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(August 2, 2007) On Thursday, ING Canada announced that Groupe Cloutier and Worldsource Financial Management will provide ING Wealth Management advisors and property and causality insurance brokers access to their mutual fund products and distribution services. Derek Iles, president of ING Insurance, thinks the companies can help ING by providing specialized support and broad product choices. “These organizations are well-established financial services companies, focused on the distribution of mutual funds and life insurance,” he says. The Worldsource agreement applies only to advisors in Ontario, Alberta and B.C.. The Groupe Cloutier agreement applies only to Quebec advisors.

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New boss takes over at Canaccord Capital

(August 2, 2007) Canaccord Capital has a new boss. Paul Reynolds, a 22-year veteran with the company, has taken over as CEO, a position previously held by Peter Brown, who retains his role as chairman. Brown, who’s been Canaccord’s CEO for 15 years, says his role now is to represent the interests of the business’s internal and external shareholders, while still lending support to Reynolds and his team. “This is a young and dynamic team that shares the goals and values upon which we’ve built Canaccord.” The investment dealer’s new CEO joined the company in 1985 and has held a variety of positions since then. In 2005 he was appointed vice-chair and global head of capital markets; most recently, he held the post of CEO at Canaccord Adams Limited. According to the company’s website, Reynolds has been “integral to the development of Canaccord’s business in Europe and a primary contributor in positioning Canaccord as a leader in small- to medium-sized European equity markets.”

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CFA Institute gives refunds to Indian CFA candidates

(August 2, 2007) CFA Institute announced it will refund more than $2.3 million US to CFA candidates from India who chose not to appear for the June 2007 examinations either in India or at a test centre outside of India, due to the refusal by a national education regulator to approve the CFA program operations in the country.

In May the All India Council for Technical Education concluded that CFA Institute needed its approval to conduct the Chartered Financial Analyst Program in India and ordered it to cease all CFA Program operations in India.

On May 31, 2007, the Delhi High Court announced that it would allow the CFA Institute to conduct the CFA exams in India on June 3 as scheduled, but by that time, many Indian CFA candidates had already chosen not to appear for the exam or decided to travel outside the country to sit for it.

More than 3,200 CFA candidates will receive a total refund of their examination fees for choosing not to sit for the exam, and more than 600 candidates will receive a partial refund of their examination fees for travelling outside of India to take the exam. Additional refunds will be provided to those candidates who had purchased the CFA examination curriculum or CFA Program sample exams.

“We thank all candidates for their continued patience as we continue to advocate for the ability of investment professionals in India to take the CFA exams in the country,” says Jeff Diermeier, CFA and CEO of the CFA Institute.

Diermeier is nonetheless concerned, as he says India is handicapping its investment industry by not supporting the CFA Institute.

“This situation has put many Indian investors at a disadvantage, causing thousands of CFA candidates in India to delay their goal of obtaining the CFA charter from CFA Institute. Because the CFA designation is recognized worldwide as a gold standard, this situation also affects an employer’s ability to demonstrate to clients, investors and competitors that it can hire highly qualified employees.”

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Credit-swaps force Canadian hedge fund to suspend new buyers

(August 2, 2007) Friedberg Mercantile Group Ltd. announced Thursday that it is suspending new subscriptions of its Friedberg Global Macro Hedge Fund because of “the high volatility of markets.” Units will continue to be redeemable during this period.

FMGL says the fund has taken aggressive positions in credit-default swaps to take advantage of the anticipated serious liquidity contraction/credit crunch in the U.S., which is likely to have wide global repercussions. However, FMGL says that with the recent high degree of volatility in credit derivatives and the extreme difficulty in faithfully replicating the position of over-the-counter traded credit-default swaps the fund currently maintains, any substantial inflow of subscriptions is likely to dilute existing investors.

As a result, Friedberg Mercantile Group will temporarily close the fund to new subscriptions. It will review this decision on an ongoing basis with a view to reopening the fund to new investors as soon as is appropriate.

(08/02/07)