Shannon, Goodman honoured at investment awards

Executives of AIM Trimark Investments, CI Financial, Dynamic Mutual Funds, TD Mutual Funds and Burgundy Asset Management made frequent trips to centre stage for their trophies at the Canadian Investment Awards Gala held last evening in Toronto.

This year’s theme — long-term investing — did not permeate the ceremony as obviously as themes in other years but loomed large in other ways, since judges’ criteria included a three-year track record as a minimum for consideration of a fund.

Fund manager Kim Shannon received the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year Award for her success with CI’s Canadian Investment Fund which posted 18.1% one-year return, 11.7% five year return, and 13.3% ten year return, all effective October 31. Morningstar Canada president Scott Mackenzie underscored the long-term investing theme by outlining Shannon’s lengthy record. “This is not the highest-performing manager over the last twelve months,” he said.

CI Financial also received the Advisors’ Choice Favourite Investment Fund Company of the Year Award and US Equity Pooled Fund Award for its American Value Fund.

Ned Goodman, Chief Executive Officer of Dundee Wealth Managemen, received the Career Achievement Award and indirectly received other awards. Dundee is the parent company of Dynamic Funds, which picked up the Analysts’ Choice Fund Company Award, the Financial Services Equity Fund Award for its Focus+ Wealth Management Fund, the High Yield Bond Fund Award for its Canadian High Yield Bond Fund, and the Real Estate Equity Fund Award for its Focus+ Real Estate Fund.

TD Mutual Funds won the Canadian Income Award for its Canadian Bond Fund, the Canadian Dividend Fund Award for its Dividend Growth Fund, the Canadian Income Balanced Fund Award for its Monthly Income Fund and the Canadian Short Term Bond and Mortgage Fund Award for its Short Term Bond Fund.

Burgundy Asset Management won in four pooled fund categories including Canadian Balanced Pooled Fund Award for its Partners Balanced RSP Fund, the Canadian Equity Pooled Fund Award for its Canadian Equity Fund, the Canadian Small-Cap Pooled Fund Award for its Canadian Small Cap Fund and the Global Equity Pooled Fund Award for its Partners Global Fund.

Aim Trimark collected five awards: the European Equity Fund Award for its Trimark Europlus Fund, the Global Balanced & Asset Allocation Fund Award for its Trimark Global Balanced Fund, the US Small and Mid Cap Equity Fund Aware for its Trimark US Small Companies Class Fund, the Best New Initiative Award for its Floating Rate Income Fund and a marketing award.

While most winners’ speeches consisted of brief expressions of thanks, several recipients underscored the role of funds and fund managers. “We are shepherds of your money. We understand that,” said a TD Mutual Fund executive.

To streamline the ceremony, organizers restricted the number and length of speeches. “Brevity and wit are always appreciated,” Mackenzie said. Organizers also reduced the total number of categories to 50, a net reduction of one compared with 2004 but actually dropped several more categories, replacing all but one with new additions such as the pooled fund awards.

Organizers plan to hold the 2006 Awards earlier in November and may retain the long-term investing theme. In the meantime, further changes to award categories could be driven by forces at work in the financial sector, including post-election treatment of income trusts (present in some fund portfolios including some winners), the as-yet unclear total impact of principal-protected notes, and whether insurance companies succeed in plans to make segregated funds a more popular choice for baby boomers anxious to guarantee their holdings.

(12/01/05)

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.