Industry News

On The Shelf:

(March 3, 2008) Global financial markets have been shaken by problems in the U.S. housing market, with mortgage defaults rising and property values plunging. That isn’t stopping Franklin Templeton Investments from launching the Franklin Global Real Estate Fund. The corporate-class fund is being positioned as a means for investors to diversify beyond the typical asset […]

By Staff |March 3, 2008

3 min read

Investors see a bear, CFAs say

Sixty-five per cent of Canadian chartered financial analysts (CFAs) have described investor sentiment as decidedly bearish this RRSP season, according to a new poll. The poll of 1,770 CFAs — conducted for Business News Network — found that another 32% thought investor sentiment was flat and only 3% reported their clients were bullish on RRSP […]

By Mark Noble |March 3, 2008

3 min read

Briefly:

(February 29, 2008) Bank of Montreal has confirmed that it is still trying to restructure its Apex Trust and Sitka Trust, despite the notes of those trusts being downgraded to junk status by DBRS on Thursday. The two trusts are heavily encumbered by exposure to illiquid asset-backed commercial paper and have been unable to find […]

By Staff |February 29, 2008

2 min read

Benchmarks beat managers in 2007: SPIVA

The vast majority of Canadian mutual funds continue to underperform their benchmark, according to the latest results of Standard & Poor’s Indices Versus Active (SPIVA) Funds Scorecard. In 2007, only 24.3% of Canadian equity funds beat the S&P/TSX Composite Index, while 37.0% of Canadian dividend and income funds beat the S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index. […]

By Mark Noble |February 29, 2008

3 min read