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The challenge has been issued. Canadian youth are being invited to join the Financial Fitness Challenge, a contest sponsored by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). The goal of the challenge is to raise awareness of how to budget, save and invest better.

Running from Feb. 15 to April 15, 2010, the bilingual contest is open to Canadians between the ages of 15 and 21, with a quiz featuring financial literacy questions and facts. Thirteen entries (one from each province and territory) will be randomly selected from eligible participants to win a notebook computer and a national grand prize winner will be awarded $2,000.

The contest itself is centered around an interactive website — www.financialfitnesschallenge.ca — which features online activities where participants can compete with their friends or with other youth at a local and national level. The site is also linked to a Facebook page where young Canadians can exchange ideas and tips about managing money.

“It’s important for youth to learn about money matters, especially those between the ages of 15 and 21, who are about to start earning money and making some of their own financial decisions,” said Jean St-Gelais, chair of the CSA and president and chief executive officer of the Autorité des marches financiers (Quebec). “The Financial Fitness Challenge is a great way to engage youth in financial education.”

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CIBC completes 2 million ‘Financial HealthChecks’

It never hurts to go for a check-up. Just ask the 2 million CIBC clients who have completed the CIBC Financial HealthCheck program.

The service helps Canadians determine where they are now and where they want to be when it comes to their financial health. Then, with the help of their advisor, they work through specific scenarios based on what’s important to them, like paying down their mortgage or saving for their child’s education.

“We’re very pleased that our advisors have been able to help more than 2 million clients better prepare for their future since we launched the CIBC Financial HealthCheck in 2005,” said Victor Dodig, executive vice-president, CIBC Retail Markets. “Our clients can sit down with a CIBC advisor at any one of our branches across the country for a valuable conversation designed to help them set and achieve their financial goals.”

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Atkinson wins award

Howard Atkinson, the president of Horizons Exchange Traded Funds (Horizons ETFs), has been awarded the Top Educator award (Le Mérite du représentant pedagogue) at the organization’s 10th anniversary gala in Montreal.

The award recognizes Atkinson for his work as an author and educator in financial literacy by ACTIF, Quebec’s premier financial education co-operative.

“Education is a lifelong process. I believe every new evolution in this industry is an opportunity to learn and educate others,” Atkinson said. “This award is gratifying personally, but it really belongs to a dedicated group of ETF pioneers, including the Horizons ETFs team, all of whom have worked hard to help Canadians better understand investing. For us, an educated investor is an empowered investor who makes better decisions, which can only benefit the investment industry.”

As president of Horizons ETFs, Atkinson has developed Horizons ETF University, a full-day course to educate advisors on exchange traded funds, from the history of ETFs to more complex trading strategies. As well, he authored the core content for the Canadian Securities Institute’s ETF course, which launched in January of 2010.

Atkinson also wrote the first book devoted entirely to exchange traded funds, The New Investment Frontier: A Guide to Exchange Traded Funds for Canadians, along with three subsequent books.

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BNY acquires CIBC Mellon’s corporate trust business

Bank of New York is doubling its share of the corporate trust market in Canada by taking over that business segment of CIBC Mellon.

The move will expand BNY’s role in servicing domestic and cross-border debt issuances, structured credit and securitizations, government stimulus programs and public private partnership transactions.

BNY expects the acquisition to close by the end of the first quarter and is subject to regulatory approvals.

Upon completion of the deal, BNY Mellon will service approximately $300 billion in outstanding debt with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. It will offer clients a range of new services, such as cross-border issuer services, administration outsourcing, portfolio analytics and document custody.

“This transaction enhances our leadership position and presence in Canada and demonstrates our strong commitment to growing our corporate trust business globally,” said Scott Posner, chief executive officer of BNY Mellon Corporate Trust. “Our focus will be on continuing to provide the high quality service that clients have come to expect from CIBC Mellon while offering them a broader set of services that meet their growing and evolving needs.”

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Arrow closing High Yield Fund

Arrow Hedge Partners has announced that the Arrow High Yield Fund will close on June 30th or a target asset level of $500 million. The fund is advised by Barry Allan of Marrett Asset Management Inc.

“We have determined that it is in the best interest of our investors to cap the fund at the target of $500 million,” says Mark Purdy, managing director and chief investment officer of Arrow Hedge Partners Inc. “Over the past two-years the fund has grown about 40%, within this capacity target we are confident that we can continue to produce solid risk adjusted returns.”

According to Arrow, the target of $500 million is much larger than any of the other retail credit hedge funds in Canada and the strategy itself is not being closed.

(02/17/10)