Insight April 2011 Monthly Update

The April 2011 issue of Insight concludes the trio of research articles devoted to the investigation of the changing landscape of the Canadian funds industry. This thematic arc began with a look at long-term industry trends in the Annual Industry Review in January and was carried through in the March assessment of the industry’s 2011 investment season results. This month’s lead story completes the evolutionary “we’re not in Kansas anymore” theme by documenting the bevy of product developments that has helped reshape the industry’s and individual players product shelves in the past two years. Our analysis reviews product development trends in mutual funds, fund wraps, segregated funds and, in the Trend Lines article, the fast-expanding exchange-traded fund (ETF) segment. The common thread is the apparent desire by fund companies to capitalize on the shift in asset class, product structure and risk preferences in the aftermath of the bear market. The resultant Fundland shelf is now more populous and diverse than ever. In this fashion, the shelf-refitting process has led many fund companies to revisit both their raison d’être and business focus.