Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. today announced that Norshield Asset Management Ltd., the current investment advisor of the Multi-Strategy Fund and the Global Trading Fund, will be replaced by Lyxor Asset Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Société Générale.

As a result, the investment of the Multi-Strategy Fund made in preferred shares of Olympus Univest Ltd. and the investment of the Global Trading Fund made in preferred shares of Univest Diversified Fund I Ltd. will both be replaced with an investment in Class B shares of the MSCI Hedge Invest Lyxor Tracker Fund Ltd.

This new investment will be composed of approximately 125 underlying funds that reflect the entire spectrum of various alternative investment strategies.

Industrial Alliance says this change will allow investors to benefit from maximum diversification and take advantage of the expertise of multiple fund managers.

The MSCI Hedge Invest Lyxor Tracker Fund Ltd. is managed by Lyxor Asset Management, a subsidiary of Société Générale, one of the largest financial institutions in the world. Lyxor Asset Management manages over $60 billion (Cdn.) in assets, making it one of the most important players in the hedge fund market.

The Multi-Strategy Fund is a segregated hedge fund offered by Industrial Alliance and its subsidiary, Industrial Alliance Pacific Life Insurance Co., in the scope of the Alternative Investment Strategy product, as well as by The National Life Assurance Company of Canada, another subsidiary that was recently integrated with Industrial Alliance, in the scope of the Alternative Investment Strategy II product.

The Global Trading Fund is a segregated hedge fund offered by The National Life Assurance Co, of Canada in the scope of the Alternative Investment Strategy II product. Clients of National Life also had the option of investing in these two funds indirectly through the means of a Flex Account universal life insurance policy.