Mackenzie Investments today announced that investors have approved the merger of Mackenzie Universal Future Fund into Mackenzie Universal Future Capital Class, and a change to the investment objectives of Mackenzie Universal Future Capital Class.

The change in investment objectives of Mackenzie Universal Future Capital Class will be effective November 6 and coincident with this change, the fund will be renamed Mackenzie Universal North American Growth Class. The merger will be effective November 10.

Under their previous investment objectives, the Future Funds invested mainly in Canadian equity securities in keeping with the 30% foreign content limit. The funds also had a technology investment requirement, with approximately 50% of the portfolio invested in Canadian and U.S. companies which are knowledge and service intensive, or which utilize new technologies.

Mackenzie Universal North American Growth Class will have a broader investment mandate. Its invested assets will be mainly in equity securities of North American companies across various industries, capitalizing on last year’s elimination of the foreign content limit. The fund is also no longer required to have a technology bias, giving portfolio managers greater flexibility to over- and under-weight the technology sector based on their outlook.

Ian Ainsworth will continue as the lead manager on the fund, leveraging his extensive experience in identifying solid growth opportunities and investing in leading-edge companies.

These changes give the fund’s experienced management team more flexibility in terms of sectors and a larger universe of companies from which to choose, offering investors greater diversification and opportunity. Merging the fund into the tax-efficient Capital Class structure also allows investors to transfer between funds in the Capital Class family without triggering immediate tax consequences.