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(September 19, 2006) One of the country’s largest mutual fund companies has quietly resigned from the industry association, IFIC.

“We didn’t see that belonging to IFIC had any value-add for us anymore in the context of the fees that we pay,” said Stephen MacPhail, president and COO of CI Investments. “There is not some underlying theme here. We just sat down and Bill [Holland] and I talked about it and said ‘you know we really aren’t getting our value for what we have here’.”

IFIC’s fees are not released to the public, but MacPhail says they are based on assets under management. As such, CI would have been paying among the highest fees, ranking third behind the combined business lines of IGM and RBC Asset Management.

CI reported net sales of $104 million for August 2006, raising its assets under management to $58.4 billion.

IFIC president Joanne DiLaurentiis says CI’s decision to leave didn’t come as a complete surprise. “To be fair, they signalled that they might do this.” But she adds there’s still significant senior management participation on the IFIC board. “We have primarily presidents and CEOs from across the industry and they’ve engaged in the committees we have, looking into primarily regulatory issues, but also other issues. The industry has voted [positively] on the value of IFIC to them.”

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Astley joins CPPIB board

(September 19, 2006) Robert Astley, former president of Sun Life Financial Canada, chair of the Canadian life and Health Insurance Association and current member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Laurier School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.

Directors of the CPPIB are selected by the federal government, in consultation with participating provincial governments, from a list of qualified candidates provided by a joint federal-provincial nominating committee. The nominating committee of 10 members is appointed by the federal government and each of the nine participating provinces.

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Canadian Investment Awards call for submissions

(September 19, 2006) The Canadian Investment Awards, which recognize excellence in the financial services industry, announced on Tuesday its call for submissions for the 2006 awards. Winners will be celebrated at the Canadian Investment Awards Gala on November 30.

Award winners are chosen by senior juries, analysts, independent juries, and directly by peer, investor and advisor votes, from submissions by organizations within the industry.

“An opportunity like this can really reflect the best of your organization,” says Canadian Investment Awards president, Sabine Steinbrecher. “Each year, the awards associate the winning organizations with innovation and excellence. Award winners carry with them an elevated prestige that is recognized nationwide — in the industry and by the investing public.”

Awards that are eligible for submission include Best New Initiative, Best Use of Technology, 2006 IFIC Investor Education Award, 2006 Imagine Canada Corporate Citizenship Award, 2006 Imagine Canada Socially Responsible Investment Fund Award and the Canadian Investment Marketing Awards.

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IA Clarington launches global dividend fund

(September 19, 2006) IA Clarington Investments plans to launch the Clarington Global Dividend Fund, a multi-manager fund designed to provide a combination of income and long-term capital growth through investment in a portfolio of global equity securities.

Managed by ABN AMRO Asset Management Canada and ABN AMRO Asset Management Netherlands, the fund is designed for investors with a moderate tolerance for risk and a medium- to long-term investment time horizon, seeking dividend income and capital appreciation. Managers say the fund will undertake to pay a monthly distribution and will distribute any excess income and capital gains annually in December.

Units of the fund will be available on a front-end, low-load and deferred sales-charge basis. Trailing commissions are 1%, paid annually for front-end shares, or 0.5% for deferred and low-load sales.

Redemption fees range from 5.75% in the first year and 2% in year seven of the basic redemption schedule, or 2.75% in the first year and 2.25% in year three of the low-load schedule. Management fees are 2.1% for Series A units or 1.1% for F-class shares. Minimum investment is $500.

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Ethical Funds endorses CDP annual report

(September 19, 2006) The Ethical Funds Company announced that it fully supports the Carbon Disclosure Project’s fourth annual report, released in New York this week.

The CDP Annual report contains the latest findings on the corporate risks and opportunities arising from climate changes.

“The fact that the CDP is attracting the likes of AIG, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to lend their support is a signal that the investment community is now very much alive to the impacts of climate change on shareholder value,” says Ethical Funds manager of sustainability, Jennifer Coulson. “It is necessary that investors have access to such information when making investment decisions.”

The CDP is an international initiative that works to get companies to reduce their carbon levels and greenhouse gas emissions. The project is supported by 225 institutional investors with combined assets of $31 trillion.

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