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Mackenzie Ivy Canadian Fund
When long-time manager Jerry Javasky stepped down in 2009, the reins of the fund were handed over to Paul Musson. When Mr. Javasky ran the fund, its stellar capital protection was legendary. Unfortunately, it was also known for its lackluster performance in up markets. Today, with Mr. Musson running the show, the emphasis on downside protection remains firmly in focus, but now it does a much better job at providing decent gains when the markets are rising. For investors this means the potential for stronger overall risk adjusted returns over...
read moreTrimark Income Growth Fund
The last time I reviewed this fund was April 2013, shortly after Clayton Zacharias had taken over the management of the equity portion of the fund. At the time I said I was “…cautiously optimistic that with Mr. Zacharias managing the equity portion that we will see a sustained improvement in overall returns.” Turns out I was right. Performance has definitely improved, with the fund boasting an annualized five year gain of 7.1%, handily outpacing its rivals and its benchmark. In managing the equity sleeve, the team has built a concentrated...
read moreCI Signature Corporate Bond Fund
Given the somewhat unique mandate of this fund, it’s a tough one to classify. It invests in a diversified portfolio of bonds, right across the credit spectrum, ranging from AAA rated government bonds to high yield. The investment process is a blend of top down macro analysis, which helps the team set the mix of investment grade and high yield, and fundamentally driven, bottom up credit analysis that helps evaluate the individual securities. They use a relative value type approach, looking for securities that are trading below what the teams...
read moreDesjardins Chorus II Portfolios
Recently, a reader asked for more information on the Desjardins Chorus II Portfolios. The Chorus II portfolios are a series of dynamically managed portfolios that invest in mutual funds offered by Desjardins Investments. There are six portfolios available, ranging from Conservative to Maximum Growth, and everything in between. For the Conservative Portfolio, the target fixed income weight is 72%, with 28% in equity and other growth focused investments. The most aggressive portfolio; Maximum Growth, is focused on equities, with 83% targeted...
read moreWestwood Emerging Markets Fund
The emerging markets space has been a tough slog for many of late, and this fund is no exception. For the year ending March 31, it was down 12%, lagging both the index and much of its competition. It has been managed by a team headed up by Patricia Perez-Coutts since August 2012. You may recall Ms. Perez-Coutts had tremendous success previously at AGF. Unfortunately, a repeat of this success has thus far been elusive, but there are signs things are turning around. The process and team are nearly identical from when she was with AGF. The...
read moreTrimark Canadian Endeavour Fund
Like its global counterpart, this fund invests in a concentrated portfolio of companies of any size. The big difference, apart from a different management team is while the global fund has a true go anywhere mandate, this offering must invest no less than 51% in Canada. Like other Trimark branded funds, the managers look for well managed companies, generating strong levels of free cash flow, and sustainable barriers to entry that are trading at levels below what they believe it is worth. While the focus is in Canada, they have the flexibility...
read moreRBC QUBE Low Volatility Global Equity
Low volatility funds have become quite popular of late, as many look for ways to protect their nest eggs from the market. Despite less than three years of track record, this RBC offering has shown a lot of promise. Managed by a team headed up by Bill Tilford, the investment process is very quant focused that looks to minimize the fluctuations of the portfolio while maximizing risk adjusted returns. The process starts by rating and ranking each stock on a number of different fundamental criteria that are both forward and backward looking. The...
read moreRBC QUBE Low Volatility Canadian Equity
Low volatility funds have become quite popular of late, as many look for ways to protect their nest eggs from the market. While there isn’t a lot of track record on many of these funds, this RBC offering has shown a lot of promise. Managed by a team headed up by Bill Tilford, the investment process is very quant focused that looks to minimize the fluctuations of the portfolio while still providing strong returns. The process starts by rating and ranking each stock on a number of different fundamental criteria that are both forward and...
read moreBMO Short Corporate Bond Index ETF
The bond market continues to be a challenging place for investors. Coming into 2016, it was near certainty that the Federal Reserve would be moving rates higher several times over the year. However, it now appears that there is only a modest probability that we will see much in the way of increase rates. Closer to home, odds are we may see the Bank of Canada move lower before moving higher. In this environment, I am adding this short term bond ETF and removing the iShares 1-5 Year Laddered Corporate Bond Index ETF (TSX: CBO). There are a few...
read moreiShares Gold Bullion ETF (TSX: CGL)
Gold has been on a bit of a tear since early December, jumping more than 18%. Much of this gain has come from investors’ lack of faith in the ability of central banks around the world to get the global economy growing in a meaningful way. With negative interest rates becoming a possibility to a larger number of countries, investors are starting to look for places to park some of their excess cash, and for some, that is gold. While I’m not a gold bug per se, there may be some more room for bullion to move higher. Further, once growth does take...
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