NEI Investments has announced the appointment of a new portfolio subadvisor for one of its mutual funds and fee reductions for all of its Canadian equity funds.
Specifically, NEI has named Lincluden Investment Management as portfolio subadvisor to NEI Northwest Canadian Dividend Fund, which will take effect on or about Dec. 23. Lincluden’s team has more than $18 billion in combined assets under management for institutional and private wealth clients and applies a value investing discipline in managing Canadian dividends. NEI Northwest Canadian Dividend Fund will utilize Lincluden’s stable income investment approach to Canadian dividends, which is focused on acquiring shares of great companies at a discount.
“Our ability to find a Canadian investment management talent like Lincluden and then add it to our roster of independent subadvisors at a competitive price point is what the NEI value proposition is all about,” says Daniel Solomon, senior vice president and chief investment officer with NEI, in a statement.
NEI also announced a series of management fee reductions for its Canadian equity funds that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2017. These fee reductions encompass a broad range of series, including core and fee-based series (A, F, and T) as well as trust and corporate class funds.
These changes are part of a multi-year plan to gradually lower management expense ratios (MERs) to maintain the price-competitiveness of NEI’s mutual funds and represent the third phase of a comprehensive initiative to re-price NEI’s product shelf. Initial reductions began on Jan. 1, 2015 and targeted 73 series of fee-based products and portfolio solutions. The second phase was implemented on Oct. 1, featuring reductions across international and global equity mandates.
“By reducing prices on virtually the entire NEI product shelf, we have sent a strong message to advisors and investors about our commitment to strong-performing and fairly-priced investment solutions,” says John Kearns, CEO, NEI Investments, in a statement.
Most notably, in the case of NEI Northwest Canadian Dividend Fund Series A & T and NEI Northwest Canadian Dividend Corporate Class Series A, a targeted MER reduction of around 40 basis points (bps) will be delivered by way of a combination of management fee cuts (10 bps) and varying absorptions via each fund’s operating expenses. The fee-based series of the fund will see a reduction of 30 bps by way of a combination of management fee cuts (10 bps) and varying absorptions via each fund’s operating expenses.
For more information on the NEI mutual funds that will have their fees reduced early in 2017, please read the firm’s announcement.
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