Commentaries

Highlights There was a high level of activity in the Fund during December with several merger deals closing by year-end. This allowed the Fund to harvest returns and redeploy the capital in new opportunities. Nineteen merger deals held within the Fund closed in December and the Fund initiated positions in 19 new deals. There was […]

Highlights The past quarter was characterized by a strong bond market reaction to the disinflationary trend. Longer dated, high grade bonds were the strongest contributors to performance. Favourable performers included Warner Brothers Discovery Inc. (2062), and US TIPS (2052). The Fund’s exposure to credit (via Pender Corporate Bond Fund) remains lower relative to historic weightings. […]

Highlights One of the drivers of market performance in December was strong inflows for risk assets combined with limited new issue supply in credit markets. Despite our generally defensive positioning there are some areas of markets where we see value and opportunities. We continue to like our holdings in high quality term loans which trade […]

Highlights: December’s outperformance was driven by some deeply discounted and distressed lines including the preferred shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which rallied more than 30%. We added to our position in McDermott International Ltd. at deeply discounted prices. Select off-the-run and unrated bonds remain extremely attractive where the value of the issuing companies […]

Highlights November was a strong month driven by the closing of several deals including many of the largest positions in the Fund. There were 19 merger deals held within the Fund that closed during the month and the Fund initiated positions in 11 new deals. As conditions improve, catalysts are forming within our small-cap universe […]

Highlights In November we significantly added to our US Treasury Bill holdings as well as high-quality term loans. Our purchases included loans backed by Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HLT), TransDigm Group Inc. (NYSE: TDG) and Four Seasons Holdings Inc. (private). We also topped up long positions in the Canadian dollar high yield market that […]

Highlights: November saw a major turn in bond market direction leading to positive returns throughout the fixed income markets. Investment grade securities staged a huge turnaround and there were some very strong returns amongst higher grade, long-duration securities. New positions include the deeply discounted notes of California-based Stem Inc., a software provider that enables renewable […]

Highlights October was a tough month for markets as recessionary fears and higher bond yields pressured markets. In October, the Fund initiated positions in 23 new or previously announced mergers, while 20 merger deals held within the Fund closed during the month. We are cautiously optimistic on M&A potential through the year-end with commentary from […]

Highlights Both widening credit spreads and higher government yields negatively impacted returns for the month. The Fund increased market exposure with the focus on high-quality, high yield bonds trading at attractive discounts to par. The Fund finished the month with our highest exposure to the market all year - about 80% net long excluding positions […]