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Brandes Global Small Cap Fund
Fund Company Bridgehouse Asset Managers Fund Type Global Small / Mid Cap Equity Rating B Style Small Cap Value Risk Level High Load Status Optional RRSP/RRIF Suitability Good Manager Brandes Management Team MER 2.71% Fund Code BIP 152 – Front End Units BIP 252 – DSC Units Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: This deep value small cap offering from Brandes continues to be one of my favourites in the space. While its performance has been stellar of late, it is really more the process and risk controls that attract me to the fund. It is...
read moreManulife World Investment Class
Fund Company Manulife Mutual Funds Fund Type International Equity Rating B Style Large Cap Blend Risk Level Medium Load Status Optional RRSP/RRIF Suitability Excellent Manager David Ragan since Nov 2007 Jim Hall since March 2010 MER 2.61% Fund Code MMF 8521 – Front End Units MMF 8421 – DSC Units Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: The Mawer International Equity Fund has been one of the best international equity funds for as long as I’ve been in the investment business, and this fund is virtually identical to it. The main difference is it has a...
read moreTD Monthly Income Fund
Fund Company TD Asset Management Fund Type Canadian Equity Balanced Rating C Style Large Cap Blend Risk Level Medium Load Status Optional RRSP/RRIF Suitability Excellent Manager Doug Warwick since June 1998 Michael Lough since July 2005 MER 1.47% Fund Code TDB 622 – No Load Units TDB 821 – Front End Units Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: There are definitely more than a few things to like about this equity focused balanced fund. The first thing that jumps out at me is the cost. It has one of the lowest MERs for a balanced fund, coming in at...
read moreBMO Monthly High Income II
Fund Company BMO Investments Fund Type Cdn Dividend & Income Equity Rating A Style Large Cap Blend Risk Level Medium Load Status Optional RRSP/RRIF Suitability Excellent Manager Kevin Hall since October 2002 Michelle Robitaille since Jun 03 MER 2.37% Fund Code GGF 619 – Front End Units GGF 260 – DSC Units Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: This, along with the Sentry Canadian Income Fund have been my picks for investors looking for a decent income stream, combined with the potential for capital growth. It pays investors a monthly...
read moreSentry Canadian Income Fund
It’s pretty tough not to be impressed by a fund that has outpaced the broader equity markets by delivering an annualized five year return of more than 17%, and doing so with two thirds the volatility of the index. Managers Michael Simpson and Aubrey Hearn look for well-managed, high yielding equity names that have the ability to deliver strong and growing cash flows. The portfolio will typically hold around 60 names, and tends to look much different than its benchmark. It can invest up to 49% of the fund in the U.S., and it can also hold...
read moreManulife Strategic Income Fund
I really hate that this is categorized as a high yield bond fund, because it really understates the quality of the fund, its management, and its risk reward profile. In reality, it is more of an opportunistic go anywhere bond fund that invests across multiple fixed income sectors such as global government bonds, investment grade bonds, high yield, and emerging market debt. In addition, the managers will tactically manage the currency exposure and try to generate additional return from that. Their investment process starts with at top down...
read moreCI Signature Canadian Balanced Fund
It’s not that this is a bad fund. Far from it. It has a great management team at the helm. It is also managed using a disciplined, repeatable process that incorporates a top down analysis to deter-mine the overall asset mix, with fundamentally driven, bottom up security selection. At the end of June, more than 70% was invested equities, making it one of the more aggressively positioned balanced funds. It is this positioning that is the cause of the funds above average volatility. Performance has been more than respectable, and it has been...
read moreCI Signature High Income
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 same time has tended to be one of the least volatile. For the three years ending June 30, it gained an annualized 9.3%, handily outpacing its benchmark and peer group. The portfolio is a mix of high yielding equities and high yield bonds. Historically, it could invest up to 49% outside of Canada, but that was recently changed to 70%,...
read moreFidelity Small Cap America
Manager Steve MacMillan has been at the helm of this fund for just over three years and the results have been great. For the three years ending June 30, it has gained an annualized 24.3%, handily outpacing the 18.5% return of the Russell 2000. While this is impressive, he has also done a stellar job managing the volatility, keeping it well below the category average. When it comes to protecting capital in falling markets this fund leads the category with a down capture ratio of 34% for the past three years. The portfolio is much different...
read moreFranklin U.S. Rising Dividends Fund
What I like most about this fund is its ability to protect capital in down markets. While most other U.S. equity funds tend to fall more than the S&P 500, this gem has only fallen between 60% and 70% of the broader market. That’s because of its focus on companies that have a history of consistent and substantial dividend increases over time. Since they offer a relatively high dividend yield, they tend to hold up better when markets fall. Even in 2008 when the S&P was off by nearly 30%, this fund was only down 11%. A drawback to this...
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