Appointments at DGIA
On August 23, 2017, DGIA announced the appointment of Christian Duceppe and Marc Provost as co-Chief Investment Officers, Public Markets. In addition to his responsibilities in fixed income, infrastructure and private investments, Christian Duceppe will be overseeing asset allocation research and the implementation of tactical views. As for Marc Provost, in addition to remaining responsible for Canadian equities, he will be managing systematic investment strategies, including responsible investing.
Messrs. Provost and Duceppe will also assume joint leadership of the tactical asset allocation group supporting the management of multi-class mandates.
Changes at Fiera Capital
On August 21, 2017, Fiera Capital announced the hiring of a new fixed income team comprised of three individuals: Charles Lefebvre, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, Luc Bergeron and Tan Vu Nguyen, Vice Presidents and Portfolio Managers. All three have worked together over seven years at another investment management firm.
On September 8, 2017, Fiera Capital announced that the new Active and Strategic Fixed Income (ASFI) team, initially made up of the three portfolio managers who were recently hired, officially began on September 5, 2017. This team's management process will aim to generate value across various market environments through a multi-strategy approach resting on fundamental, technical, seasonality and sentiment factors.
In conjunction with this announcement, Fiera Capital informed us that the Active Fixed Income mandates will be transitioned to the new ASFI team by the end of the year. Art Yeates and Gaétan Dupuis, portfolio managers of the Active Fixed Income team, will be transitioning out of their portfolio management responsibilities and will be leaving the firm by the end of the year. Jean-Guy Mérette and Olivier Audette Génier will be integrating the ASFI team, while David Frei will continue to lead the infrastructure debt offering while working closely with the broad fixed income and infrastructure equity teams. These changes impact the DFS Fiera Bond Fund and DFS Fiera Long Term Bond Fund, for which the underlying funds are managed by the Active Fixed Income team.
We will closely monitor the evolution and impact of these changes and will communicate any relevant and ensuing developments.
Departure at Epoch
On August 17, 2017, Epoch, the manager of the Desjardins Global Equity Dividend Fund, announced the retirement of Eric Sappenfield on December 31, 2017. He was the Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst for the firm's Shareholder Yield strategies, one of which underlies the Desjardins Fund. Mike Welhoelter, a Shareholder Yield Portfolio Manager and the Head of Quantitative Research and Risk Management, will have overall responsibility for the Shareholder Yield strategies. Kera Van Valen, who originally joined Epoch in 2005 and is one of the current Portfolio Managers on the Shareholder Yield team, will become the lead Portfolio Manager. John Tobin, who joined Epoch in 2012, will likewise continue as a Shareholder Yield Portfolio Manager.
Although we will closely monitor the evolution and impact of these changes, it is important to note that Epoch prepares for such transitions by having multiple portfolio managers on each strategy, as is the case here. In addition, the Shareholder Yield strategies incorporate robust risk controls that help ensure a consistent application.
Changes at Baillie Gifford
On August 18, 2017, Baillie Gifford informed us that Tom Coutts, Deputy Chair of the EAFE Alpha Portfolio Construction Group (underlying strategy to the DFS Baillie Gifford International Equity Fund), will now focus full time on the strategy. He was previously head of the firm’s Continental European Equity team. In addition, Lee Qian will be moving from the EAFE Alpha Research Group to help establish the firm’s Positive Change team dedicated to responsible investing. He will be replaced by Paulina Sliwinska, who has been with Baillie Gifford for four years.
For more information, please contact your client relationship manager.