Briefly:

(June 18, 2004) AGF Management has appointed economist David Hale to the board of directors of their mutual fund corporations. Hale — founder of Chicago-based Hale Advisors — will also serve as a governor of AGF’s mutual fund trusts.

Before launching his own firm, Hale was global chief economist at Zurich Financial Services Group.

“David brings a strong global perspective and insight to our mutual fund boards,” said AGF president Blake Goldring. “As part of AGF’s ongoing commitment to responsible fund governance, we look forward to welcoming this pre-eminent economist to our boards.”

AGF’s trust governors provide independent advice to the trustee while the fund corporation’s directors represent shareholders.

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RBC vows to “make it right” on glitch

(June 18, 2004) RBC Financial Group has established a formal process to review claims for costs or losses suffered by clients as a result of a massive processing disruption earlier this month.

“I want to thank those who were inconvenienced for their patience and understanding, and once again offer them my sincere apology,” said Gordon Nixon, president and CEO of RBC Financial Group.

The bank has set about correcting service charges, fees and overdraft interest that RBC clients may have been charged as a result of the breakdown, which affected thousands of RBC clients, and expects the process to be complete by the end of the month. After June 30, if clients see a charge due to the processing disruption that has not been corrected, they should contact their branch, business centre or call 1-800-ROYAL 1-1 (1-800-769-2511).

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CI unveils new linked notes

(June 17, 2004) CI Mutual Funds and Skylon Advisors have unveiled a new linked note product, tied to the performance of seven CI and Synergy mutual funds.

“Fulpay Plus CI Funds-Linked Deposit Notes take the guesswork out of investing by locking in the best cumulative performance each year out of a diverse portfolio of leading CI funds,” said David R. McBain, Skylon president and CEO. “This unique structure gives investors the potential to be in the right fund at the right time, year after year.”

CI says the seven-year term notes — issued by CIBC and available for a minimum investment of $5,000 — provide principal protection while locking in the returns of a top-performing mutual fund every year.

The notes are linked to the performance of CI Global Fund, CI International Value Fund, CI Value Trust Sector Fund, Synergy Canadian Momentum Class, CI Canadian Investment Fund, Signature Dividend Fund and CI Canadian Bond Fund.

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Older Canadians favouring self-employment

(June 17, 2004) Self-employment is a rapidly growing career option for Canadians 55 years and older, a CIBC small-business study suggests. The survey predicts that 100,000 Canadians will choose to go the start-up route over the next five years.

CIBC says older Canadians currently represent about 15% of total start-up businesses, up from 11% in 1990. “This trend reflects not only an aging society, but also increased tendency toward early retirement,” the study states. “The affordability and availability of technology enables older Canadians to provide consulting services from home.”

More than 25,000 small businesses were created in the 2001-2003 period. Science, health and financial services were the most popular sectors for new entrepreneurs.

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AGF expands high net worth operations

(June 16, 2004) AGF Management has announced plans to acquire Vancouver-based Cypress Capital Management, its second takeover of a high net worth firm this year.

Cypress, a private client investment counseling firm, manages $2 billion in assets. Terms of the friendly cash and stock takeover were not released.

“Cypress is one of the leading private client investment firms in Vancouver, which gives us access to an important market and specialized expertise,” said AGF president Blake Goldring.

Earlier this year, AGF acquired P.J. Doherty & Associates and now has offices serving retail and institutional high net worth clients in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

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IDA appoints Porter as new chair

(June 16, 2004) Brian Porter of Scotia Capital has been appointed to a one-year term as chair of the IDA. He replaces Kym Anthony of National Bank Financial. The appointment was announced this week at the IDA’s annual conference in Mont Tremblant, Quebec.

Porter says his priorities for the coming year include enhancing investor confidence and reforming regulation. “The current system is costly and inefficient,” Porter said in a speech. “Reform of the current structure is of fundamental importance to every Canadian.”

However, Porter stopped short of endorsing any of the reform proposals currently being discussed, such as a single national regulator or the passport system. “The final choice will be a political decision and we will work with any chosen model, provided it is practical and is a significant move forward for stakeholders.”

Porter says he will also push to get the IDA officially recognized as a self-regulatory organization in Quebec and will work with the Ontario Securities Commission to develop the fair dealing model.

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Majorica launches new pooled funds

(June 16, 2004) Fixed income specialist Majorica Asset Management has launched two new pooled funds: the Majorica Bond Fund and the Majorica Short-Term Income Fund.

Majorica was founded last year by Robert Marcus, former head of fixed income at Altamira. Marcus will manage the new Majorica funds, along with Edward Jong, who also comes from Altamira.

Despite expectations of rising interest rates, Marcus believes this is a good time to invest in bond funds. “Transparent monetary policy by central banks has already caused 10-year yields to move significantly higher, prior to any change in the administered rates,” he says.

The new funds are available through dealers and planners or directly from Toronto-based Majorica.

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(06/16/04)