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Mackenzie Financial has hired George Morgan as senior vice-president and portfolio manager at its Mackenzie Cundill Investment Management subsidiary.

Morgan is perhaps best known for having managed the Templeton Growth Fund until his retirement in 2006. He will now manage the Mackenzie Cundill American Class and provide research coverage for North American equities and the global energy sector.

“George is an extremely tenured and talented investor; his leadership is a tremendous addition to the team,” says Peter Cundill, founder of the Cundill organization.

Before joining Franklin Templeton in 1995, he was a senior analyst and co-portfolio manager for Sun Life Investment Management.

“George is an experienced global value investor who brings many years of investment success to the Cundill team and who has had a relationship with the team, having been a member of the Cundill Investment Advisory Committee for the last two years,” says Charles R. Sims, president and CEO of Mackenzie Financial Corporation.

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Franklin Templeton launches two new funds

Franklin Templeton Investments has launched two new funds aimed at easing wary Canadian investors back into the market.

The Franklin Templeton Global Blend Fund is a global fund-of-funds, which includes holdings in Templeton Global Bond Fund, Mutual Discovery Fund and Franklin World Growth Fund. The portfolio is managed by Fiduciary Trust Company.

The Bissett Focus Balanced Fund, a North American quant fund, will invest in shares of Canadian, American and North American listed multi-national companies, along with Canadian federal, provincial and corporate bonds, and fixed income securities issued around the world.

“Many Canadians are sitting on the sidelines too fearful to get back into the markets. Unfortunately, they run the risk of missing the recovery,” said Don Reed, president and CEO of Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. “When the markets are choppy, a balanced fund that has a mix of equity and fixed income investments is a good place to start.”

Both of the new funds are available in tax-efficient corporate class and series-T options.

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Scotia builds infrastructure finance group

Scotia Capital has announced the creation of a new global infrastructure finance group, which will blend the company’s infrastructure advisory, capital markets and lending groups into a single business unit. The new group will provide finance services throughout the Americas.

The group will be led by Matt Giffen and Brian Maloney. Giffen will oversee the infrastructure advisory and capital markets team, while Maloney will be primarily responsible for the infrastructure lending team.

“The infrastructure advisory, capital markets and finance teams have always strived to improve the level of service we provide to our global clients,” said Brian Maloney, Managing Director and Co-Head, Global Infrastructure Finance, Scotia Capital. “We believe this new integrated approach to providing expertise and financing will continue to enhance our service levels.”

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RBC opens up shop in Brazil

Royal Bank of Canada has announced that it will open a new investment advisory office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, offering domestic investment advisory services.

“This marks a new era for RBC in Brazil,” said Michael Moodie, head of Americas Region, RBC Wealth Management. “We continually look for opportunities to grow in select markets where our history and brand are strong and where we can meet the needs of our clients. In Brazil, our goal is to be perceived as one of the best advisory firms in the country.”

RBC appears to be challenging Scotiabank, the dominant Canadian bank in Latin America. Last year, RBC Wealth Management opened new offices in Chile and Panama, and expanded existing operations in Mexico and Uruguay.

The Brazilian operations will be headed by José Lima, general manager, RBC Brasil DTVM.

“The long-term outlook for Brazil’s economic growth is very positive,” Lima said. “Its economy is the region’s largest, its funds industry is very developed with hundreds of billions of dollars in assets, and it has a sophisticated financial system and a stock exchange as large as the Toronto Stock Exchange.”

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Acuity closing five funds

Acuity Funds has announced the closure of three mutual funds and two corporate class mandates.

Effective January 12, 2009, Acuity Global Equity (Currency Neutral), Acuity Global High Income (Currency Neutral), Acuity Global Dividend (Currency Neutral), will cease offering units for purchase. The funds will be terminated on or about March 12, 2009.

Also effective January 12, 2009 Acuity Canadian Small Cap Class and Acuity Canadian Equity Class will be closed to new purchases. These funds will also be terminated March 12.

Investors in these five mandates will be given written notice 60 days prior to termination. They will have the option of either switching their investments to another Acuity mandate, or redeeming for cash.

(01/12/09)