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(July 24, 2006) Guardian Group of Funds has announced the launch of GGOF Solutions, a new asset-allocation program with five different portfolios to match the investor’s risk tolerance. The program’s offerings include income, conservative, balanced, growth and aggressive growth portfolios.

“GGOF Solutions is a tremendously simple product for advisors to explain and position with clients,” said John Boeckh, senior vice-president, marketing, GGOF. “It allows them to segment their service delivery, ensuring that all clients receive high-quality service, while freeing advisor time for growing their business.”

GGOF Solutions also provides an Investor Profile Questionnaire and an Investment Policy Statement as a permanent record of the client investment strategy.

Minimum investment for the program is $500 and it carries no additional fees above those charged by the underlying funds. The portfolios hold between five and nine underlying funds.

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CFA Institute calls for long-term thinking

(July 24, 2006) The short-term focus of many investors is impairing the long-term performance of many corporations, according to the CFA Centre for Financial Market Integrity and the Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics.

The two organizations have issued a joint report calling CEOs, asset managers and investors to think further into the future and for businesses to reform their practices involving earnings guidance, compensation and communications to investors.

“The obsession with short-term results • • • leads to the unintended consequences of destroying long-term value, which decreases market efficiency, reduces investment returns, and impedes efforts to strengthen corporate governance,” the report says. “Our broad set of recommendations — focused on the issuer, analyst, institutional investor, and asset and hedge-fund manager communities — could mitigate the current overemphasis on short-term performance.”

The report calls on companies to reconsider their participation in the “earnings guidance game” and to base executive compensation on long-term performance. It also recommends more detailed communications on long-term corporate strategy, increased investor education on the risks of short-term thinking, and a general shift in focus to long-term value creation.

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RBC sets up London small-cap shop

(July 24, 2006) RBC Capital Markets is forming a team that will focus on London’s smaller quoted companies on the Official List and the Alternative Investment Market. The firm says there is a growing number of Canadian companies, especially in the resource sector, that are listing in the UK on AIM.

“In addition to those choosing AIM as their primary listing, a substantial number of non-UK listed companies, notably from Australia and North America, are looking to AIM as a secondary listing,” said Doug McGregor, global head of investment banking at RBC in Toronto. “This level of activity, combined with recent changes to strengthen the AIM regulatory environment, make this a timely and natural move for us.”

The London team will provide corporate finance, sales, research and market-making services to a client base that includes resource, energy and technology companies. The group will be led by Andrew Smith, formerly of Collins Stewart. RBC Capital Markets is also in the process of seeking approval as a nominated advisor.

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National Bank sets up farm committee

(July 24, 2006) National Bank has created a new advisory committee focused on the agriculture and agri-food sectors, made up of producers, business owners and managers from the Bank.

“The new committee represents both the agriculture and agri-food sectors in Quebec and Ontario and provides the Bank with a concrete means to develop financial solutions suited to the needs of the sectors’ small and medium-sized enterprises,” explained Yvan Beaudin, senior manager, commercial banking, agriculture and agri-food at National Bank. “Furthermore, the bank, with over 8,600 clients whose interests will be driving the committee’s mission, wants to consolidate its position in this industry.”

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