(April 16, 2007) RBC Asset Management has named new fund managers to replace John Varao and Shane Jones, who left the company abruptly last week to take positions at Scotia Cassels. Their departure left a large gap in the management of some of RBC’s leading Canadian equity funds.
All new managers come from the RBC organization. Stu Kedwell and Doug Raymond will assume joint management responsibilities of the RBC Monthly Income Fund, RBC Canadian Dividend Fund, RBC North American Dividend Fund and RBC Private Canadian Dividend Pool.
Jennifer McClelland, who currently manages multiple portfolios including RBC Select Portfolios, will join Kedwell and Raymond in managing the RBC Monthly Income Fund.
Martin Paleczny has been appointed general manager of the RBC Tax Managed Return Fund. He joins Suzanne Gaynor, who will continue to manage the fixed income fund portfolios. Cameron Winser will focus on the US part of the fund.
Dan Chornous, chief investment officer at RBC Asset Management, says the company has confidence in its new people who will be able to continue to successfully manage its Canadian equity funds.
“We have a solid process with a very talented team behind it, and investors will continue to benefit from these strengths,” Chornous said. “The funds will continue to be managed as before, taking into account RBC Asset Management’s multidisciplinary approach to stock selection together with asset mix recommendations made by RBC’s Investment Strategy Committee.”
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Launching Sun Life, CI guarantees minimal payout benefits
(April 16, 2007) Sun Life Financial and CI Investments have launched SunWise Elite Plus, a cash-grab minimum benefit (GMWB) product that can be added to many new and existing Sun Life segregated funds.
Sunwise’s GMWB is an optional add-on that can be added to both new and existing SunWise Elite contracts, with a minimum investment per policy of $25,000. Sun Life claims that this feature will provide investors with a guaranteed income while ensuring growth by investing up to 90% of the portfolio in equity funds.
Investors receive a 5% guaranteed income bonus for each year they do not withdraw within the first 10 years of making their initial deposit on the GMWB platform. SunWise Elite Plus also includes the introduction of an optional annual automatic death benefit reset, designed to maximize payouts to beneficiaries.
SunWise Elite Plus policies will be issued by Canada’s Sun Life Assurance Company and managed by CI Investments.
“SunWise Elite Plus provides a powerful combination of benefits that few other investments can match,” said Peter W. Anderson, CEO of CI Investments. “It allows investors and their advisors to address the unique challenges of retirement planning and tailor an investment plan that meets their needs and provides peace of mind.”
Investors can add GMWB to a list of 47 segregated funds. According to Sun Life, this includes eight new funds: SunWise Elite CI Global High Dividend Advantage Fund; SunWise Elite CI Harbor Foreign Equity Corporate Fund; SunWise Elite CI Harbor Foreign Growth & Income Corporate Fund; SunWise Elite Dynamic Global Value Fund; SunWise Elite Mackenzie Cundill Value Fund; SunWise Elite RBC O’Shaughnessy International Equity Fund; SunWise Elite RBC Canadian Dividend Fund; and Canadian bond fund SunWise Elite TD.
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AIM Trimark adds new funds, tax distribution
(April 16, 2007) AIM Trimark Investments says it is launching three funds and a tax-efficient flexible distribution series called T-FLEX.
Two of the new funds are dividend funds: the Trimark Canadian Plus Dividend Class and the Trimark Global Dividend Class. They are designed to enable investors to benefit from the consistent dividends and long-term growth of a range of international companies.
Trimark Canadian Plus’s dividend class is led by Don Simpson, co-managed by Rory Ronan and analyst Lauree Wheatley. Bruce Harrop will serve as general manager of the Trimark Global Dividend class.
The third fund offered by AIM Trimark is the Trimark Canadian Focus Class. This fund will offer investors a clearly defined portfolio of Canadian equities that limits foreign investment exposure to a maximum of 10% of non-cash assets.
The Canadian focus class is overseen by Heather Hunter, lead manager of Trimark Select’s Canadian growth fund. She is supported by analysts Erin Greenfield and Mark Uptigrove.
AIM Trimark has also launched a tax-efficient distribution add-on called T-FLEX. T-FLEX is marketed to meet the planning needs of investors who are approaching or entering retirement, enabling them to adjust their cash flow. Investors who choose T-FLEX will have a choice of three target annual distribution levels of 4%, 6% and 8% to generate a steady, tax-efficient monthly cash flow from their investment.
T-FLEX is currently available in Trimark Canadian Plus Dividend Class and Trimark Global Dividend Class. AIM Trimark says investors can switch between different T-FLEX series and from one T-FLEX series of the fund to any other fund within AIM Trimark’s corporate class structure, without any direct tax consequences.
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INVESCO introduces a short/long strategy
(April 16, 2007) INVESCO Global Structured Products Group offers three different directional long and short products, which is an investment strategy designed to help clients gain additional alpha by investing a portion of the product assets in a short position.
“These offerings are a direct response to our plan sponsors’ needs and requirements for higher alpha associated with the efficient use of capital,” said Russ Kamp, CEO of INVESCO Global Structured Products Group. “We are excited to make these strategies available to clients who are looking for enhanced alpha strategies, while maintaining the strong risk controls typically associated with our stock selection strategies.
INVESCO’s three funded strategies are the Large Cap Core Directional Long/Short strategy benchmarked against the MSCI US Index; directional long/short Small Cap Core Directional Long/Short compared to the S&P 600 index; and a directional long/short large-cap growth position, which is benchmarked against the Russell 1000 growth index.
(16/04/07)
