Calgary-based Middlefield Group and Bridgehouse Asset Managers, the retail trade name for Toronto-based Brandes Investment Partners & Co., say they have received approval from unitholders to proceed with two previously announced fund conversions and a fund merger.
Unitholders of Middlefield Healthcare & Life Sciences Dividend Fund (TSX: LS.UN) and REIT INDEXPLUS Income Fund (TSX:IDR.UN) have approved proposed conversions of the closed-end funds into ETFs, Calgary-based Middlefield Group announced Monday.
The company expects the conversions to occur in mid-February 2019, after which the management fee of Life Sciences will be reduced to 0.85% from 1.10%.
REIT will offer an industry low management fee of 0.60% for real estate exchange-traded funds that include active management within their investment strategy, Middlefield says in a news release.
The conversions will not impact existing distributions and the investment strategies of the funds will remain substantially similar, says Middlefield. In addition, both funds will continue to be advised by Middlefield Capital Corp.’s experienced portfolio management team.
Meanwhile, Bridgehouse received unitholder approval to proceed with the merger of Greystone Canadian Equity Income & Growth Fund into Morningstar Strategic Canadian Equity Fund, the company said Tuesday.
The merger will take effective on or about Dec. 14, Bridgehouse says.