Briefly:

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(July 16, 2007) Mackenzie Financial has named Ian Ainsworth as interim chief investment officer effective immediately. He will also continue to serve as lead manager of Mackenzie Universal North American Growth Class.

Ainsworth succeeds Peter Dawkins, who has been CIO since 2003, and who Mackenzie says is “leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.”

Mackenzie says the change in the C-suite does not affect the day to day management of funds, and that all existing portfolio managers and investment team leaders remain in place.

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Feds guarantee private mortgage insurer

(July 16, 2007) The federal government has extended a guarantee on mortgages insured by PMI Canada, providing capital relief for up to 90% of the company’s conforming mortgage insurance obligations.

“The government guarantee allows PMI Canada policyholders that are federally regulated financial institutions to receive regulatory capital relief under current capital standards administered by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions,” the company said in a statement.

PMI Canada is the local subsidiary of California-based PMI Group. The company describes its service as offering “loan-level primary mortgage insurance for residential mortgages and portfolio insurance applied to pools of mortgage loans.”

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CIBC, CI team up once again

(July 16, 2007) CIBC and CI Investments have announced the launch of a ninth series of their CIBC CI M.A.X. Deposit Notes, which offer global diversification through exposure to the CI Global High Dividend Advantage Fund.

Like previous series, Series 9 offers distributions through a return of capital structure, allowing tax-deferral. Based on the offering price, the notes will provide a monthly distribution of 5.2% per annum.

The notes are also structured to allow up to 200% exposure to the underlying investment. The issue price is $100 per deposit note, with a minimum investment of $5,000.

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New alternative market launched

(July 16, 2007) An American-based technology firm has unveiled the latest entrant into the Canadian alternative market space, with MATCH Now. The system can either passively match orders, or process them through another public marketplace, such as the TSX itself.

“MATCH Now offers Canadian dealers and their clients a new method for matching equity orders with complete confidentiality while helping to ensure best execution,” said Wendy Rudd, CEO of TriAct Canada Marketplace, the Canadian subsidiary of Investment Technology Group. “As the Canadian marketplace continues to evolve, customers are seeking alternative liquidity destinations to efficiently meet their trading needs.”

The company describes MATCH Now as broker-neutral, as TriAct does not participate as agent or principal in any trade. TSX Datalinx will distribute MATCH Now market data, and the system will connect to LinxPointOne, TSX Datalinx’s data distribution product.

(07/16/07)