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(December 2, 2008) Ted Rogers, founder and CEO of Rogers Communications (which owns Advisor.ca) died last night at his home in Toronto. He was 75.

“Ted Rogers was one of a kind who built this company from one FM radio station into Canada’s largest wireless, cable and media company. A leader also in giving to the community through his and Loretta’s many philanthropic initiatives. He will be sadly missed,” said Alan Horn, chairman of Rogers Communications and acting CEO.

Rogers vice-chairman Phil Lind worked with Rogers for nearly 40 years. “Our sincerest condolences to Loretta, the children and the grandchildren. He will be missed by so many. Though Ted was relentless in business and building this company over the years, he was also very much a family man. His impact on family, community and country was as impressive as his business success,” Lind said.

Rogers suffered from congestive heart failure and saw his health weaken over the past few years.

Rogers’s successor as CEO will be addressed by the Rogers Communications Inc. board of directors.

Advisor.ca staff wish to offer their sincere condolences to the Rogers family.

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Manulife posts a loss, boosts reserves

(December 2, 2008) Manulife Financial is beefing up its capital reserves, after the insurance giant announced its first ever quarterly loss, totalling $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter.

“We are disappointed with this poor performance,” said Manulife CEO Dominic D’Alessandro. “It is primarily due to the unprecedented decline in worldwide equity markets, which for the 11 months ended November 30, 2008, are down by 33% in Canada, 39% in the U.S. and by an average of 45% in Asia.”

D’Alessandro pointed out that the fundamentals of the company remain solid.

The company will issue $2.125 billion in common equity, with $1.125 billion being sold as a private placement to eight existing institutional investors, at $19.40 per share. The remaining $1 billion will be sold as a bought-deal public offering. The move will raise the company’s consolidated capital ratio to about 235%.

“This issue of common shares, along with the renegotiated credit facilities, will noticeably bolster our already strong capital position,” said D’Alessandro. “These transactions provide us with the flexibility to absorb the accounting impact of future volatility in financial markets and, as importantly, will allow us to take advantage of acquisition opportunities that are emerging out of the current industry environment.”

He went on to say that the increase in reserves reflected the extremely conservative view that the market downturn was permanent. Assuming the markets eventually recover, the reserves would be released into income.

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Tax credits key to boosting charitable giving: Survey

(December 2, 2008) As the end of the year approaches, many clients may be making charitable contributions, motivated by either the holiday spirit or the tax credits that donations generate. This year the economic downturn has made these donations more important than ever, at a time when Canadians may be paring back their expenses.

A recent survey conducted by TD Bank Financial Group for Children’s Miracle Network found four key factors that would encourage Canadians to give more.

Forty-five percent of Canadians said they would donate more if the government were to offer more generous tax credits.

The survey found that people were also more likely to contribute to charity if they better understood the need — 32% said that a sense of financial urgency would lead them to donate more.

Trust was a motivating factor in giving, with 28% saying they would be more likely to make a donation if they were asked by someone they trusted, be that a friend, a family member, a celebrity or an established institution.

Only 7% said they would be more likely to contribute if it were more convenient, but the survey found that this was of greater importance to younger respondents — 13% of those between 18 and 34 years of age said convenience was a factor.

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Jovian fund to become ETF

(December 2, 2008) Investors have approved the transformation of the Jov Talisman Fund to an actively managed ETF. If the plan receives regulatory approval, the fund will be listed on the TSX in January as the Horizons AlphaPro S&P/TSX 60 ETF.

“We are excited to launch one of the first actively managed ETFs in Canada, the next step in this rapidly growing industry,” said Adam Felesky, CEO, JovFunds and BetaPro Management Inc.

The fundamental investment objective of the fund is to seek to achieve long-term capital growth by investing primarily in large capitalization equity, income trust and equity-related securities that are constituents of the S&P/TSX 60 Index(R) or similar Canadian indexes.

Series A, F and I units will be converted into Class E units of the fund at a market value exchange ratio determined on the trading day before the launch of Class E units.

(12/02/08)