| Fidelity poised to launch 3 global funds in Canada
Fidelity Investments, the world's largest mutual fund company, plans to start three global funds in Canada because of demand for international stocks and bonds. The Boston-based company will offer the Global Dividend Fund, which invests in dividend-paying shares and real estate securities; the Global Monthly Fund, which is split between equities and bonds; and the Global Bond Fund, which holds government and corporate debt. Investors have been turning to global funds on expectations Canadian stocks, driven higher by record prices for oil, natural gas and metals, may be peaking. AGF Management Ltd., Canada's third-biggest publicly traded mutual fund company, is generating higher net sales because of its international funds. "The market is clearly demanding global offerings," Stephanie Nacawa, Fidelity Investments Canada's vice-president of product research, said in an interview yesterday.
SIP: growing popularity among investors
With volatile swings becoming a part of life on the Indian stock markets, the systematic investment plan (SIP) is growing increasingly popular with investors. It helps to contains cost and, to an extent, insulates the investor against risk, giving him somewhat better returns as well. Indeed, in the last five years, SIP has given an annualized return of more than 40 per cent. As the awareness of SIP among investors grows , the number of those opting for it is multiplying every month.The data available shows the industry is adding one lakh SIP accounts every month for the past year, with an average size of Rs 3500 per application. Even a year ago, only around 10,000 SIP accounts were being added each month, with an average investment Rs 500-1000. There are currently more than 12 lakh SIP accounts with an estimated inflow of around Rs 300 to Rs 400 crore a month.
ITG March volume increases
Investment Technology Group Inc., an online stock-trading service, said Tuesday that March trading volume soared from last year's levels. The company said U.S. trading volume in March surged to 4 billion shares from 3.1 billion shares in March 2006. Average daily volume during the month rose to 182 million from 133 million in the year-ago period. Trading also rose from February's total volume of 3.4 billion shares and daily volume of 180 million shares. "Strong trading volume continued in March, with market share for the first quarter of 2007 consistent with the previous quarter," Howard Naphtali, ITG's chief financial officer, said in a statement. "Our average commission per share for the quarter was down approximately three percent sequentially." Shares of ITG shed 67 cents to $38.22 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Tug of war over economy's direction
Investors who enjoyed a pleasant seven-month ride of gradually rising stock prices got a wake-up call in late February, when the market abruptly stalled.
Now, the signs point to economic slowing and spreading problems in housing and consumer debt, which could foreshadow tough slogging for stocks further into spring and perhaps summer. .
Canada Stocks Rise to Record on US Jobs; Railroad Shares Jump
April 9 (Bloomberg) -- Canada's main stock index rose to a record, led by Canadian National Railway Co., as a stronger-than- expected U.S. jobs report allayed concern that demand for Canadian exports will slow. Canadian National paced gains among industrial companies, which are sensitive to the economy, after Warren Buffett's investment company increased its stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. Shares of materials producers such as Teck Cominco Ltd. rose as copper prices climbed a five-month high. ``The jobs report is helping sentiment,'' said Paul Hand, managing director, equity trading, at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto. Buffett ``is an astute investor, who looks for value,'' and ``copper is better, so materials are holding up.'' The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index gained 57.31, or 0.4 percent, to 13,482.33 in Toronto.
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