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(July 18, 2006) IFIC has announced that it will sponsor a new category in the Canadian Investment Awards that recognizes excellence in investor education.

The award will be given to an investment fund manager, dealer or integrated firm that has produced an exceptional educational initiative aimed at investors. The five person judging panel includes securities lawyer and industry commentator Glorianne Stromberg, investor educator Terri Williams and Gary Rabbior, president of the Canadian Federation for Economic Education.

“We believe that providing investors with understandable, relevant, accurate and accessible education is essential to informed investment choices, says Joanne De Laurentiis, IFIC’s president and CEO.

Entries can be submitted to the CIA website at www.investmentawards.com between August 1 and October 16, 2006. The award will be presented on November 30 at the 12th Annual Canadian Investment Awards Gala.

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Institutional investor confidence slips

(July 18, 2006) The latest investor confidence numbers reported by State Street Global Markets shows confidence among North American and European institutional investors declining while confidence among Asian managers rose slightly during the month of June.

Overall, the State Street Investor Confidence Index that measures investor confidence on a quantitative basis by analyzing actual buying and selling patterns, shows confidence slipped 6.2 points during the month. The index is based on financial theory that assigns meaning to chances in investor risk sentiment, or the willingness of investors to hold proportionally more or less of their portfolio in equities.

“Over the last several months, investor confidence has rebounded off new lows set early in the year, but this is a long way from saying that confidence is strong,” says State Street’s research partner, Harvard processor, Ken Froot. “Professional investors seem to have taken the opportunity in the last month, as markets became relatively less turbulent, to take risk away from their portfolios. The selling has not been dramatic, but it is a reminded that an improvement in sentiment alone is unlikely to reverse the decline in equity prices we have seen this year.”

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First child benefit cheques to be mailed this month

(July 18, 2006) The federal government’s initial batch of Universal Child Care Benefit cheques are currently being printed, and will likely be received by eligible families before the end of July, according to Human Resources and Social Development Minister Diane Finley.

Under a plan announced in the federal budget, families will receive $100 per month for each child under the age of six.

Critics have complained that the amounts involved are much too small to cover child care expenses, but members of parliament say it’s simply a matter of giving Canadians more choice.

“When it comes to child care, the best role for the government is to trust parents and let them choose what’s right for their children,” says Halton MP Garth Turner. “Families in Ontario will be able to use the Universal Child Care Benefit to help their children as they see fit.”

More than 90% of Canadian parents who are already registered for the Canada Child Tax Benefit will automatically receive the cheques. Parents who register after July 2006 will be eligible to receive retroactive payments for up to 11 months.

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