Briefly:

Previous Brieflies this week: | MON | TUE | WED | THURS |

(January 26, 2007) Performins Canada and PanFinancial Insurance Agencies announced Thursday that the board of directors of both companies have unanimously agreed to a purchase and sale agreement that will see PanFinancial Insurance Agencies’ MGA operations become part of the Performins Canada Group of Companies.

Performins’ strategic plan is to complete the consolidation of 10 MGAs across Canada over the next two years. PanFinancial’s MGA operations is the fifth MGA to become part of the Performins group.

“PanFinancial Insurance Agencies is well known in the MGA community and has a fine reputation for working in the affluent and advanced markets delivering WealthCare solutions in the high net worth/high income entrepreneurial marketplace. Their expertise and commitment to excellence can only help strengthen our organization,” says Bruce Hammond, CEO of Performins Canada.

Hammond said that his company will continue the PanFinancial Insurance Agencies brand. “We admire the ‘high end’ reputation of PanFinancial. It certainly makes this merger a sound decision,” he said.

Gordon Berger, president, and Bob Kirk, vice-president of PanFinancial, have agreed to continue with their Wealth Creator Team as part of the Performins group.

• • •

Western regulators warn of investment scheme

(January 26, 2007) The British Columbia Securities Commission and the Alberta Securities Commission are warning investors about a scheme being offered at free, public investment seminars.

Participants in these seminars are told about extraordinary investment returns with references to moving money offshore and Canadian tax avoidance — “red flags” that regulators typically warn investors about. While the BCSC and ASC said they are not in a position to reveal the names behind this scheme, they strongly encourage investors to be on their guard for potentially shady investment advice.

Seminar attendees are told that for a fee they can join an organization that allows them to learn about and access a system to become “portfolio account managers.” With this knowledge and system access, they can then restructure their assets through a variety of methods, using precious metals, consumer debt or capital markets, environmental projects and international mutual funds.

According to reports, under this scheme, the fee paid buys members a one-year probation period with the organization, allowing them in that time to restructure their own assets, refer other people into the organization or introduce a new business opportunity to the group.

Apparently, the seminar presenters are careful to stress that they are selling only memberships into their organization and not securities because they do not want to run afoul of regulators.

There’s still concern, however, because members are almost always required to purchase securities. They are then enticed by promises of tax avoidance to move funds offshore. Regulators warn of increased risk when money is moved offshore because reclaiming it is difficult, if not impossible, should something go wrong.

The ASC has reports that investors in Western Canada and the United States are being targeted. Seminars have already been held in Kelowna, B.C.

“The BCSC and the ASC hope this alert will encourage investors to stop and think twice before making what could be an unsuitable investment,” says ASC executive director David Linder.

• • •

BCSC considers real-estate exchange

(January 26, 2007) Global Financial Group reports that the British Columbia Securities Commission has published the proposed recognition order to acknowledge its subsidiary egX Canada as an exchange under the B.C. Securities Act.

BCSC commissioners will consider the proposal to allow egX to function as a real-estate securities exchange in March 2007. Upon receipt of a recognition order, the company will seek the go-ahead from the other securities regulatory authorities in Canada to operate egX as a national exchange.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the shareholders that have stood by us patiently and supported the company through the years of development and hard work to create the egX, the world’s first real-estate securities exchange,” said Leo Chamberland, CEO of Global Financial Group. “We share with you our excitement as we cross this major milestone in the establishment of our first marketplace under egX Canada.”

Global said that although real estate represents the largest asset class in the world, it currently makes up only about 2% of the market capitalization of existing Canadian exchanges.

• • •

Pro-Financial to create Canadian funds for FTSE RAFI Index

(January 26, 2007) FTSE Group has licensed Canadian-based Pro-Financial Asset Management to launch a range of mutual funds for Canadian investors based on the FTSE RAFI Index series.

The licence allows Pro-Financial to create the first mutual funds on several of FTSE’s fundamentally weighted indexes. Combining the fundamental methodology created by Research Affiliates and FTSE’s indexing skills, Pro-Financial believes the FTSE RAFI Indexes provide a powerful new approach to measuring the performance of global equities.

The company said the FTSE RAFI Canada Index has outperformed the S&P/TSX 60 Composite by 187.23% over a 10-year period, while the FTSE RAFI US Index has outperformed the S&P 500 by 98.44% over the same period.

The new mutual funds, now available for purchase, are the PRO FTSE RAFI Canadian Index Fund, the PRO FTSE RAFI U.S. Index Fund, the PRO FTSE RAFI Global Index Fund and the PRO FTSE RAFI Hong Kong China Index Fund.

“We are proud to have Pro-Financial Asset Management as a partner and are delighted that they have selected the FTSE RAFI Index series as the basis for their newest mutual funds,” said Jerry Moskowitz, president of FTSE Americas. This is an exciting opportunity for the Canadian marketplace and offers another option for investors to diversify their portfolios with a non-market-capitalization weighted fund.

• • •

WIN names new executive vice-president

(January 26, 2007) Robert Morden has been named the executive vice-president of Worldsource Insurance Network Inc.

A twenty-year veteran of the financial services industry, Morden was most recently associated with Manulife Financial as vice-president, independent advisors, Western Canada, where he oversaw a team of professionals in the distribution of insurance, investment and mutual fund products and services.

“Bob is a well-known individual in the Canadian insurance and investment industries. He has a proven track record of leading and inspiring successful sales teams and adding value to financial intermediaries — independent advisors, brokers, dealers, IDA firms and MGAs,” said Bob Trowbridge, president of WIN.

• • •

(01/26/07)