Toronto-based CC&L Funds Inc. said Thursday it is launching CC&L Global Alpha Fund, a mutual fund offered by prospectus and distributed to investors through IIROC dealers.
Focused on companies with market capitalizations of less than $5 billion that operate in developed markets, the fund is managed by Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd., an affiliate manager within the Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group.
Based in Montreal, the team has a long track record in successfully managing global small cap equity portfolios, including over five years together at Global Alpha.
CC&L says the global small cap market has several attractive attributes for Canadian investors. For example, it offers a superior historical risk-adjusted return profile relative to either global large cap or emerging market equities.
In addition, CC&L says the market is a good offset to Canadian equities, with a significant exposure to the consumer, health care, industrial and technology sectors, which are under represented in Canadian equity markets.
Global small cap are also an attractive opportunity for active management, with over 4,200 stocks, and no ‘must own’ benchmark considerations, CC&L says.
Though new to the public fund market, the fund does have $180 million in existing client assets. It is available in A and F Class units.
CC&L says the new fund builds on the firm’s retail strategy of bringing to market investment strategies in under-represented asset classes, both long-only and alternative, that can enhance the overall risk return profile for traditional investor portfolios.