AIC introduces new income fund

Burlington, Ont.-based AIC Ltd. has launched AIC Preferred Income Fund, which will allow investors to tap the preferred-share market. The fund offers investors less volatility, reduced risk, tax efficiency and an income stream of 5% annually, paid on a monthly basis. The fund invests primarily in preferred shares of Canadian companies, royalty and income trusts, and fixed-income securities; it may also invest in common shares of Canadian companies. The investment objective of AIC Preferred Income Fund is to generate a steady stream of income and achieve capital preservation. Lead manager of the fund is Randy LeClair, senior vice president and portfolio manager with AIC. Advisor commissions are 0%-6% for front-end sales, 5% for deferred sales or 3% for the low-load option. Redemption fees begin at 6% in Year 1 and end at zero after Year 6 for the regular DSC schedule, or begin at 3% in the first 18 months and end at zero after 36 months for the low-load option. Trailing commissions are 1% for front-end sales, 0.5% for deferred sales, and zero in Year 1, 0.75% in years 2 and 3 and 1% thereafter for the low-load option. Management fees are 2% for A-class units and 1% for F-class units. Minimum initial investment is $250, with a minimum of $50 for subsequent investments.

Fund changes at AGF

Toronto-based AGF Funds Inc. has made several product and fund management changes designed to meet the evolving needs of risk-averse investors. AGF Canadian Conservative Income Fund has been renamed AGF Canadian Conservative Inflation Managed Income Fund; its investment strategy now calls for at least half the fund’s assets under management to be invested in aggregate floating-rate and inflation-linked bonds. The change will help the fund’s managers deal with inflation when interest rates rise, AGF Funds says. AGF will continue as portfolio manager. The asset mix for AGF World Balanced Fund has moved to a more conservative 70%/30% equities/fixed-income weighting from the previous 90%/10% weighting. The fixed-income component of the fund will be invested primarily in investment-grade government and corporate bonds, but may also be invested in emerging-markets debt and high-yield bonds. AGF will continue as portfolio manager, with AGF International Advisors Co. Ltd. as portfolio advisor. London, Ont.-based Highstreet Asset Management Inc. has replaced Florida-based INTECH Investment Management LLC as portfolio manager for AGF U.S. Risk Managed Class and AGF U.S. Risk Managed Fund. Singapore-based AGF Asset Management Asia Ltd. has replaced Tokyo-based Nomura Asset Management as portfolio advisor for AGF China Focus Class, AGF Japan Class and AGF Japan Fund. AGF will remain portfolio manager for these funds.

New advisor for Brandes

Toronto-based Brandes Investment Partners & Co., manager of Brandes Sionna Canadian Equity Fund, has announced it has added Toronto-based Brandes Investment Partners LP as an additional portfolio advisor to Brandes Sionna Canadian Equity Fund. The fund’s investment strategy has also changed, with the fund moving from holding units of Brandes Global Equity Fund for the foreign-content portion of the fund to holding global securities directly. The changes will allow Toronto-based Sionna Investment Managers and Brandes more flexibility on the portfolio management side, Brandes Investment Partners & Co. says.

Dynamic Funds drops minimum

Toronto-based Dynamic Funds Ltd., an affiliate of DundeeWealth Inc. of Toronto, has reduced the minimum amount required to make an initial investment in its DynamicEdge Portfolios. The minimum has been reduced to $5,000 from $10,000, making the portfolio solution eligible for tax-free savings account contributions. The DynamicEdge Portfolios provide one-stop access to a diversified portfolio of Dynamic mutual funds. Four DynamicEdge Portfolios are available in a corporate-class and trust structure and are eligible for both registered and non-registered accounts.

MD Funds revamps portfolio management

Ottawa-based MD Funds Management Inc. has shuffled the management deck at MD Dividend Fund, MD Select Fund and MD American Growth Fund. Toronto-based MFC Global Asset Management, the asset-management division of Manulife Financial Corp., has been appointed lead portfolio manager for MD Dividend Fund. Highstreet Asset Management Inc. has been appointed portfolio manager for the large-cap Canadian equities portion of MD Select Fund. MD American Growth Fund has removed a portfolio manager and will reallocate the fund’s assets among the remaining three managers: New York-based New Amsterdam Partners LLC, Illinois-based Calamos Advisors LLC and Massachusetts-based Westfield Capital Management Company LLC.

@page_break@Compiled by Clare O’Hara (cohara@investmentexecutive.com).