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Excel Funds Launches BRIC Fund
BMO Introduces Nine New ETFs
PH&N Bond Fund Series D: A Best Bet Mutual Fund

Monday, December 21, 2009

BMO Investments Inc. Announces a Portfolio Manager Change and Service Fee Adjustments

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BMO Investments Inc. (a member of the BMO Financial Group) announced that effective Jan 08, 2010 they are replacing the portfolio manager of BMO Global Equity Class a class of BMO Global Tax Advantage Funds Inc.

London-based Insight Investment Management (Global) Ltd., formerly Rothschild Asset Management Ltd. is the current manager and will be replaced by Aberdeen Asset Management Inc. Aberdeen Asset Management Inc. is an independent investment manager, managing over C$251 billion for individual and institutional clients throughout the world. The regional investment teams are based in the markets or regions in which they invest. They are based in Aberdeen, Scotland. The global management team for the fund is in Edinburgh, and led by Stephen Docherty.

The fund since it was formed in November 2000, is a second-quartile performer over the five- and six-year periods ended Nov. 30. But over the one- and three-year periods, the fund has performed in the fourth quartile.

In addition in their press release BMO Investments Inc. announced that on our about January 1, 2010, BMO Investments Inc., as manager, will increase the maximum service fee under the sales charge option of BMO Guardian Monthly Dividend Fund Ltd. from 0.75% to 1.00%, under the standard deferred charge option from 0.25% to 0.50%, and under the low load deferred charge option from 0.50% to 1.00%. There will be no increase to the maximum service fee under the sales charge option for Classic Units.

Also effective on or about January 1, 2010, BMO Investments Inc., as manager, will increase the maximum service fee under the low load deferred charge option of BMO Guardian Canadian Diversified Monthly Income Fund from 0.50% to 1.00%. There will be no increase to the maximum service fee under the sales charge option or under the standard deferred charge option.

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Money Magazine Hoss

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Meritas Financial Inc. And Qtrade Fund Management to Merge.

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Saturday, December 12, 2009

Meritas Financial Inc. And Qtrade Fund Management to Merge.

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Meritas Financial Inc. and Qtrade Fund Management Inc. have announced a plan to merge.

The merger will result in Meritas Mutual Funds becoming a separate division of QTrade Financial and they will maintain their philosophy of socially responsible investing(SRI). (No investments in tobacco, military or companies harmful to the environment).

It is expected the deal will close at the end of March. The Meritas team will continue to be headed by Gary Hawton and when the deal is finalized he will become the chief investment officer of the Qtrade fund management division.

"For us, it gives us a more national presence. Right now, while our funds are for sale right across Canada, all of our employees are in Ontario," Hawton said.
Hawton will report to Qtrade head Scott Gibner, who will become chief executive officer of Meritas's new parent company.

"Meritas' strong and unwavering commitment to SRI over the last 10 years has been the foundation for their success and, as SRI funds continue to grow in popularity in Canada and globally, we believe this dedication and historical track record will continue to serve Meritas very well into the future," Gibner said in a statement.

Gibner, also said the company wanted to broaden its wealth-management portfolio.

“One of our primary goals will be to build the status of Qtrade’s investment solutions nationally, including a large focus on Meritas industry-leading socially responsible investment funds.”

Together the two companies will have combined assets of more than $4.3 billion from individual and institutional investors.

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Saturday, November 21, 2009

Claymore Investments, Inc. Launches New Canadian Bond ETF

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Claymore Investments, Inc., on Nov. 19, 2009 announced the launching of the Claymore Advantaged Canadian Bond ETF (TSX: CAB.TO).

The fund is a fixed income exchange traded fund (ETF) which is designed to provide investors with a low cost, tax-efficient exposure to a diversified Canadian bond portfolio. The plan is for the fund to track the DLUX Capped Bond Index, a high-quality subset of the DEX Universe Bond Index.

In other words, the price and performance of the DEX DLUX Capped Bond Index ("the Index") will determine the return of the fund, net of fees and expenses.

To qualify for the DLUX indexes, securities must have a minimum issue size or amount outstanding of $300 million, credit ratings of A or higher, and annual trade-volume turnover of 25% or higher. The Index tracks Canadian investment grade Government and corporate bonds, with target exposure allocations of 60% and 40%, respectively. The fund will receive exposure to the bond securities underlying the Index through the use of a forward agreement with TD Global Finance.

"Bonds are a very important part of an investment portfolio for income and diversification purposes and CAB is a simple, low cost way to get exposure to bonds on a tax-efficient basis. The fund is structured to provide tax-efficient income, making it an optimal investment for non-registered or taxable accounts and we are excited to be partnering with DEX, the leader in Canadian fixed income indexes, to bring this product to the market" said Som Seif, President and CEO of Claymore.

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Saturday, November 14, 2009

Excel Funds Launches BRIC Fund

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On Nov. 3, 2009 Excel Funds, a Mississauga Ontario-based fund company that focuses on investment opportunities in emerging markets launched a new fund named Excel BRIC Fund. The new fund is made up from four existing Excel funds: Excel Latin America, Excel China, Excel India and Excel Emerging Europe.

The four Excel Funds are sub-advised by: Baring Asset Management (Asia) Ltd. in Hong Kong, China managing the Excel China Fund; Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd. in Mumbai, India managing the Excel India Fund; Banco Itau – Unibanco in Sao Paulo, Brazil managing the Excel Latin America Fund; and Baring International Investment Ltd in London, England managing the Excel Emerging Europe Fund.

This combining of four existing funds with proven track records provides investors the opportunity to purchase one fund instead of four.

"The BRIC nations represent more than 40% of the world's population and are among the fastest growing economies," says company President and CEO, Bhim D. Asdhir. "Yet, on the whole, Canadian investors have less than 1% of their investment portfolios invested in these economies. These markets are too big to ignore, as the combined GDP of the BRIC nations now exceed the GDP of the United States of America."

The management fee is scheduled to be 2.5% which is the same as each of the four current funds.

The fund may be purchased with a $500 minimum investment and has both-front end and deferred sales charge options. Speak to your financial advisor if you are interested in making an investment in this fund.

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Money Magazine Hoss

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Sunday, October 11, 2009

PH&N Bond Fund Series D: A Best Bet Mutual Fund

Another Hoss's best bet mutual fund is The PH&N Series D bond fund. This is another fund that the Hoss and Mrs. Hoss hold in their portfolio.

The PH&N bond fund is a fixed income fund whose fundamental investment objectives are to provide relatively high yields and stability of capital by investing primarily in a well-diversified portfolio of fixed income securities issued by Canadian governments and corporations. This fund is suitable for investors with a low tolerance for risk.

According to the PH&N website, annualized compound rates of return As of September 30 2009, are as follows:

1 year 13.6%

3 years 5.3%

4 years 5%

5 years 5.7%

10 years 6.5%

As of September 30, 2009 the top ten holdings were:

Prov. of Ontario Return: 7.60% Matures: Jun 02/27 (Total % of fund 12.2%)

Prov. of Ontario Return: 4.30% Matures: Mar 08/17 (Total % of fund 4.7%)

Canada Housing Trust Return: 3.15% Matures: Jul 15/14 (Total % of fund 3.4%)

The Toronto-Dominion Bank Return: 5.38% Matures: Nov 01/12/17 (Total % of fund 3.3%)

Morgan Stanley Group Inc. Return: 4.50% Matures: Feb 23/12 (Total % of fund 2.6%)

Prov. of Ontario Return: 4.40% Matures: Jun 02/19 (Total % of fund 2.5%)

Canada Housing Trust Return: 4.10% Matures: Dec 15/18 (Total % of fund 2.3%)

The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. Return: 4.35% Matures Jul 20/12 (Total % of fund 2.1%)

Wells Fargo Financial Canada Corp Return: 5.20% Matures: Sep 13/12 (Total % of fund 2.0%)

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Return: 5.00% Matures: Sep 10/12 (Total % of fund 2.0%)

The fund pays interest dividends quarterly and capital gains (if any) yearly.

For more information on this fund visit PH&N

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The Hoss
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Sunday, October 4, 2009

Hoss's Best Bet Mutual Funds: Bond Funds

PH&N High Yield Bond Fund

Starting with today's edition, Money Magazine Hoss will begin a series of posts in which he reviews his best bet mutual funds.

Fixed income Bond Funds are the first category of mutual funds Money Magazine Hoss has selected for review.

The Hoss and Mrs. Hoss have included the PH&N High Yield Bond Fund, in their stable of mutual funds.

When the Government of Canada introduced the tax free savings account in 2009, The Hoss and Mrs. Hoss invested the maximum permissible amount in The PH&N High Yield Bond Fund. How has this fund performed? Since their initial investment on January 26, 2009, The Hoss and Mrs. Hoss have realized a return of over 14%.

The PH&N High Yield Bond Fund investment objectives are to provide a high level of income and the opportunity for capital appreciation by investing primarily in a well-diversified portfolio of fixed income securities issued by Canadian corporations.

To achieve the fund's investment objectives, the manager invests primarily in medium quality Canadian corporate bonds and preferred shares and government bonds issued or traded in Canadian and U.S. dollars. The average term to maturity of the portfolio is managed within strict guidelines, typically between three and ten years.

If you are an investor with low or moderate risk looking for a bond fund with high levels of current interest income, this fund may be of interest to you.

As with all Mutual Funds there is some risk with the purchase of this fund. The principal risks associated with an investment in this fund are market, interest rate, credit and liquidity risks.

For more information see PH&N High Yield Bond Fund.

Stay on track,

The Hoss
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