Executives from AIM Trimark Investments, CI Financial, Dynamic Mutual Funds, TD Mutual Funds and Burgundy Asset Management took center stage frequently to claim their trophies at the Canadian Investment Awards held in Toronto last night.
This year’s theme – long-term investing – didn’t permeate the ceremony as obviously as previous years’ themes, but it seemed important for other reasons because the judges’ criteria included a minimum of three years of experience required to recognize the fund.
Fund manager Kim Shannon received the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year award for her success with Canadian mutual fund CI, which saw returns of 18.1% in one year, 11.7% in five years and 13.3% in ten years, all results valid from October 31. Morningstar Canada president Scott Mackenzie emphasized the theme of long-term investing while describing Shannon’s long history. “He is not the best-performing manager over the last twelve months,” he said.
CI Financial also received the Advisors’ Choice Award for Best Mutual Fund Company of the Year and the US Equity Pooled Fund Award for its American Value Fund.
Ned Goodman, CEO of Dundee Wealth Managementmen, received the Career Achievement Award and other indirect awards. Dundee is the parent company of Dynamic Funds, which has won the Analysts’ Choice Fund Company Award, the Financial Services Equity Fund Award for the Focus+ Wealth Management Fund, the High Yield Bond Fund Award for the Canadian High Yield Bond Fund, and the Real Estate Equity Fund Award for the Focus+ Real Estate fund.
TD Mutual Funds won the Canadian Income Award for its Canadian Bond Fund, the Canadian Dividend Fund Award for its Dividend Growth Fund, the Canadian Income Balanced Fund Award for its Monthly Income Fund, and the Canadian Short Term Bond and Mortgage Fund Award for its Short Term Bond Fund .
Burgundy Asset Management won four pooled fund categories, including the Canadian Balanced Pooled Fund Award for its Partners Balanced RSP Fund, the Canadian Equity Pooled Fund Award for its Canadian Equity Fund, the Canadian Small-Cap Pooled Fund Award for its Canadian Small Fund Cap and the Global Equity Pooled Fund Award for its Partners Global Fund.
Aim Trimark collected five awards: the European Equity Fund Award for the Trimark Europlus Fund, the Global Balanced & Asset Allocation Fund Award for the Trimark Global Balanced Fund, the US Small and Mid Cap Equity Fund Aware Award for the Trimark US Small Companies Class Fund, the best new initiative award for the Floating Rate Income Fund and the marketing award.
Although most of the winners’ speeches consisted of short words of thanks, several winners emphasized the role of funds and fund managers. “We are the shepherds of your money. We understand that,” said the director of TD Mutual Fund.
To streamline the ceremony, organizers limited the number and length of speeches. “We always value brevity and wit,” Mackenzie said. Organizers also reduced the total number of categories to 50, a net reduction of one from 2004, but actually dropped several additional categories, replacing all but one with new additions such as pooled fund prizes.
Organizers plan to present the 2006 Awards earlier in November and may maintain a long-term investment theme. In the meantime, further changes in prize categories may be driven by forces at work in the financial sector, including the post-election treatment of income trusts (present in some fund portfolios, including some of the winners), the as-yet-unclear total capital impact of protected bonds, and whether insurance companies will succeed in their plans making segregated funds a more popular choice for baby boomers looking to guarantee their holdings.
(12/01/05)
