Unitholders of several Desjardins mutual funds have approved mergers and other changes to the funds that were proposed by the Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec earlier this year.

At a special meeting on Tuesday, unitholders of Desjardins Alternative Investments Fund approved a change the fund’s name and investment objective. The fund will change its name to Desjardins Completion Investments Fund, and its new investment objective is to provide both income and long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily, either directly or by investing in units of other mutual funds, in fixed-income securities and income-oriented equity securities of issuers located throughout the world. The fund aims to provide investors with improved diversification by focusing on asset classes that complement a portfolio made up of traditional asset classes.

Desjardins expects the changes to this fund to be implemented on March 18, 2010.

Several fund mergers were also approved by unitholders on Tuesday:

• Unitholders of Desjardins Northwest Specialty Global High Yield Bond Fund approved the previously announced proposal to merge the fund with Desjardins Alternative Investments Fund

• Unitholders of Desjardins Enhanced Alternative Investments Fund approved the proposal to merge the fund with Desjardins Alternative Investments Fund

• Unitholders of Desjardins Northwest Specialty Equity Fund approved the proposal to merge the fund with Desjardins Canadian Small Cap Equity Fund

• Unitholders of Desjardins Fidelity True North Fund and Desjardins Canadian Equity Fund approved the proposal to merge these two funds together. Desjardins Canadian Equity Fund, the continuing fund, will change its name to Desjardins Canadian Equity Growth Fund

The mergers are subject to regulatory approval. Desjardins expects the mergers to be complete on May 7, 2010.

IE