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(July 25, 2006) Steve Geist, former president of TD Mutual Funds, takes over as president of CIBC Asset Management, effective July 26.

In addition to his experience at TD, Geist has also held senior roles at Fidelity Investments Canada and PriceWaterhouse. Now, Geist will be responsible for the company’s overall retail mutual fund and managed solutions business, reporting to CIBC Wealth Management executive vice president, Victor Dodig.

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CIR announces research award winners

(July 25, 2006) Canadian Investment Review and Barclays have announced winners of the sixth annual Barclays Global Investors Canada Research Award.

The award and $10,000 prize is granted by a panel of judges to reward excellence in Canadian capital markets research.

This year’s winners are: Vijay Jog, Carleton University chancellor professor at the Eric Sprott School of Business; Ph.D student PengCheng Zhu; and assistant professor from the department of business administration at St. Francis Xavier University, Shantanu Dutta.

The winning paper, entitled Governance Discount and Performance of Restricted Voting Share Firms, will be published in the fall issue of Canadian Investment Review, a Rogers publication.

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CIBC completes deposit notes issue

(July 25, 2006) CIBC Asset Management has announced that is has successfully completed its Series 3 issue of the company’s FULPAY DARTS Deposit Notes.

The principal-protected notes are linked to a portfolio of two CIBC mutual funds, the CIBC Monthly Income Fund and the Talvest Millennium High Income Fund, as well as a basket of stocks and income trusts selected by manager Stephen Gerring.

The notes will pay monthly coupons equal to 100% of the portfolio’s distributions and a final variable payment at maturity, which will be based on the portfolio’s performance.

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Rice Group expands employee benefits presence

(July 25, 2006) Rice Financial Group has finalized an agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of the Alberta-based employee benefits firm, Kemp Consulting. The move is intended to expand the group’s employee benefits presence in western Canada.

“We look forward to enhancing Rice Financial’s presence in the Alberta marketplace,” says president and CEO, Mal Anderson. “It is a great opportunity.”

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Mackenzie investors asked to approve mandate changes

(July 25, 2006) A special meeting of investors in the Mackenzie Ivy Enterprise Fund and the Mackenzie Ivy Enterprise Capital Class fund is scheduled for September 25, 2006. Investors will be asked to consider proposed changes that would expand the funds’ investment objective to include investments in U.S.-based companies. The funds currently invest predominantly in the Canadian small and mid-cap market.

The company says that the changes will allow the fund manager to capitalize on last year’s elimination of foreign content limits, increase the variety of the funds and provide opportunity to invest in high-quality small and mid-sized companies in other sectors. Full details of the proposed changes will be included in information circulars to be mailed to investors.

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Pro-Financial launches guaranteed notes with Buffett ties

(July 25, 2006) Pro-Financial Asset Management has introduced a new note providing investors with indirect access to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway shares.

The Berkshire Hathaway/iShares Linked Deposit notes are guaranteed by Société Générale (Canada) if held until maturity until October 2016. Overall performance is linked to the iShares CDN Scotia Capital Universe Bond Index Fund and Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares.

Fees include a 1% structure fee plus a guarantee fee of 0.9% of the principal investment as long as the investment basket is linked to Berkshire Hathaway shares. Guarantee and structure fees drop to 0.5% and 0% respectively if managers eliminate this exposure. Front-end commissions are 4%, paid to the dealer, plus 2% paid to Pro-Financial. Annual trailer fees are 4%. Minimum investment is $2,500.

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