Mutual Fund News
January's winners and losers
swon@globeandmail.comWHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?Leaders and laggards among Canadian stock funds during the January market correction.The SandP/TSX composite index shed 5.5 per cent last month after rebounding sharply from the March lows. The energy and materials sectors dragged the index into the red.
RRSP season boosts long-term fund sales
INVESTMENT FUNDS REPORTERCanadians stashed about $560-million into mutual funds in January as the registered retirement savings plan season kicked in high gear.While the net sales were sharply lower than $1.2-billion a year ago, the trend was upbeat for the Canadian industry because it was all in higher-margin, long-term funds, according to preliminary figures released yesterday by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).
Fixed income funds gain, but China loses
INVESTMENT FUNDS REPORTERPrecious metals and greater China equity funds got spanked in January, while fixed-income and Japanese equity funds made money.Funds in the precious metals equity category, which gained an average of 72 per cent in 2009, shed an average of nearly 7 per cent last month, according to preliminary figures released by Globe Investor.
MUTUAL FUNDS
Fund company stocks shine when stock markets rally. And AGF Management Ltd. should benefit because it has a huge chunk of its fund assets in equities - nearly 80 per cent, according to the latest public data.
High-profile fund manager leaves AGF
INVESTMENT FUNDS REPORTERChristine Hughes, a high-profile manager at AGF Management Ltd., has left the fund firm just as the RRSP contribution season kicks into gear.Spokeswoman Lucy Becker confirmed yesterday that Ms. Hughes has departed AGF. A press release said she was going ''to pursue outside interests.'' Ms. Hughes could not be reached for comment.
Canadian leaders that rode the market's rise
swon@globeandmail.comWHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?Leaders and laggards among Canadian stock funds since the market bottom in March.The Canadian stock market staged an impressive rally from March 9th to year end. Let's see what funds were best positioned for the rebound, and those that trailed the most.
Fund companies might be a better RRSP bet than their products
INVESTMENT FUNDS REPORTERAs RRSP contribution season kicks into high gear, Canadians might find some mutual fund company stocks offer more sizzle than many of the investments they sell.January through March are key months for registered retirement savings plan sales, and can help fuel the returns of asset management companies. But industry observers suggest that some firms are better bets than others.
Confident investors move cash to long-term funds
FUNDS REPORTERCanadian investors stashed nearly $170-million of new money into mutual funds in December amid renewed confidence in stock markets.This was the second consecutive month of net sales, and contrasts with the $749-million in net outflows a year ago amid a market collapse, according to preliminary estimates released yesterday by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).
Funds lack lustre when gold falls
swon@globeandmail.comWHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?How much precious metals funds have lost amid the recent freefall in the gold price.Gold futures for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed at a record high of $1,218 (U.S.) per ounce on Dec. 3. The price fell to $1,107 an ounce by Dec. 17.
A buy-and-hold strategy? It's not for everyone
swon@globeandmail.comWHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?Losers over a decade. When investing in mutual funds, we are always told to buy and hold for the long term. Let's see what funds have been mired in red ink.
