Mackenzie Financial Corp. today announced the launch of a currency-hedged version of Mackenzie Ivy Foreign Equity Class.

Investors now have the option of investing in two classes of shares — the new hedged and original unhedged version. The hedged version is named Mackenzie Ivy Foreign Equity Class (Hedged), while the original unhedged class retains the name Mackenzie Ivy Foreign Equity Class.

Investors who are not concerned about currency fluctuations or want to gain exposure to foreign currencies may purchase the unhedged version of Ivy Foreign Equity Class, while those who prefer to hedge their foreign currency risk may purchase the hedged version.

By investing in a combination of the two versions of Ivy Foreign Equity Class, investors may choose to hedge any or substantially all of their investment, from close to 100% to a 50/50 split, or any percentage split of their choice. In addition, investors may switch between the two classes without triggering a taxable event.

As Mackenzie makes adjustments to the hedges based on cash flows into and out of the fund and movements in the fund’s portfolio holdings, there will be circumstances, from time to time, where the level of hedging does not fully cover the hedged class’s foreign currency exposure.

The funds’ investment portfolio will continue to be managed in the same manner and by the same portfolio managers at Mackenzie. The one exception is that returns generated from the hedged classes of shares will represent the performance of the fund’s portfolio holdings plus the performance of a currency hedge. If the Canadian dollar rises relative to foreign currencies, the performance of Ivy Foreign Equity Class (Hedged) would likely be higher than that of the unhedged Ivy Foreign Equity Class, with the opposite true if the Canadian dollar falls.