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Canadian Fund Managers Outperform

Posted on February 4, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Filed Under Financial Markets, Financial Planning, Investment Planning, Mutual Funds

Does it really pay to invest in mutual funds? Apparently, it does.

According to a recent report, Canadian Fund Managers outperformed the S&P/TSX in the final quarter of 2008. That is especially important considering it was one of the worst three month periods in market history. Although the difference was small, specifically a -22.71% return for the index versus a -21.67% return for active Managers, the news is still quite positive. In fact, over 50% of active Managers were in this category of “outperformers”, while in previous periods that number was as low as 11.2% to 22.0%.

Your Take-Away: There is no question that you are probably thinking that this news is not overwhelmingly positive considering that the markets still fell quite steeply and that it is the first time in a long time that so many Managers beat the index. I agree.

That said, what I do think is important is that although the majority of Fund Managers may not have beaten the index in the past, there are still many that do. What that says to me is that the Managers you choose to invest with need to be well researched and have some form of proven track record. If in fact you happen to find one of these great Manager’s, you can unquestionably justify that there are times when Mutual Fund’s are worth their price tag.

One great place to start in terms of researching both the fund you are being recommended as well as the Manager who is responsible for it is www.morningstar.ca. I have used that many times myself and I’m confident that you will find this resource quite useful for your own due diligence.

Until next time, have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Chris

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