Fund firms celebrate Lipper awards

Champagne, applause and crystal trophies were the order of business Wednesday night, as the mutual fund industry turned out in force for the 2008 Lipper Awards gala in Toronto.

Lipper hands out awards within each fund category for the best risk-adjusted returns over a one-year, three-year, five-year and ten-year term. That translates to more than 100 individual awards.

Dynamic Funds led the pack, picking up 19 individual fund awards, plus the title for Best Equity Fund Family, based on risk-adjusted performance within the equity asset class category over the three-year period ending December 31, 2007.

“This year’s distinction emphasizes our portfolio management team’s ability to outperform its peers in a range of market environments,” said David Whyte, president, Goodman & Company. “With our industry-leading talent and a half-century of experience under our belts, we are uniquely positioned to help investors grow their wealth.”

Fidelity Investments Canada ranked highly, walking away with seven individual fund awards.

“We are very honoured to be recognized by Lipper for providing our clients with consistently strong risk-adjusted performance across a number of investment categories and time periods,” said Rob Strickland, president, Fidelity Investments Canada. “These awards show the tremendous resources and experience that Fidelity offers as a global investment manager.”

RBC was named Best Overall Fund Group for the second year running, based on the firm’s risk-adjusted performance over a three-year time period. RBC also won four individual fund awards.

“We’re delighted to receive this recognition of our fund performance for the second year in a row,” said George Lewis, CEO of RBC Asset Management. “Not only do we have strong three-year performance, but more than 80% of our clients’ assets are held in RBC Funds that are in the top two quartiles of investment performance over one-, three-, five- and ten-year time periods.”

CIBC Asset Management earned four individual awards, including three one-year performance nods to its Renaissance brand.

“We are delighted by this recognition, as it confirms the consistent performance and strong results these funds offer investors,” said Steve Geist, president of CIBC Asset Management.

Filed by Steven Lamb, Advisor.ca, steven.lamb@advisor.rogers.com