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(January 29, 2008) It’s a good day to be a Goodman. Morningstar Canada has announced that Goodman Institutional Investments, a division of Dundee Wealth Management, has the largest collection of five-star-rated pooled funds.

Out of 13 pooled funds offered by Goodman, eight had the top rating, with seven of those being the institutional versions of Dynamic retail funds.

Desjardins Financial Security lands in second place, with five of its 33 pooled funds scoring a five-star rating, while Acuity Investment Management has the third-highest total, with four top-rated pools.

Out of 984 funds that were in Morningstar’s pooled fund database as of December 31, 2007, 69% had a Morningstar star rating. The five-star accolades were bestowed on 69 funds, while 43 had a one-star rating.

Morningstar revealed that the best pooled fund performer in 2007 was the GE Asset Management India Equity, which returned 61.1%. It was also the 10th best overall performer in 2006, with a 45.6% return.

The second best performing pooled fund last year was the Goodman U.S. Equity Growth Currency Neutral, with a 51.6% return. Morningstar says that “this was easily the best return in the U.S. Equity category, with the only other double-digit return coming from that same fund’s unhedged version, Goodman U.S. Equity Growth, which was up 33.3%.”

The other 110 funds in the category had returns ranging from 6.2% (for another Goodman fund) to a loss of 25.2% (for Kingwest U.S. Equity Portfolio).

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RBC, Manulife offer deposit notes

(January 29, 2008) Royal Bank of Canada and Manulife Financial have teamed up to launch a series of principal protected deposit notes with exposure to a blend of global and domestic markets.

RBC Manulife Investments Global Balanced Plus Deposit Notes provide investors with returns based on Mawer World Investment Fund, Manulife Strategic Income Fund and Manulife Canadian Core Fund.

The notes are being positioned as a solution for clients who have been rattled by recent market volatility but whose financial plans dictate that they really should stay in the market.

The notes are available in three formats, spanning six series. Series 1 and 4 are designed as yield-bearing instruments, with monthly payments equal to an annualized rate of 5.04% of the initial investment.

Series 2 and 5 are structured as return of capital notes, with the same monthly payout of 5.04% annualized. Series 3 and 6 are total return notes, which offer no payout. Series 1 through 3 are available until February 15, 2008, while series 4 through 6 are on sale until April 4, 2008.

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CIBC changes pool advisor

(January 29, 2008) CIBC Asset Management has changed the sub-advisor of the Imperial U.S. Equity Pool, dropping AllianceBernstein Canada in favour of Aletheia Research and Management, effective April 1, 2008.

“Aletheia has demonstrated an ability to surpass both their benchmark and their peer group on a regular basis, landing them at the top of the list of large-cap growth managers in the United States,” said Steve Geist, president of CIBC Asset Management. “We are confident their unique process will further enhance the overall composition of the Imperial U.S. Equity Pool and its long-term performance potential.”

At the same time, the bank is seeking investor approval to change the investment objective of the Imperial Canadian Dividend Pool. The new objective, if approved, would be “to generate income and potential capital growth by investing primarily in Canadian income-generating equity securities and debt securities.”

The current objective is “to maximize dividend income in a manner consistent with capital preservation.”

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CC&L to merge Global Financials funds

(January 29, 2008) Connor, Clark & Lunn has announced that investors in its Global Financials Fund and Global Financials Fund II have approved a plan to merge the two funds.

Both funds have similar underlying portfolios, with New Star Asset Management Limited serving as investment manager. Global Financials Fund II will be the continuing fund. The merger is expected to be effective on February 4, 2008.

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Russell names two new managers

(January 29, 2008) Russell Investments Canada has named two new investment managers to the Russell Global Equity Pool, while also announcing it would drop Altrinsic Global Advisors from the pool.

One of the incoming firms is Chicago-based Harris Associates, L.P., a value-oriented firm that describes its process as focusing “primarily on free cash flow and company management, rather than on more traditional measures of value such as low price-to-earnings or low price-to-book ratios.”

Also new to the pool is McKinley Capital Management, a self-described bottom-up growth manager that focuses on qualitative data, based out of Anchorage, Alaska.

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Lawrence offers India fund

(January 29, 2008) Lawrence Asset Management has launched the Lawrence India Fund, an open-ended long/short equity fund. The fund may also invest in debt securities based in the sub-continent.

Lawrence has partnered with Reliance Asset Management, Singapore, to provide research, investment strategy advice and recommendations.

“Given India’s current economic trajectory and favourable demographics, it is projected to be one of the largest economies in the world within 25 years and will play a significantly larger role in global capital markets,” said Ravi Sood, president and COO of Lawrence Asset Management Inc. “We think now is the ideal time for Canadian investors to allocate a portion of their investment portfolio to the Indian equity markets.”

Lawrence is perhaps best known for its closed-end funds (HI PAYS, HI PREFS and TOROS), but it also operates three open-ended funds, aside from the new Indian fund.

(01/29/08)