Michael Dobson: Canadian investors have over 1,000 allocation funds to choose from, and the differences between them can be subtle. We cover three from Fidelity, in which many of the portfolio managers overlap. All three receive an above average people rating, though the rationale differs.
Take, for instance, the Fidelity Global Portfolio strategy. The Fidelity Global portfolios launched in 2007 come in four options – Income (FID2682), Balanced (FID2604), Growth (FID2686) and Equity (FID7604). Geoff Stein, David Wolf and David Tulk manage this strategy by creating portfolios of actively managed fidelity funds and ETFs. Notably, both Wolf and Tulk previously worked at the Bank of Canada and have valuable insights into the central banks and how they arrive at interest rate decisions. This expertise was especially useful in 2022.
The next fund is Fidelity Canadian Asset Allocation (FID681). Launched in 1994, it is one of Fidelity Canada's oldest funds. Wolf is one of the managers for this fund as well, and he has a similar impact as he does on the Global portfolios, but the real strength here is in the sleeve managers. Equity sleeve managers Hugo Lavallée, Don Newman and Darren Lekkerkerker drive the strategy's above average people rating.
The last fund I'll talk about today is also the simplest – Fidelity Canadian Balanced (FID626). The strategy retains the responsibilities of the sleeve managers while limiting the impact of the allocators. Instead, Stein and Wolf maintain a relatively static 50-50 split. Lekkerkerker, the only named equity portfolio manager, drives the fund's performance and above average people rating. He shifts the equity exposure mainly between the U.S. and Canada, though at the moment, it leans heavily to the latter.
In conclusion, the above-average people ratings for these three strategies stem from different individuals and their distinct styles. It's important to note that while we like these teams, all the funds on this list have a Neutral rating due to the fees charged by their various share classes. For the purposes of this video, we have highlighted the F series.
For Morningstar, I'm Michael Dobson.
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