Brandes Investment Partners and Franklin Templeton Investments add “high octane fuel” to TOP(TM) Managers Portfolios
TORONTO, July 17, 2003 – Transamerica has reinforced its popular guaranteed TOP Managers Portfolios with the addition of two proven fund partners and a group of carefully selected mutual funds.
Value specialists Brandes Investment Partners and global powerhouse Franklin Templeton Investments have joined the compelling TOP third-party fund management line-up. The other TOP partners are AIC, AGF, AIM Trimark, CI Funds, Mackenzie, Fidelity Investments and TD Asset Management.
The enhancements stem from Transamerica’s annual review of the underlying funds – one of the key features of Transamerica Optimized Portfolios (TOPs). Overall, ten new funds have been added to the TOP Canadian Managers Portfolio, TOP U.S. Managers Portfolio and TOP Global Managers Portfolio. The additions include Franklin Templeton’s Mutual Beacon Fund, the Brandes Global Equity Fund and the CI Value Trust managed by Bill Miller – the only fund manager to beat the S&P 500 Index every year for 12 straight calendar years.
Geraldo Ferreira, Vice President Investment Product Marketing & Product Development, explains: “TOP Managers Portfolios are constructed from mutual funds that have consistently delivered above-average returns versus their peers. Our commitment is to closely monitor the underlying funds with the help of Mercer Investment Consulting, and to insert new funds if we believe they can perform a better job for our TOP investors.”
Mr. Ferreira likens the review process to tuning the engine of a car: “On an annual basis, we take a close look under the hood of our TOP Managers Portfolios. The TOP engines will stay the same, with the same careful diversification and guarantees, but the engines have been boosted with some ‘high octane fuel’ in the form of these new funds and the addition of the expertise of Brandes and Franklin Templeton.”
TOPs Managers Portfolios are 100% equity oriented and prudently diversified by investment style, market cap and money manager. No TOP portfolio has more than 12 funds and no underlying fund has less than 5 per cent, or more than 15 per cent, weight in any portfolio. An even spread of growth, value and blend investment styles protects against a single dominant approach. The result is a group of “style neutral” portfolios designed to be less volatile than Canadian, U.S. or global equity funds that follow one specific equity style.
Mr. Ferreira explains: “Our objective is to consistently beat both the index and our peers over the long-term with well-diversified active fund management. We aim for steady, second quartile performance from our TOP funds with a view to being one of the top investment performers over the long term.”
Oliver Murray, President and CEO, Brandes Investment Partners, said the new relationship was an excellent fit for both parties: “The Brandes long-term approach to value investing is a natural complement to the steady, long-term nature of Transamerica TOP Manager Portfolios.”
Don Reed, President and CEO, Franklin Templeton Investments, said: “We are delighted to be part of such a strong investment offering and look forward to providing fund management support to the TOP Manager Portfolios.”
TOP Manager Portfolios are protected by three guarantee options from Transamerica to safeguard capital from sliding markets on maturity and death. TOP Manager Portfolios are available to existing Transamerica Investment Portfolio (TIP) investors and will also be part of imaxxGIF(TM), Transamerica’s new streamlined family of guaranteed investment solutions to be launched shortly.
Transamerica Life Canada is a market leader in the sale of individual life insurance and segregated funds. Through a national network of 18,000 independent advisors, Transamerica Life Canada helps Canadians meet their financial goals and preserve their wealth through innovative financial products and services. Transamerica Life Canada is a member of the AEGON Group, one of the world’s largest insurers. AEGON N.V. and Transamerica Life Canada have consistently received strong financial ratings from Standard and Poor’s, Fitch and A.M. Best Company. In 2002, Transamerica Life Canada earned more than $560 million in life insurance premium income and recorded over $7 billion in total assets under management. imaxx is AEGON Fund Management’s innovative wealth management solution for Canadian advisors. imaxx was launched in June 2002 and incorporates individual funds, asset allocation portfolios, advisor tools and training.
Appendix - TOP Managers Portfolios (new funds underlined) ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ TOP Canadian Managers Portfolio Mackenzie Cundill Canadian Security Fund 10% Harbour Fund 12% AIC Diversified Canada Fund 6% Mackenzie Ivy Canadian Fund 10% CI Signature Dividend Fund 8% ------------------------------------------------------------ TD Dividend Growth Fund 6% Fidelity Canadian Growth Company Fund 8% Fidelity Disciplined Equity Fund 10% AGF Canadian Stock Fund 8% Bissett Canadian Equity Fund 10% ------------------------------------------------------------ AIM Canadian Premier Fund 6% AIM Canadian First Class 6% ------------------------------------------------------------ TOP U.S. Managers Portfolio AGF U.S. Value Class Fund 6% AIC American Focused Fund 10% Fidelity American Opportunity Fund 8% CI Value Trust Fund 8% ------------------------------------------------------------ Trimark U.S. Companies Fund 6% BPI American Equity Fund 8% Brandes U.S. Equity Fund 8% ------------------------------------------------------------ Mutual Beacon Fund 12% ------------------------------------------------------------ TD U.S. Small Cap Equity Fund 6% Fidelity Small Cap America Fund 10% TD U.S. Mid Cap Growth Fund 10% AGF American Growth Class 8% TOP Global Managers Portfolio Mackenzie Cundill Value Fund 8% AGF International Value Class 7% Trimark Fund 8% Brandes Global Equity Fund 7% ------------------------------------------------------------ Fidelity International Portfolio Fund 6% CI World Equity Fund 8% ------------------------------------------------------------ BPI Global Equity Fund 8% Mackenzie Ivy Foreign Equity Fund 10% ------------------------------------------------------------ Templeton Global Smaller Companies Fund 8% ------------------------------------------------------------ Mackenzie Universal International Stock Fund 10% CI Global Fund 8% AIM Global Theme Class Fund 12%
