Hartford launches new DCA series

Toronto-based Hartford Investments Canada Corp., manager of Hartford mutual funds, has launched a new, six-month Series 4 of dollar-cost averaging units of Hartford Canadian Money Market Fund. After June 30, the six-month Series 3 of each class of DCA units of the fund will no longer be offered for sale, nor will subscriptions/purchase orders for Series 3 units be accepted. In their place, units of the six-month Series 4 of each class of DCA units will be for sale. The associated “advantage yield rates” for all six-month series of DCA units will be 5%. Units of the 12-month Series 1 of each class of DCA units of the fund will continue to be offered for sale. Hartford Canadian Money Market Fund is one of 12 Hartford mutual funds.



National Bank reduces management fees

Montreal-based National Bank Securities Inc. has reduced the management fees on the Investor and Advisor series of National Bank Global Bond Fund to 1.50% from 1.75%. The fee reductions will also have an impact on the secure, conservative, moderate, balanced and growth National Bank Strategic Portfolios, as the management fees associated with this asset-allocation service are the same as those charged by the underlying funds of each Strategic Portfolio. The fees were reduced, the company says, to reflect National Bank Securities’ commitment to offer National Bank mutual fund unitholders the best value for their investments.



RBC launches new fund-linked GICs

Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada has added two new fund-linked guaranteed investment certificates to its suite of Market Access GICs. RBC Canadian Dividend Fund-Linked GIC and RBC O’Shaughnessy International Equity Fund-Linked GIC will provide investors with additional options when looking for a secure investment with growth potential, the company says. Both GICs are 100% principal-protected and provide returns linked to the performance of RBC Canadian Dividend Fund and RBC O’Shaughnessy International Equity Fund, respectively. Both mutual funds have delivered consistently strong relative performance over the long term and are managed by RBC Asset Management Inc. The fund-linked GICs both carry a five-year term and are eligible for Canada Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage. The launch of these RBC fund-linked GICs broadens the RBC Market Access GIC lineup, which also includes RBC Canadian Market-Linked GIC, which provides exposure to the S&P/TSX 60 index, and RBC Global Market-Linked GIC, which provides exposure to a collection of major international stock market indices.



BetaPro launches 10 new ETFs

Toronto-based BetaPro Management Inc. is adding 10 new Horizons BetaPro exchange-traded funds to its ETF family. The funds will focus on international equity, currency and fixed-income benchmarks and include: Horizons BetaPro S&P 500(R) Bull Plus ETF, Horizons BetaPro S&P 500(R) Bear Plus ETF, Horizons BetaPro NASDAQ-100(R) Bull Plus ETF, Horizons BetaPro NASDAQ-100(R) Bear Plus ETF, Horizons BetaPro MSCI Emerging Markets(R) Bull Plus ETF, Horizons BetaPro MSCI Emerging Markets(R) Bear Plus ETF, Horizons BetaPro U.S. Dollar Bull Plus ETF, Horizons BetaPro U.S. Dollar Bear Plus ETF, Horizons BetaPro U.S. 30-year Bond Bull Plus ETF and Horizons BetaPro U.S. 30-year Bond Bear Plus ETF. The new additions bring the total number of Horizon BetaPro ETFs to 28.



Manulife introduces global PPN

Waterloo, Ont.-based Manulife Investments has introduced RBC Manulife Investments Global Balanced Plus Deposit Notes, a new series of principal-protected deposit notes that are issued and guaranteed by Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada. The overall performance of the notes is linked to the performance of three funds: Mawer World Investment Fund, Manulife Strategic Income Fund and Manulife Canadian Core Fund. The notes provide investors with the opportunity to generate potential returns based on exposure to equity markets in a time at which market volatility and economic instability are headline issues, says Manulife. The notes employ a dynamic asset-allocation strategy providing notional exposure to the underlying funds when performance is positive and reduced exposure to the funds when performance is negative. The yield notes (Series 7), return of capital notes (Series 8) and total return notes (Series 9) all offer 100% of the principal amount guaranteed at maturity; Series 7 and 8 also provide monthly coupon payments equivalent to 5.04% annually. Series 7, 8 and 9 of RBC Manulife Investments Global Balanced Plus Deposit Notes are available for purchase until June 13.

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