On The Shelf:

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(September 2, 2008) Manulife Mutual Funds has announced several changes to its simplified prospectus, including merging some funds, launching others and providing new payout options to investors.

Under the changes, the Manulife Global Opportunities Class and the Manulife Strategic Income Fund will be combined to create the Manulife Global Opportunities Balanced Fund. The fund will carry an equity allocation of 60% to 80%.

The firm will make the Manulife Global Natural Resources Fund available to retail investors. The fund was launched in August 2007 for institutional clients.

Manulife has also tinkered with its Simplicity Portfolios, adding four new funds: Manulife Canadian Fixed Income Fund (sub-advised by Addenda Capital); Manulife Canadian Large Cap Growth Fund (Greystone Managed Investments); Manulife Canadian Equity Value Fund (Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management); and Manulife U.S. Diversified Growth Fund (Wellington Management).

Manulife has also launched Elite T Series for its high-net-worth clients, reducing management fees and providing tax-efficient income. Series T and Elite T Series funds will now allow customizable monthly cash flow, up to each fund’s maximum rate of 6% or 8%.

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AGF launches retirement notes

(September 2, 2008) AGF Funds has launched the Bank of Montreal AGF Elements RetirePlus Notes Series 1, which are designed to provide cash flow with inflation protection and tax-deferral benefits.

The notes offer investors potential tax advantages, unlimited growth potential based on the returns from the AGF Elements Portfolios and automatic reallocation to a progressively more conservative portfolio.

There are two separate notes available, one that matures in 15 years, which begins monthly payouts to investors immediately, and one with a 20-year term, which provides a five-year window of growth before payments begin. The 15-year note matures October 6, 2023, while the 20-year note matures October 6, 2028.

Both notes start with a high initial allocation to equities, with the 15-year starting at 80%, and the 20-year at 100%.

The notes are available until October 3, 2008.

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IG fund merger gets green light

(September 2, 2008) Investors Group has received unitholder approval for the merger of three funds into three similar mandates.

The IG FI U.S. Equity Fund/Class will be merged into IG AGF U.S. Growth Fund/Class, while the IG FI Global Equity Fund/Class will be merged into Investors Global Fund/Class and the IG Templeton World Allocation Fund will be merged into Investors Tactical Asset Allocation Fund.

Investors Group has already obtained regulatory approval for the mergers, which are now expected to be finalized on September 5, 2008.

As a result of the mergers, adjustments will also be made to the composition of the Allegro Conservative and Allegro Moderate Conservative Portfolios, which hold positions in some of the affected funds.

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New fund of hedge funds to launch

(September 2, 2008) Star Hedge Managers Corp. has obtained a receipt for the final prospectus for the initial public offering of units.

The fund will invest in a portfolio of private investment funds or portfolios managed by Rohit Sehgal of Dynamic Funds, Eric Sprott of Sprott Asset Management Inc. and Normand Lamarche of Front Street Investment Management Inc.

The fund units will be priced at $10 each, with a minimum investment of $1,000. The offering closes September 29, 2008, and has a maximum issue size of $500 million.

(09/02/08)