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Invesco International Growth Class
This non-north American equity fund is managed by Clas Olsson and his Austin, Texas based team using a bottom up stock selection process that they refer to as “earnings, quality and valuation”, or EQV. Essentially, they are looking for companies that are likely to experience above average earnings growth, have high quality and sustainable earnings, and are trading at a reasonable valuation. They tend to favour companies that are able to generate solid organic revenue growth, have pricing power in their markets, strong balance sheets and offer a more defensive growth profile.
read moreBrandes Emerging Markets Equity Fund
It is managed using a 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. It is built on a stock by stock basis which results in a portfolio that has country and sector exposures that look nothing like that of the benchmark. There are various restrictions in place to ensure that the fund does not take on too much risk by becoming too concentrated in any one sector or country.
read moreTD Income Advantage Portfolio
With interest rates at historic lows and expected to remain so for the near term, many investors are looking for alternatives to traditional bond funds. The TD Income Advantage Portfolio is one option that investors may want to consider. It is set up as a fund of funds that invests in other TD Mutual Funds.
read moreCI American Value Fund
Fund Company CI Investments Inc. Fund Type U.S. Equity Rating F Style Large Cap Blend Risk Level Medium Load Status Optional RRSP/RRIF Suitability Fair TFSA Suitability Fair Manager William Priest since August 2002 David Pearl since August 2002 MER 2.42% Code CIG 7500 – Front End Units CIB 7505 – DSC Units Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: If you were to only judge this fund by its 2012 performance, it would be very difficult to make a case for including it in any portfolio. For the year, it gained 7.3% compared with the S&P 500, which...
read moreFidelity Northstar Fund
Despite two very strong, experienced and respected managers now at the helm, this “go anywhere” fund has largely been a disappointment for investors. Part of the reason for the underperformance may be the seemingly never ending revolving door on the manager’s office of the fund. Initially it was run by Alan Radlo. After he left, Cecilia Mo stepped into the chair before defecting to rival Dynamic in the fall of 2011. Since then, the team of Daniel Dupont and Joel Tillinghast has been managing the fund. But without consistency in the manager, it will be very difficult for the fund to gain any sort of sustainable momentum.
read moreMawer Global Small Cap Fund
Like other Mawer funds, this go anywhere small cap fund looks to build a well diversified portfolio of well managed companies that are trading at a discount to the firm’s estimate of its true worth. They use a very disciplined, bottom up approach that helps them find companies that have sustainable competitive advantages that will allow them to earn a return for shareholders that is above their cost of capital. They are patient and long term focused in their approach, which is reflected in the fund’s portfolio turnover that has averaged less than 20% in the past five years.
read moreDynamic Global Discovery Fund
The Dynamic Global Discovery is a neat little fund that looks to build a concentrated portfolio of high quality companies located anywhere in the world. What makes this unique is that they are looking for companies that are off the beaten track and unlikely to be held in other global equity funds, which should help make it a better diversifier in a portfolio.
read moreManulife Value Fund
Roger Hamilton took over the management duties of this fund back in October 2009 and things appear to be on the right track. For the three years ended December 31, the fund gained 4.8%, putting it in the upper half of the category. Longer term performance numbers are not quite as rosy. The five year annualized return is an average loss of 5.6% compared with the S&P 500’s gain of 1.6% during the same period.
read moreBissett Microcap Fund
Like the name suggests, this fund invests in those very small companies which have a market capitalization of less than $350 million. In reviewing potential investments for the portfolio, the management team uses a bottom up, growth at a reasonable price process that looks for companies that have strong balance sheets, low valuation risk, and a profitability profile that is better than the index.
read moreBrandes Global Small Cap Equity Fund
Managed by the Brandes Investment Committee using a bottom up, Graham and Dodd, value focused approach, this global focused small / mid cap fund is looking to build a diversified portfolio of businesses that are trading below their estimate of true value. As of September 30, the fund held 73 names with the top ten making up just under 30% of the fund.
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