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(April 10, 2008) The Autorité des marchés financiers has approved TSX Group’s takeover of the Montréal Exchange.

“Following our analysis of the Montréal Exchange applications and discussions with TSX Group, we are satisfied with the undertakings we have been given and the expected benefits from the combination,” said AMF president and CEO Jean St-Gelais.

St-Gelais also noted that the many public consultations were instrumental in helping AMF to make a decision.

But there are conditions. For instance, any material change in the ownership, structure or activities of MX would be subject to AMF’s review.

The Canadian Competition Bureau also completed its assessment Wednesday and is allowing the merger to proceed. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission already granted its approval for rule changes to permit the proposed combination relating to MX’s ownership stake in the Boston Options Exchange.

Now, only one regulatory approval remains — the Ontario Securities Commission.

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Sprott files IPO prospectus

(April 10, 2008) Fans of Sprott Asset Management have another way to invest with the company — ownership. A prospectus for Sprott Inc. was filed today with each of the provinces and territories in Canada for an initial public offering.

The IPO will be made through a syndicate of underwriters co-led by Cormark Securities and TD Securities. Other underwriters will include CIBC World Markets, RBC Dominion Securities, Scotia Capital Inc, BMO Nesbitt Burns, GMP Securities, Canaccord Capital Corporation, National Bank Financial, Jennings Capital, Paradigm Capital and Clarus Securities.

Immediately prior to the closing of the IPO, Sprott Inc. will acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Sprott Asset Management. Currently Sprott Asset Management is a leading independent asset manager with approximately $6.9 billion in assets under management.

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Accountants, IR groups team up for online reporting

(April 10, 2008) Canada’s chartered accountants and investor relations specialists have teamed up to author a new publication that offers guidance to companies in developing effective investor relations sections for their web sites.

The discussion brief titled Financial and Business Reporting on the Internet is a joint publication from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) and the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI). It offers practical guidance for the content and organization of an online investor relations section.

The groups say the need for guidance in online investor relations is necessary since many from investors, analysts and others have become accustomed to using company web sites to obtain the information they need. CIRI and CICA say business and financial reporting information contained on a web site must be relevant, current, complete, clear and well-organized.

“The Internet has become widely acknowledged as a key medium for communicating business and financial information,” says Chris Hicks, principal, knowledge development, at CICA. “The Internet offers a clear opportunity for companies to enhance their reporting to investors and other stakeholders. A well-planned and managed investor relations section of a web site can play a key role in communicating a company’s value proposition for investors.”

The CICA added electronic disclosure to the judging mix for its Corporate Reporting Awards in 2001. It was an evolving area of corporate reporting at the time and is now commonplace. CIRI is one of the judging groups for the awards. The discussion brief can be found on the CICA and CIRI websites.

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Dynamic’s Sehgal wins North American hedge fund award

(April 10, 2008) The Dynamic Power Hedge Fund, managed by Rohit Sehgal, was named best event-driven hedge fund at the first North American Lipper Hedge Fund Awards on Wednesday evening.

Lipper selected the Dynamic Power Hedge Fund ahead of 101 competitor funds in North America within the Event-Driven category because it achieved the highest Lipper Leader rating for consistent (or effective) return value within its classification.

“Since joining Goodman & Company in 1998, Rohit has been able to achieve phenomenal success,” says David Goodman, president and CEO, DundeeWealth. “Rohit has been raising the bar for growth managers in Canada for more than 35 years. Under his leadership, we are setting new standards for investment excellence in Canada and around the world.”

Sehgal’s Dynamic Power Hedge Fund is the top performing fund in the three- and five-year time periods ending February 29, 2008, within Morningstar Canada’s PALTrak universe of funds, DundeeWealth says. It has also achieved top spots in Bloomberg Markets Magazine‘s best non-U.S. funds lists in 2006 and 2007 (second and fourth place respectively).

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RRSP season should be all year: IFIC

(April 10, 2008) RRSP season ended almost two months ago, but the Investment Fund Institute of Canada says its time for clients to start thinking about their future contributions.

IFIC says year-round investing is generally easier and offers more financial benefits over the long term than an annual lump-sum solution made at the last minute.

IFIC advocates Canadians invest as frequently as they can and do so earlier so thier money has a longer period to accumulate. This is particularly true with savings vehicles such as RRSPs.

“Mutual funds offer access to investing for all types of people, including those who prefer to invest small amounts at regular intervals,” says Joanne De Laurentiis, CEO of IFIC. “That is one of the key values of mutual funds, along with professional portfolio management and risk management through diversification.”

Investing year-round has other advantages, mainly through the principle of dollar-cost averaging, IFIC notes. In dollar-cost averaging, when prices are lower, the investment will buy more units, and when prices are high, the investment will buy fewer units. Investing year-round helps reduce the average cost per unit, translating into a higher return over the long run.

IFIC says investors can easily set up pre-authorized monthly, bimonthly or quarterly contributions to their RRSPs through their employer, advisor, bank or credit union.

(04/10/08)