Sceptre Investment Counsel Ltd. closed the initial public offering of 4 million units of Sceptre Income & High Growth Trust on Dec. 30, 2004.

The sale of the units, at a price of $10 per unit, raised $40 million. In addition, the trust granted the agents an option, exercisable for a period of 30 days, to purchase additional units of the trust in an amount of up to $6 million.

Sceptre said the net proceeds of the offering, will be invested in a broadly diversified portfolio consisting primarily of income funds and common shares of small and mid capitalization Canadian corporations listed on North American stock exchanges.

Sceptre has been retained as portfolio manager of the trust. Sceptre said it will actively manage the trust’s investments with certain portfolio managers having responsibility for each asset class and overall asset mix. Sceptre Fund Management Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sceptre, is the manager of the trust.

The units trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SZH.UN.

The trust’s investment objectives are:

  • to provide unitholders with monthly cash distributions;
  • to return at least the original issue price of units to unitholders upon termination of the trust in 2015; and
  • to provide unitholders with an opportunity for capital appreciation.

The offering was made through a syndicate of agents led by CIBC World Markets Inc. and which included TD Securities Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc., Canaccord Capital Corp., Desjardins Securities Inc., Dundee Securities Corp., First Associates Investments Inc., Raymond James Ltd. and Wellington West Capital Inc.