Insight July 2009 Monthly Update

The release of fund annual financial statements is a call to action for our Insight data-crunching team to replenish the mutual fund series databases with asset and pricing details. The final outcome is what we believe to be the most comprehensive and accurate series-based view of the Canadian mutual funds market. The feature research article in the July Insight report updates the analytical views introduced in the March 2008 issue when we last tackled this subject, and highlights key trends and developments on the multi-series front since then. The markets may have slowed down sales, but not series development activity. As a result, the mutual fund market series “alphabet soup” is spicier than ever, with a broad range of approaches to series naming, design, pricing, and compensation, not to mention the emergence of hybrid series categories linking the attributes of two or more different series types. The Trend Lines article looks at the regional scene. Due to differences in size and economic structure, the 2008/2009 market and economic downturn has had a unique impact on each of Canada’s provinces, although no region was spared the effect of the steep decline in mutual fund assets that took place during the 12-month period ended March 2009. The regional experience over the past 18 months indicates that,even in challenging times, opportunities abound. Mutual fund market participants will need to closely monitor and react to regional developments in order to take full advantage of future growth potential.