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The Financial Services Commission of Ontario has named Philip Howell as the new CEO and Superintendent of Financial Services for the organization, effective August 19, 2009.

Prior to the appointment, Howell served as the Deputy Minister of Economic Development for the Ontario government, and has held previous roles including Deputy Minister of Tourism.

He holds a Masters degree in economics from the London School of Economics. Howell is a former economist with the Bank of Canada, and has held various positions in the financial services sector, with a major brokerage house, the Conference Board of Canada and a chartered bank.

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Middlefield offers new fund

Middlefield has announced the addition of a new fund to its corporate class lineup. The Groppe Tactical Energy Class is available in series A and F options.

The fund will be managed by Houston, Texas-based Groppe, Long & Littell.

The fund’s investment portfolio will be comprised primarily of equity and fixed income securities of issuers that operate in or have exposure to the oil and gas industry.

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Insurance quotes on your iPhone

CompuOffice Software Inc. has created QuotesOnTap (QOT), a life insurance quotation and comparison application which can be installed on Apple’s iPhone and iTouch.

QOT is free to the owners of theses communication devices and allows users to review insurance offerings in Canada and the U.S.

In addition to providing cost comparisons of life insurance companies, QOT also provides consumers with access to the largest geographically searchable database of professional life insurance advisors who are equipped with the LifeGuide or CompeteUS life insurance and financial software.

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DC pension assets stage comeback

Overcoming the volatility of the recent global recession, British defined contribution pension plans (DC) have grown their asset base to approximately £451 bn, a level not seen since September 2008, according to a new analysis by Aon Consulting.

Aon’s DC Pension Tracker measures the total asset value of UK workers’ DC pension accounts.

In July, total assets rose by £31bn, or 6.8%, from £420bn at the end of June. The gains are largely thanks to equity markets rallies and demonstrate the volatility of UK workers’ retirement savings.

“These figures look promising as we return to asset figures roughly at the same value as they were a year ago. However, this month’s figures serve to underline the volatile nature of DC investment,” said Helen Dowsey, head of DC at Aon Consulting. “Someone retiring at the end of July may have a significantly higher projected retirement income than someone retiring a month before. These volatile conditions highlight the need for workers to pre-plan for their pension, and understand and regularly review their investments, whose value can change dramatically in a short space of time.”

(08/19/09)