. In...
read moreCI Signature High Income Fund
Fund Company CI Investments Inc. Fund Type Global Neutral Balanced Rating A Style Large Cap Blend Risk Level Low to Medium Load Status Optional RRSP/RRIF Suitability Excellent Manager Eric Bushell since Dec. 2010 MER 1.60% Fund Code CIG 686 – Front End Units CIG 786 – DSC Units Minimum Investment $500 Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: When I think of best in class balanced funds this one is usually at the top of my list. Managed by the Signature team at CI, it has consistently been one of the strongest performers in the category, yet at the...
read moreMawer Balanced Fund
Fund Company Mawer Investment Management Fund Type Global Neutral Balanced Rating B Style Blend Risk Level Medium Load Status No Load RRSP/RRIF Suitability Excellent Manager Greg Peterson since June 2006 MER 0.96% Fund Code MAW 104 – No Load Units Minimum Investment $5,000 FID 569 – DSC Units Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: This has been one of the strongest balanced funds around for many year, consistently outperforming its peer group on both an absolute and risk adjusted basis. It is very simple fund, investing in other Mawer managed...
read moreFidelity Monthly Income Fund
Fund Company Fidelity Investments Canada Fund Type Canadian Neutral Balanced Rating A Style Large Cap Value Risk Level Low - Medium Load Status Optional RRSP/RRIF Suitability Good Manager Geoff Stein since April 2011 David Wolf since March 2014 MER 2.10% Fund Code FID 269 – Front End Units FID 569 – DSC Units Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: I have been a fan of this fund since just after Geoff Stein took responsibility for setting the asset mix. The recent addition of David Wolf, a former advisor to the Bank of Canada certainly won’t hurt...
read moreManulife Monthly High Income Fund
Fund Company Manulife Mutual Funds Fund Type Canadian Neutral Balanced Rating A Style Large Cap Blend Risk Level Low – Medium Load Status Optional RRSP/RRIF Suitability Excellent Manager Alan Wicks since Sept 1997 Jonathan Popper since Sept 1997 MER 2.11% Fund Code MMF 583 – Front End Units MMF 483 – DSC Units Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: This is a fund that has been on my radar for a few quarters, and I recently had the chance to review it in more detail. It is a Canadian neutral balanced fund that has been managed by the team of Alan...
read moreTempleton Global Smaller Companies Fund
On January 15, it was announced that Harlan Hodes would be replacing Martin Cobb as the lead portfolio manager on the fund. Mr. Cobb will remain with the firm, but as an analyst with responsibility for the chemical and materials sectors. I see this as a positive. To be blunt, the fund struggled under Mr. Cobb’s leadership, who took over in early 2011 after the departure of long time manager Brad Radin. For the past three years, the fund gained an annualized 13.9%, significantly underperforming the 22.1% rise in the MSCI World Small Mid Cap...
read moreBrandes Emerging Markets Equity Fund
With a one year loss of 1.15%, 2014 proved to be a tough year for this fund, lagging both the index and most of its peers. In comparison, the MSCI Emerging Market Index lost 1.8% in U.S. dollar terms, but gained more than 7% in Canadian dollar terms, thanks to a falling loonie. The fund is managed by Brandes’ investment committee using a bottom up, value driven process that looks for companies that are out of favour with investors and whose share price has been beaten down by the markets. They look for well managed companies that are trading...
read more