Briefly:

Previous Brieflies this week: | MON | TUE | WED | THU |

(August 20, 2007) Muslim investors who want their investments to reflect their faith have a new option, as frontierAlt has announced the launch of Canada’s first Shari’ah-compliant income fund, the frontierAlt Oasis Global Income Fund.

Adhering to Islamic law can be difficult for income managers because the religion prohibits the collection of interest on debts, so earnings from such securities must be purged from the income stream.

There is, however, an Islamic equivalent to a bond, called sukuk, in which the fund will be permitted to invest. Sukuk is a Shari’ah-compliant proportionate or undivided ownership interest in a designated asset/service or a pool of assets/services. Investors receive a form of income from the underlying assets or services.

“As Canada’s first Shari’ah-compliant income fund and the first to invest in sukuk, this is a unique investment product in the Canadian market,” said Asif Khan, president and CEO, frontierAlt Oasis Funds Management. “We believe this fund is an excellent income alternative for Muslim investors and provides an opportunity for all Canadian investors to participate in this growing investment category.”

The fund pays a monthly distribution and will disburse any excess income and capital gains annually in December.

• • •

AGF launches global dividend fund

(August 20, 2007) AGF Funds has announced the addition of the AGF Global Dividend Fund to its lineup of global equity funds. The fund will be managed by senior vice-president Stephen Way, who also manages the AGF Global Equity Class and AGF World Companies Fund.

“Advisors told us they wanted a global dividend fund from AGF to build more global diversification and reduce volatility in their clients’ portfolios,” says Randy Ambrosie, president of AGF Funds. “Our new AGF Global Dividend Fund is an attractive alternative for Canadians who are living longer and will need a balance of income and capital growth investments to sustain their lifestyles throughout their retirement.”

The fund’s mandate is described as seeking “long-term total returns” without significant sector or geographic concentration. AGF describes Way’s investment philosophy as “conservative growth.”

AGF also announced this morning that it is offering Series V and T options on many funds, which would provide investors with tax-deferral benefits and monthly cash payouts targeted at 5% and 8% annually, respectively.

The Series V option will be available on the following funds: AGF Global Dividend, AGF Canadian Balanced, AGF Canadian Large Cap Dividend, AGF Canadian Real Value Balanced, AGF Canadian Stock, AGF International Value, AGF World Balanced, AGF Elements Balanced Portfolio and AGF Elements Growth Portfolio.

Series T will be available on AGF Canadian Large Cap Dividend, AGF Canadian Stock, AGF International Value, AGF World Balanced and AGF Elements Growth Portfolio.

• • •

Dynamic launches new series of RetirementEdge

(August 20, 2007) Dynamic Funds has announced the launch of Series 3 Dynamic RetirementEdge Income Portfolios, which offer three options for income payments.

The Current Pay option will provide investors with a monthly distribution immediately and matures October 14, 2022. The Deferred 5 Notes will begin to pay distributions in their sixth year and mature October 15, 2027, while the Deferred 10 Notes offer monthly distributions starting in year 11, maturing October 15, 2032.

All three options provide an annualized distribution of 6.6%, based on the original deposit amount and adjusted for inflation. The notes will be available until Friday, October 12, 2007, and will be issued by Bank of Montreal on or about October 17, 2007.

The notes invest in seven Dynamic mutual funds: Dynamic Value Fund of Canada, Dynamic Advantage Bond, Dynamic Global Dividend Value, Dynamic Global Value, Dynamic Dividend, Dynamic Global Discovery and Dynamic Power Canadian Growth.

• • •

CCL fund divides unit classes

(August 20, 2007) Connor, Clark & Lunn Capital Markets has announced the separation of Class A combined units and Class F combined units of its Focused Global Trends Fund.

Each Class A combined unit will trade separately as one Class A unit and one-half of a transferable warrant for one Class A unit. Each whole warrant for one Class A unit entitles the holder to purchase one Class A unit at a subscription price of $10.25 on January 30, 2009, or July 30, 2010.

Each Class F combined unit of the fund will now be separately transferable as one Class F unit and one-half of a transferable warrant for one Class F unit. Each whole warrant for one Class F unit entitles the holder to purchase one Class F unit at a subscription price of $10.25 on January 30, 2009, or July 30, 2010.

Warrants for Class A units or Class F units may be exercised only on the two dates specified. Warrants for Class A units or Class F units not exercised by July 30, 2010, will be void and of no value.

• • •

Franklin Templeton to merge funds

(August 20, 2007) Franklin Templeton Investments announced late on Friday that it had received unitholder approval for the merger of several health- and biotech-focused funds into the Franklin Flex Cap Growth Corporate Class, managed by Conrad Hermann.

The affected funds include Franklin World Health Sciences and Biotech Fund, Franklin World Health Sciences and Biotech Corporate Class, and Franklin Technology Corporate Class.

The merger will be effective as of the close of business on August 24, 2007.

(08/20/07)