Below are a few of our recent fund updates. Log in or subscribe to see all of them.
CI Harbour Fund
Despite struggling in 2010, the CI Harbour Fund, managed since its launch by Gerry Coleman and Stephen Jenkins is back. In 2010, the fund lagged the S&P/TSX Composite by a significant margin, as the higher beta, more cyclically driven names drove the index higher. Given the managers’ somewhat more conservative, value focused approach, this underperformance, while disappointing to investors, was not unexpected.
read moreRBC Balanced Fund
This is a Canadian Neutral Balanced Fund that is managed by the RBC Investment Policy Committee. There is a lot of talent on the committee including such respected managers as Stu Kedwell, Doug Raymond and Suzanne Gaynor. Unfortunately, the performance of the fund has not lived up to the talent involved in managing it. Although in fairness, that may have as much to do with the size of the fund and the fund as it does the team involved. At $7.4 Billion in assets, the fund holds 375 stocks and 175 bonds.
read moreTD Real Return Bond Fund
One of the biggest threats to the fixed income component of one’s portfolio is the impact inflation can have on its value. One product type which can help to address this erosion of value is a real return bond fund. Real return bond funds invest in real return bonds, which are bonds that adjust both the coupon payment and the principal value based on the level of inflation in the economy.
read moreDynamic Canadian Bond
Fund Company Dynamic Funds Fund Type Canadian Fixed Income Rating $$ Style Yield Curve Management Risk Level Low Load Status Optional RRSP/RRIF Suitability Excellent TFSA Suitability Excellent Manager Michael McHugh since December 1998 MER 1.54% Code DYN 042 Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: The biggest drawback to the Dynamic Canadian Bond Fund is it’s relatively high MER. The MER is 1.54%, yet when we compare it to our other favourite bond funds such as PH&N Bond which carries an MER of 0.61% for the direct sold units and 1.17%...
read moreRBC Canadian Dividend Fund
Fund Company RBC Global Asset Management Fund Type Canadian Dividend & Income Equity Rating $$ Style Large Cap Value Risk Level Medium Load Status No Load RRSP/RRIF Suitability Good TFSA Suitability Good Manager Stuart Kedwell since April 2007 Doug Raymond since April 2007 MER 1.77% Code RBF 266 Minimum Investment $500 Analysis: With assets of just under $13 billion, the RBC Canadian Dividend Fund is one of the largest funds in the country. Given the monumental task of managing this behemoth is the duo of Stuart Kedwell and Doug...
read moreFidelity Canadian Asset Allocation Fund
After the March and April departures of long-time managers Bob Swanson and Brandon Snow, the management team of the Fidelity Canadian Asset Allocation Fund underwent a significant restructuring. Geoffrey Stein and Derek Young stepped into the lead manager role and it took the responsibility of leading Fidelity’s fixed income and equity teams. In the simplest of terms, this fund is essentially a fund of fund, where the lead managers will set the asset mix of the Fidelity Canadian Asset Allocation Fund by adjusting the mix of a number of sub portfolios.
read moreRBC Monthly Income Fund
At just under $8 billion in assets, the RBC Monthly Income Fund ranks as one of the largest funds in the country. Despite its hulking size, the fund continues to reward investors with steady, stable performance. Despite a blip in 2009 when the fund finished in the third quartile, the fund has consistently been in the upper quartiles. Volatility has also been below both the fund’s benchmark and the broader category average. Even during the credit crisis of 2007 – 2009, the fund dropped approximately 19%, while the benchmark fell by more than 28%.
read moreDynamic Small Business Fund
The management team of Oscar Belaiche and Jason Gibbs look to provide long term capital growth by investing in small cap stocks. The Fund used to focus on income trusts however, since the demise of the income trust sector, they tend to focus on high yielding small and mid cap stocks, business trusts, royalty trusts and REIT’s. In addition to the capital gain opportunity, the fund also pays investors a monthly distribution of $0.014 per month, which translates into an income yield of approximately 1.7% at current prices. The yield on the underlying portfolio is estimated at 6.6%, which indicates that the level of distribution is very likely sustainable going forward.
read moreManulife Global Opportunities Class Fund
This is an all cap global equity fund that has been managed by Christopher Arbuthnot since the fund’s April 2007 launch date. The manager is not bound by any market cap, sector or geographic constraints, so he is able to truly to embrace a “go anywhere” philosophy. In selecting stocks for the fund, the manager uses a value focused approach, looking to pay a reasonable price for a stock, relative to its growth expectations. The manager looks for good businesses with strong management, efficient use of capital and a history of product innovation. The managers will also look for turnaround situations such as a new management team in place, new products being brought to the market or industry consolidation.
read moreIA Clarington Real Return Bond Fund
One of the biggest threats to the fixed income component of one’s portfolio is the impact of inflation can have on its value. One product type which can help to address this erosion of value is a real return bond fund. Real return bond funds invest in real return bonds, which are bonds that adjust both the coupon payment and the principal value based on the level of inflation in the economy.
read more