National Bank launches new GIC

Montreal-based National Bank of Canada has unveiled its Advantage 8 Plus GIC, which provides investors with principal protection while offering them exposure to a benchmark portfolio composed of common shares of 20 leading Canadian, U.S., European, Japanese and Australian companies. At maturity, investors will receive, in addition to their principal, a return corresponding to the average return of the 20 stocks in the benchmark portfolio (to a maximum of 50% of the return). The GIC has a five-year term and is available until Mar. 7 and matures on Mar. 14, 2013. Minimum investment is $500; it is RRSP-eligible.

Three new funds for Saxon

Toronto-based Saxon Financial Inc. has launched three new small-cap funds: Saxon Microcap Fund, Saxon U.S. Small-Cap Fund and Saxon Global Small-Cap Fund. The portfolio advisor for the funds is Toronto-based Howson Tattersall Investment Counsel Ltd. Saxon Microcap Fund focuses on Canadian companies with capitalizations of less than $150 million each. Saxon U.S. Small-Cap Fund and Saxon Global Small-Cap Fund provide investors with the opportunity to capture the historical performance of small-caps. A bottom-up investment process will be used to select undervalued stocks among the offerings of small-caps in Canada and around the world, says a Saxon press release. Advisor commissions for front-end sales are 0%-2.5%. There are no deferred sales commissions or low-load options. Trailer fees are 1% for front-end sales. Management fees for Saxon U.S. Small-Cap Fund and Saxon Global Small-Cap Fund are 2.25% for A-class units and 1.25% for F-class units; for Saxon Microcap Fund, 3.25% for A-class units and 2.25% for F-class units. Minimum investment is $5,000.

Ark and Aston Hill launch funds

Toronto-based Ark Mutual Funds Ltd. and Calgary-based Aston Hill Financial Inc. have launched three corporate-class funds: Ark Aston Hill Opportunities Class, Ark Aston Hill Energy Class and Ark Aston Hill Monthly Income Class. Ben Cheng, president of Aston Hill and vice president of Catapult Financial Management Inc., is lead portfolio manager for Ark Aston Hill Monthly Income Class and Ark Aston Hill Opportunities Class. Joanne Hruska, president of Catapult and vice president of Aston Hill, is lead portfolio manager for Ark Aston Hill Energy Class. Ark Aston Hill Monthly Income Class will distribute a tax-efficient, fixed monthly distribution of 5¢ and invest in dividend-paying equities, income and royalty trusts, and fixed-income securities. Ark Aston Hill Opportunities Class will invest mainly in Canadian equities, with no restrictions on capitalization or sector exposure. Ark Aston Hill Energy Class will focus on the energy sector and invest in companies across the capitalization spectrum. Advisor commissions are 0%-4% for front-end sales; there are no deferred sales commission or low-load options. Trailing commissions are 1%. Management fees for Ark Aston Hill Opportunities and Ark Aston Hill Energy are 2.5% for A-class units and 1.5% for F-class units; for Ark Aston Hill Monthly Income, 2.25% for A-class units and 1.25% for F-class units. Minimum investment is $5,000.

New series of income portfolios

Toronto-based Goodman & Co. Investment Counsel Ltd. has launched the fifth series of Bank of Montreal Dynamic RetirementEdge Income Portfolios. Series 5 — which will offer growth potential of equities and the stable income stream of fixed income — will invest in 10 Dynamic Mutual Funds Ltd. products: Dynamic Global Dividend Value Fund, Dynamic Value Fund of Canada, Dynamic Global Value Fund, Dynamic Dividend Fund, Dynamic Global Discovery Fund, Dynamic Power Canadian Growth Fund, Dynamic Power Global Growth Class, Dynamic Power Small-Cap Fund, Dynamic Canadian Bond Fund and Dynamic High-Yield Bond Fund. The deposit notes are available until March 14, and will be issued by BMO on March 19.

BetaPro adds to its ETF offerings

Toronto-based BetaPro Management Inc. has introduced four new BetaPro exchange-traded funds with exposure to crude oil and natural gas. Horizons BetaPro NYMEX Natural Gas Bull Plus ETF, Horizons BetaPro NYMEX Natural Gas Bear Plus ETF, Horizons BetaPro NYMEX Crude Oil Bull Plus ETF and Horizons BetaPro NYMEX Crude Oil Bear Plus ETF will trade in Canadian dollars and, through currency hedging, will offer investors exposure to commodity returns expressed in U.S. dollars. Maryland-based ProShare Advisors LLC will be the portfolio manager for the new ETFs. The Bull Plus ETFs offer twice the daily performance of the underlying benchmark, while the Bear Plus ETFs offer twice the inverse daily performance of the benchmark. The four new funds bring the BetaPro family of ETFs to a total of 12.

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