Two new funds for IG

Winnipeg-based Investor’s Group Inc. has launched two new funds: Investors Global Real Estate Fund and Alto Monthly Income and Global Growth Portfolio. Both funds will allow inves-tors to add global diversification to their investment portfolios, IG says. Investors Global Real Estate Fund will provide a combination of long-term capital growth and current income by investing primarily in real estate investment trust units and equity securities of companies from around the world that principally derive their revenue from activities in the real estate sector. The fund will be subadvised by LaSalle Investment Management Securities LP. Alto Monthly Income and Global Growth Portfolio will provide investors with moderately aggressive global investments, as well as a flow of income and higher potential for long-term capital growth, IG says. Commissions are 0%-4.1% for deferred sales, with no commissions for no-load sales. Redemption fees begin at 5.5% in Year 1 and end at zero after Year 7 of the regular DSC schedule. Trailing commissions are 0.38% for deferred sales and 0.35% for the no-load option. For Investors Global Real Estate Fund, management fees are 2%. There is no minimum investment amount for this fund once the client has $15,000 invested with IG.

Claymore launches new ETFs

Toronto-based Claymore Investments Inc. has launched Claymore One- to Five-Year Laddered Government Bond ETF and Claymore Natural Gas Commodity ETF. The bond ETF aims to provide a return based on the price and performance of the DEX one- to five-year laddered government bond index. It will provide investors with exposure to a diversified government bond portfolio designed into five staggered maturity levels from one to five years, equally weighted. The management fee is 15 basis points. The commodity ETF has been designed to track the performance of the benchmark NGX Canadian natural gas index and provide non-leveraged exposure to the Alberta natural gas market. Its management fee is 0.80% of NAV.

FrontierAlt Funds merge

Toronto-based frontierAlt Funds Management Ltd. has announced the merger of frontierAlt All Terrain Canada Fund into the frontierAlt All Terrain World Fund. The merger required the approval of a majority of unitholders in the Canada fund, which was granted in a meeting on Jan. 29. The effective date of the merger was Jan. 31, and the name of the merged fund has been changed to frontierAlt Opportunistic Global Fund.

AGF and CIBC introduce new PPNs

Toronto-based AGF Funds Inc. and CIBC have launched CIBC AGF China and Emerging Markets Enhanced Protection Deposit Notes Series 1, which will provide investors with exposure to markets in China, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central and South America. The note will combine principal protection with the growth potential of AGF Emerging Markets Fund and AGF China Focus Class. AGF Emerging Markets Fund invests primarily in shares of companies located or active in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central and South America. AGF China Focus Class invests primarily in stocks and bonds of companies that are either based in China or that benefit from its economic development and growth, AGF Funds says. In addition, a “lock in” feature allows investors to lock in a portion of the returns on the funds as the value of the portfolio exceeds certain thresholds. The notes are available for purchase starting on March 28 and will mature April 2, 2015.

Russell adds new managers

Toronto-based Russell Investments Canada Ltd. has appointed Harris Associates LP and McKinley Capital Management as co-managers of Russell Global Equity Fund and Russell Global Equity Pool. Altrinsic Global Advisors LLC will no longer be the manager for these portfolios. The management changes will put the Global Equity portfolios in a better position to achieve performance objectives, says Russell Investments.

New hedge fund for Arrow and Marret

Arrow Hedge Partners Inc. and Marret Asset Management Inc., both based in Toronto, have launched Accelerator Capital Fund Inc., a hedge fund incubator fund. It will invest in early-stage hedge funds that utilize a variety of alternative investment strategies, including long/short equity, relative value, event-driven and global macro, says a joint release. Accelerator has secured commitments for approximately $150 million from institutional investors, including a major Canadian bank, a pension fund and a wealth-management firm on behalf of some of its individual high net-worth investors. Peter Rizakos has been appointed president of Accelerator Capital Management Inc., manager of the fund, and will oversee the fund’s investment and operational activities.

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