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IA Clarington Canadian Small Cap
Manager Ian Cooke talks to us about the QV approach By Dave Paterson, CFA Since the market’s low in February 2009, Canadian small caps have outpaced their large cap brethren by a noticeable margin. The S&P/TSX Small Cap Index has gained more than 80% while the S&P/TSX Composite Index rose by 54% during the same period. Despite this outperformance, the general outlook for small cap stocks isn’t as positive as it is for the large caps. According to Ian Cooke of Calgary based QV Investors, managers of the IA Clarington Canadian Small Cap...
read moreTD Entertainment & Communications Fund
The TD Entertainment and Communications Fund is an interesting option that invests in companies that are involved in the entertainment, media, and communications industries. Typical holdings include such companies as Apple, Walt Disney, Comcast, and AT&T.
read morePender Small Cap Opportunities Fund
As a whole, Canadian small caps appear to be overvalued relative to their large-cap brethren. However, there are still a number of attractive opportunities available on a company-by-company basis. David Barr looks to take advantage of the inefficiencies within the small cap market and build a portfolio of well-managed businesses that have strong competitive positions that have been overlooked by the market.
read moreDynamic Global Asset Allocation Fund
Managed by the team of David Fingold and Michael McHugh, this fund has a go anywhere mandate that allows it to invest in fixed income and equity securities anywhere in the world. It is also free of any size or sector restrictions, allowing it to invest in companies of any size and are operating in any industry sector.
read moreMackenzie Sentinel Real Return Bond Fund
The Mackenzie Sentinel Real Return Bond Fund is designed to provide a steady flow of income will provide investors with a hedge against inflation. To do this, it invests in real return bonds issued by the Government of Canada and the province of Québec. It also can invest in real return bonds issued by foreign governments.
read moreScotia Global Bond Fund
With a gain of 7.2% the Scotia Global Bond Fund was one of the top performing mutual funds in May. Nicholas Van Sluytman took over the reins of this fund in January 2010 and has rewarded investors with strong returns, gaining 7.5% in the past two years. In comparison, the Citigroup World Government Bond Index Fund gained 6.9% during the same period.
read moreSentry REIT Fund
The Sentry REIT Fund is one of a few options that mutual fund investors have when looking for exposure to REITs. There are a number of funds that are focused on real estate, but most of those invest more in operating companies as opposed to REITs. For example, as of May 31, the Sentry REIT Fund held 78% in REITs while the CIBC Canadian Real Estate Fund held only 39% of its assets in REITs.
read moreCI Signature Income & Growth Fund
Normally we are big fans of the funds managed by CI’s Signature Global Advisors. However, we are less than enamored with this fund. It’s not that it’s a bad fund; it’s just not outstanding. The long-term performance is quite impressive. As of May 31, the fund posted an average ten-year return of 6.1%, handily outpacing the benchmark’s 2.5% gain during the same period. Shorter term it has struggled, losing 4.5% in the past year while the benchmark gained 0.9%.
read moreMawer Canadian Equity Fund
Below average volatility, strong returns and a low MER make the Mawer Canadian Equity Fund one of our favourites in the category. Managed by the team of Jim Hall and Vijay Viswanathan, it looks for well known businesses that are trading below their true worth. The fund’s modest asset level of $975 million allows it some flexibility to go off the beaten path and look for companies which can compound their capital at a high rate for a number of years.
read moreManulife Strategic Income Fund
Interest rates are hovering near historic lows and will eventually begin moving higher. Before this happens, investors should take steps to protect themselves against this inevitability by shortening duration, increasing yield and investing in actively managed funds where the manager can be tactical in navigating the fixed income markets. The Manulife Strategic Income is one fund that can help investors do just that.
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