Goodman & Company, Investment Counsel Ltd. yesterday announced a major initiative to simplify and enhance its Dynamic Funds product line-up. The streamlining initiative includes a series of mergers, terminations and name changes among the Dynamic group of funds as well as a new mandate for one fund.
The comprehensive plan will eliminate several small funds and is expected to achieve expense ratio cost-efficiencies for securityholders by merging mutual funds with similar investment objectives. The result will be a simpler, more cost-effective product line-up.
The streamlining involves merging 12 terminating funds into its continuing fund and includes converting Dynamic Canadian Dividend Fund Ltd. from a mutual fund corporation to a mutual fund trust structure. (For a complete list of terminations, please see the attached press release.
Goodman & Co. also announces the upcoming termination of Dynamic SAMI Fund. Units of this fund are no longer available for purchase.
In addition, Goodman & Co. announced that it is seeking unitholder approval to change the investment objective of Dynamic World Convertible Debentures Fund in order that it may be relaunched as Dynamic Advantage Bond Fund. If approved, the fund’s new investment objective will be to seek to provide maximum income and capital returns from an actively managed diversified portfolio of primarily Canadian fixed income securities. The fund’s investment strategies would undergo related changes. Following the change to the investment objective, the securities held by the fund may include federal and provincial government bonds, investment grade corporate bonds, real return bonds, high yield bonds, floating rate notes and convertible debentures.
Dynamic veteran Michael McHugh will oversee the portfolio. McHugh will also draw on the expertise of manager Barry Allan of Marret Asset Management, as the fund may invest in Dynamic Canadian High Yield Bond Fund for the high yield bond component and could invest up to 49% of its assets in foreign securities. The fund will commence making distributions on a quarterly basis.
Investors in the terminating funds, DMP Canadian Value Class, and Dynamic World Convertible Debentures Fund will be asked to approve the changes to their funds described above at special meetings of securityholders to be held on or about June 22, 2006. Certain mergers will also require regulatory approval. If approved, the mergers and other changes are expected to take effect between June 24, 2006 and July 15, 2006.
Dynamic Focus+ Resource Fund is charged an annual performance fee which is calculated by comparing its performance to the performance of a benchmark (the “Performance Benchmark”). The Performance Benchmark currently used by Dynamic Focus+ Resource Fund is the FTSE World Resources Total Return Index (the “FTSE Resources Index”). Effective January 1, 2006, the FTSE Resources Index was reorganized in a manner which now focuses specifically on the oil and gas sector and was renamed the “FTSE World Oil & Gas Sub-Index”. As the FTSE Resource Index no longer reflects the broader resources sector, Goodman & Company believes it would be appropriate to change the Performance Benchmark to the Goldman Sachs Natural Resource Index in order to better reflect the more broad range of resource sector investments which may be made by the fund.
The change to the Performance Benchmark described above is subject to unitholder or regulatory approval and will be effective from Jan. 1, 2006 or such later date as may be approved. Had this change been in effect throughout the fiscal year of the fund ended June 30, 2005, the management expense ratios for Series A units would have been 2.64%.
Effective on or about June 23, 2006 each of Dynamic Income Fund and Dynamic International Value Fund will change their names to Dynamic Canadian Bond Fund and Dynamic Global Value Fund, respectively.