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(July 6, 2007) After a flurry of private equity takeovers in recent months, retail investors will finally have the chance to access leading Canadian private equity funds, starting Friday.

Kensington Capital Partners, one of the country’s top independent private equity fund investors, announced commitments to three Canadian private equity funds led by top Canadian fund managers.

The company will work with Calgary-based TriWest Capital Partners, a Canadian middle-market buyout fund that invests in a diversified portfolio of mostly manufacturing, food processing, transportation and services businesses based in Western Canada.

They’re also dealing with Novacap Industries III, a Montreal-based Canadian middle-market buyout fund that invests in Canadian companies within traditional industries, and Novacap Technology III, a Canadian private equity fund that focuses on developed technology companies.

“We are very pleased to be announcing these fund commitments in the Canadian portion of our private equity portfolio,” said Tom Kennedy, a managing director of Kensington. “The addition of these proven performers to our funds portfolio will increase the diversification and strengthen the long-term performance of the fund. These funds are not accessible to small investors, and are difficult to invest in without a strong existing relationship.”

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Montreal Exchange improves its trading volumes

(July 6, 2007) The Montreal Exchange announced Friday that its trading volume in Q2 improved by 1.6%, reaching a total of 11.1 million contracts in the second quarter, and 23.1 million contracts in the first six months of the year. That’s a 13% improvement over the first six months of 2006.

Included in this total are 2.6 million Ten-Year Government of Canada Bond Futures contracts — 25.7% more than this time last year. Trading volumes for the CGBs increased by 40.6% in the first half of the year to total 5.1 million contracts.

The S&P Canada 60 Index Futures contract, or SXF, also had a great quarter. It increased 11.8%, reaching 894,186 contracts. In the first six months of the year, SXF trading improved by 26.2% to total 1.8 million contracts.

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Lions Capital buys Discovery Capital Management

(July 6, 2007) Discovery Capital Management is getting a new home. Lions Capital Corp. announced Friday that it is acquiring the management firm from Discovery Capital Corporation for $1 million and 30% of the performance fees received by DCMC over the next five years.

“We believe Lions’ acquisition of DCMC would benefit the shareholders of both BC Discovery Fund and BC Advantage Funds, as well as increase the amount of venture capital available to the technology industry in British Columbia,” said Frank Holler, CEO of Lions Capital. “Our due diligence to date indicates that we could achieve significant savings in overhead costs, which would decrease the expenses of both funds.”

Lions Capital delivered its offer on June 29. It still needs to be approved by Discovery Capital Corporation’s board.

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Standard Life introduces four new funds

(July 6, 2007) Standard Life Mutual Funds has been busy, launching four new funds and regrouping its fund family at the same time.

The new offerings include the Global Monthly Income Fund, which is geared toward investors who want regular monthly income through global diversification.

The company’s new Dividend Income Fund — which uses the same management style as the Standard Life Canadian and Global Dividend Growth funds — will offer higher yields and a monthly distribution.

Investors looking to diversify their dividend portfolio with exposure to the U.S. market might want to check out the Standard Life U.S. Dividend Growth Fund, or the Standard Life U.S. Equity Focus Fund. The latter offering is positioned for investors wanting to take advantage of U.S. Equity investment opportunities.

As for the changes to the company’s fund family, Michel Fortin, vice-president of marketing, retail markets, said, “We are taking the opportunity to introduce our new fund family approach, which regroups our funds into six categories. With this new approach, investors have access to a wide range of fund choices, allowing them to build a well-balanced, diversified portfolio that benefits from the most promising investment opportunities around the world.”

(07/06/07)