IA Clarington Investments Inc. has given one of its trusted sub-advisors the job of turning around the lagging performance of IA Clarington Global Dividend.
Subject to regulatory approval, QV Investors Inc. will become the portfolio manager of the fund, effective July 2. It will replace BNP Investment Partners Canada Ltd., a unit of the Paris-based BNP Paribas Group.
Along with announcing the manager change on June 11, IA Clarington also stated that it intends to change the name of the fund to IA Clarington Global Equity. Under QV Investors, the fund will be focused on 25 to 40 mid- and large-cap companies in developed countries around the world.
Based in Calgary, QV Investors has close to $11 billion under management. Among its managed assets are IA Clarington Canadian Small Cap, since 1997, and IA Clarington Canadian Balanced, since 2009.
The $100-million IA Clarington Global Dividend has been managed according to an equity-income strategy focusing on companies with high, sustainable and increasing dividends. Since its inception in November 2006, the individual with primary day-to-day responsibility has been Wouter Weijand, currently with BNP Paribas and formerly with predecessor employer Fortis Investments. BNP Paribas acquired Fortis Investments in 2010.
Within the Global Equity category, the Morningstar 2-star rated fund has been a consistently below-average performer. Over the past seven years ended May 31, it has a 1.4% annualized loss, leaving it with a peer-group ranking deep in the fourth quartile.