Lipper awards honour fund industry

The fourth annual Canadian Lipper Fund Awards were handed out in Toronto last night. The Lippers differ from the more established Canadian Investment Awards in that they honour top funds for their performance over multiple time frames.

Dynamic Funds was the big winner of the night, taking home 14 “Fund of the Year” trophies, including the 1-year performance award for Dynamic Far East Value Fund; Dynamic Diversified Real Asset Fund; Dynamic Power Balanced Fund; Dynamic Global Value Fund; and Dynamic Value Balanced Fund.

“Recognition by Lipper of Dynamic’s performance last year is further evidence of our portfolio management team’s ability to uncover and take advantage of unique investment opportunities presented by different market environments,” said David Goodman, President and Chief Executive Officer of DundeeWealth Inc. “We are grateful for the recognition we received from the industry and remain committed to seeking out top investment prospects for our clients.”

Also honoured were: Marquis Equity Portfolio took home an award (3-year performance); Dynamic Power Small Cap Fund (3- and 5-year); Dynamic Small Business Fund (5 year); Dynamic American Value Fund (5- and 10-year); Dynamic Global Discovery Fund (5 year); and Dynamic Value Fund of Canada (5- and 10-year).

Fidelity Investments was named Best Mixed Assets fund.

“Along with our numerous individual fund awards, we are very proud of being awarded the prestigious Lipper Best Mixed Assets Fund Family Award, an award given to the fund company with funds that have performed over a number of fund categories,” said Rob Strickland, President, Fidelity Investments Canada ULC.

Fidelity also won 10 individual fund awards, including two for Fidelity Income Trust fund and one each for: Fidelity Canadian Asset Allocation; Fidelity Canadian Large Cap; Fidelity Dividend; Fidelity Monthly Income; Fidelity Monthly High Income; Fidelity Small Cap America; Fidelity Global Consumer Industries; Fidelity Clearpath 2045 Portfolio.

TD Asset Management took home nine awards, including two for the TD Dividend Growth Fund; two for TD US Mid-Cap Growth Fund; and one each for: TD Corporate Bond Capital Yield Fund; TD Income Advantage Portfolio; TD High Yield Income Fund; TD Science & Technology Fund; and TD NASDAQ Index Fund.

“We are very proud to be recognized by Lipper for the strength of our mutual fund offering, including one of our flagship Canadian equity mandates, the TD Dividend Growth Fund,” said Thomas Dyck, president of TD Mutual Funds. “Lipper Awards are a testament to the value of strong portfolio management, and at TD Mutual Funds, we are pleased to provide our advisors and clients with high-quality investment solutions managed by one of the most experienced team of fund managers in the industry.”

RBC Asset Management and Phillips, Hager & North received six awards, including three for PH&N Short Term Bond & Mortgage Fund (one for each time period); two for PH&N High Yield Bond Fund; and one for RBC Monthly Income Fund.

“It is an honour to be recognized by the Lipper Fund Awards for the fourth consecutive year, especially in light of the challenging market conditions,” said Dan Chornous, chief investment officer of RBC Global Asset Management. “At the heart of our approach are teams of talented investment professionals and analysts. Our success reflects their focus on rigorous and consistent research, and our culture of keeping clients at the forefront of everything we do.”

Mackenzie Investments won six awards, including Best 10-year performance award for Mackenzie Cundill Value Fund; Mackenzie Sentinel Income Fund; and Mackenzie Universal Canadian. Mack also won Best 1-year performance awards for Mackenzie Cundill Global Balanced; Mackenzie Cundill Recovery Fund; and Mackenzie Growth Fund.

Invesco Trimark won four awards including an Overall Group Award in the Equity category for the latest three-year period. Trimark Europlus Fund, Trimark Canadian Resources Fund and Perpetual Indo-Pacific Fund also received one award each.

National Bank Securities took home three awards, with honours going to: National Bank Income and Growth Managed Portfolio, for its 1 year performance; National Bank Monthly Moderate Income Fund for its 3 year performance; and Altamira Global Small Company Fund for its 10 year performance.

Desjardins Group’s Desjardins Environment Fund was recognized for the third consecutive year, taking first prize in the Canadian equity fund category for its 3 and 5 year yields.

AGF Management took home the 3-year performance award for its AGF Emerging Markets Fund.

(02/19/10)