Briefly:

(May 14, 2004) Transamerica Life Canada has announced “enhancements” to its ProtectorPlus permanent life insurance, including lower premiums and guaranteed cash values. The plan can also be converted to universal life if clients want to add tax-sheltered investments.

“In most cases, if clients can no longer afford the premiums on a T-100 policy it will simply lapse,” says Joe Kordovi, assistant vice-president and pricing actuary for life product development and marketing at Transamerica. “By contrast, ProtectorPlus clients who select the Life-Pay option can stop paying premiums any time after the 20th year and use their accumulated cash value to buy a lower amount of paid-up insurance coverage for life.”

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M&A activity picks up pace

(May 13, 2004) Canadian merger and acquisition activity was strong in the first three months of 2004, according to Crosbie & Company’s quarterly report. Total value of the 203 deals made topped $23.5 billion, up from $20.4 billion in the previous quarter.

The size of deals remained relatively small, with only four transactions valued at more than $1 billion. These “mega-deals” made up $8.0 billion or 34% of the total value of the merger and acquisition market. Generally mega-deals account for between 45% and 68%.

There were 100 cross-border deals made, valued at $13.8 billion, with Canadians out-buying Americans by a 2 to 1 ratio. This is partially due to the increased strength in the Canadian dollar. The strongest industries included energy and real estate, as income trusts sought new properties.

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CGA association praises proposed accounting merger

(May 12, 2004) The president and CEO of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada is hailing the proposed merger of two other accounting groups as positive for Canada’s business community.

“While its outcome is still up in the air, these merger talks could reduce some of the perceived confusion in the marketplace,” says Ariganello. “The business community could have a better, clearer choice when it comes to selecting accounting and financial services.”

It was announced yesterday that the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Certified Management Accountants of Canada were discussing a merger. (Click here to read yesterday’s story about the merger.)

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Loring Ward releases first-quarter results

(May 12, 2004) Loring Ward International has announced quarterly results, showing a slight increase in revenues to $17.6 million from $17.5 million in the same quarter last year. This marks the first full quarter since the firm was spun off from Assante in November.

Net earnings increased by $3.1 million. The company is still considering the timing of a public offering, which CEO Martin Weinberg says will be listed in the United States.

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Black to leave Maritime Life

(May 11, 2004) Maritime Life president Bill Black is leaving his post in the wake of the firm’s takeover by Manulife Financial. Maritime was a subsidiary of Boston-based John Hancock Financial Services, purchased by Manulife last year.

Since last September, Black also headed Manulife’s group and pension business, overseeing the integration of the two firms.

“Today’s announcement follows Manulife’s recent decision to base the [Manulife] executive position in the company’s office in Waterloo, Ontario,” the two companies said in a release.

Black spent 34 years at Halifax-based Maritime Life, the last nine as president and CEO.

“I wish both my long-time colleagues at Maritime Life and new colleagues at Manulife every success in their endeavours,” Black said in a statement. “And I will do whatever I can to ensure a smooth transition to the incoming leader.”

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CBID offers bond prices online

(May 11, 2004) CBID Markets today introduced a new free Web site that provides previously hard-to-find pricing information on the Canadian bond market.

The www.cbidmarkets.com site provides intra-day pricing on government treasury bills, benchmark Canadian bonds, as well as selected provincial and corporate bonds.

“The launch of www.cbidmarkets.com significantly raises the bar for bond market transparency in Canada,” says CBID president Laurence Rose. “CBID’s prices represent actual firm bids and offers and not just indicative levels. This is a unique opportunity for investors seeking Canadian bond market pricing data.”

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Power Financial reports higher quarterly profits

(May 11, 2004) Power Financial today reported sharply higher quarterly profits and revenues. The financial services firm earned $339 million in the first quarter of the year — up 34% from last year — on revenues of $5.8 billion, a $1 billion boost from 2003.

The company said its results reflected a strong increase in operating earnings in Power’s subsidiaries, which include Investors Group, Mackenzie Financial and Great-West Life.

Power also announced a two-for-one share split, to be voted on by shareholders in July. The stock was trading at $53.59 on Tuesday afternoon in Toronto.

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One Signature introduces new closed-end trust

(May 11, 2004) One Signature Management today announced the introduction of its first closed-end trust offering, the One Signature Capital Appreciation Trust.

Company officials say the trust brings a new concept to the Canadian financial marketplace: “non-recourse” investment leverage.

“Under the trust’s ‘non-recourse’ loan facility, the trust, not the investor is responsible for the repayment of the loan,” says One Signature president Chris Coderre. “In other words, the trust is the one that borrows the money from the bank and the investor benefits from the leveraged portfolio returns, without any individual financial obligation to pay the loan back.”

The Toronto-based firm has received a commitment for a $100 million loan facility from the Bank of Montreal. The trust will use that in combination with the net proceeds of the initial offering — scheduled to close at the end of the month — to invest in a diverse portfolio of securities, managed by MFC Global Investment Management.

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Investors Group closes IPC deal

(May 11, 2004) IGM Financial — the parent company of Investors Group and Mackenzie Financial — has closed a deal to acquire a majority stake in financial planning firm IPC Financial Network.

IGM paid $71 million in cash plus 735,000 IGM shares for a total cost of $95 million for 75% of IPC.

IPC CEO Steve Meehan and president Chris Reynolds each hold 7.7% of IPC while advisors and other managers own 9.9%.

IPC will be operated as a separate entity and will be managed by its current leadership team, IGM Financial says.

“IPC provides our company with an expanded presence in the financial planning market and an additional avenue for growth over time,” said IGM Financial president Jeff Orr.

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OSC to conduct on-site fund manager reviews

(May 10, 2004) The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is set to begin the final phase of its investigation into the mutual fund industry and will conduct on-site fund manager reviews over the next few months.

As many as 15 fund managers could be targeted, the regulator said in a release today. “We’re following up on preliminary indicators identified in the first two phases of our inquiry,” said OSC chair David Brown. “We’re seeing things that may be explainable — but obviously we need to examine them closely to determine what they mean.”

Once phase three is complete, the commission will take any regulatory action necessary, including enforcement, to reaffirm investors’ trust in the fund industry, Brown added.

The reviews will be conducted over the next few months, with the participation of both the IDA and the MFDA. The OSC began its fund probe last year following a series of scandals in the U.S. involving market timing and late trading.

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Underwriting activity still strong, says IDA

(May 10, 2004) Stock market activity continued on a robust pace in the first quarter, with equity issues totalling nearly $10 billion, the IDA says, the best first quarter since 2000.

“Fuelling the quarter were a strong economy, still low interest rates, strong corporate earnings and a more bullish retail investor sentiment,” the IDA said its quarterly review of equity new issues and trading.

Though down from the previous quarter, income trusts attracted $4 billion in Q1, about 40% of equity financings. Common equity issuance totalled $5.2 billion, down 26% from the last quarter but up 174% from the same period last year.

Common equity initial public offerings totalled $770 million with 41 new deals. The TSX posted another record trading quarter, with volume reaching 24.6 billion shares.

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AIMR changes name to CFA Institute

(May 10, 2004) The professional association that administers the chartered financial analyst (CFA) designation has a new name. Members of the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR) have voted overwhelmingly in favour of changing the organization’s name to the CFA Institute.

The change was announced Sunday night at AIMR’s annual meeting in Denver, Colorado, receiving 86% member support.

“The CFA name commands great respect in the investment world, even among people who have never heard of AIMR,” said outgoing AIMR president Thomas Bowman. “Everything we do is built on the foundation, knowledge, ethics and standards embodied in the CFA program.”

Jeffrey Diermeir, former chief investment officer at UBS Global Asset Management, will become AIMR’s new president when Bowman steps down at the end of the year.

The CFA Institute also elected Monique Gravel of CIBC Wood Gundy in Montreal as its new chair. “I have the unique opportunity of stepping into this role at a critical juncture,” she said. “The synergies that will come with aligning the CFA brand with the organization’s name are significant and will make our efforts to set the highest ethical standards within the global investment community that much more prominent.”

Members also voted to increase to four years from three years the minimum amount of work experience that investment professionals must have before being awarded the CFA charter.

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(05/10/04)