asset management

NEW GERMANY FUND $9.91 (New York symbol GF; CWA Fund Rating: Speculative) is a closed-end fund that mostly invests in small- and mid-cap German equities. The fund’s manager is Deutsche Asset Management. The $210-million fund’s holdings operate in Germany (91%) and the Netherlands (9%). The New Germany Fund’s top holdings are European Aeronautical Defense (Netherlands: aerospace and defense), 5.9%; Bilfinger Berger (construction and engineering), 4.6%; United Internet (Internet service provider), 4.4%; Rheinmetall AG (an industrial conglomerate), 4.4%; GEA Group (chemicals), 4.3%; Software AG, 4.2%; Wacker Chemicals, 4.0%; MTU Aero Engines, 3.6%; Lanxess (specialty chemicals), 3.4%; and Hochtief AG (construction), 3.3%....

CENTRAL EUROPE AND RUSSIA FUND $27.69 (New York symbol CEE; CWA Fund Rating: Speculative) is a closed-end fund that mostly invests in larger cap stocks from Russia and central Europe. The fund’s manager is Deutsche Asset Management. The $394-million fund’s holdings are invested in Russia (55%), Poland (13%), Turkey (13%), Czech Republic (11%), Hungary (4%), Austria (3%) and Kazakhstan (1%). The fund’s top holdings are Gazprom (a Russian gas utility) at 10.2%; Lukoil (Russia: oil and gas), 8.5%; Rosneft Oil (Russia: oil and gas), 6.7%; Sberbank (Russia: bank), 6.2%; CEZ (Poland: utility), 5.4%; Mobile TeleSystems (Russia: wireless), 3.9%; MMC Norilsk Nickel (Russia: mining), 3.8%; Surgutneftagaz (Russia: oil and gas), 3.7%; Telefonica O2 (Czech Republic: telecom), 3.5%; and Telekomunikacja Polska (Poland: telecom), 3.2%....

AIC DIVERSIFIED CANADA FUND $34.89 (CWA Rating: Conservative) mainly holds shares of Canadian companies of average or above-average quality. It also holds some U.S. stocks. The $1.0-billion fund’s 10 largest holdings are TD Bank, Shoppers Drug Mart, Power Financial, Canadian Oil Sands Trust, First Capital Realty, Thomson Reuters Corporation, Brookfield Asset Management, Royal Bank of Canada, C.I. Financial Corp. and EnCana Corporation. AIC Diversified Canada holds just 21 stocks. The fund holds 43.9% of its assets in financial-services stocks. The rest of the portfolio breaks down as follows: energy, 15.2%; consumer staples, 10.6%; consumer discretionary, 8.0%; health care, 7.4%; and information technology, 3.6%....

BELL ALIANT REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS INCOME FUND $26.60 (Toronto symbol BA.UN: SI Rating: Above Average) has over 3.1 million telephone customers in Atlantic Canada and rural parts of Ontario and Quebec. BCE owns 44.1% of Bell Aliant. In the three months ended March 31, 2009, the fund’s earnings rose 9.3%, to $0.59 a unit from $0.54 a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 2.5%, to $0.82 from $0.80. The gains came from a 7.9% rise in the number of high-speed Internet subscribers, plus ongoing cost cutting. However, revenue fell 2.9%, to $790 million from $813 million, as lower local and long-distance revenue offset strong demand for high-speed Internet and data services. Bell Aliant now aims to spur growth by expanding the availability and capacity of its high-speed Internet service, which generates higher profit margins than its traditional telephone operations....

Investing outside of Canada and the U.S. can expose you to more volatility and risk. The sharp downturn in many foreign markets during the global recession proves this. But there are still countries and regions that offer lots of growth potential and opportunities for diversification. We still think that mutual funds, rather than individual stocks, are the best way for most investors to access these areas. And you can cut your costs by buying closed-end funds. Below are four foreign closed-end funds that trade on the New York exchange at discounts to their net asset values. All have risen lately, but we still see them as buys for aggressive investors....

These two AIC funds hold much of their portfolios in finance stocks. This sector has risen lately on better-than-expected profits and an improved outlook for the economy as a whole. We prefer diversified funds. But if you must focus on a particular sector, finance still offers sound long-term prospects. If you invest in these funds, be sure to adjust the rest of your portfolio so it won’t be overly concentrated in the financial sector. AIC AMERICAN ADVANTAGE FUND $4.04 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (AIC Group of Funds, 1375 Kerns Road, Burlington, Ont., L7R 4X8, 1-800-263-2144; Web site: www.aicfunds.com. Buy or sell through brokers) invests mostly in U.S. stocks. It holds 99% of its assets in the financial-services area....

TD RESOURCE FUND $22.44 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (TD Asset Management, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario, M5W 1P9. Tel: 1-800-386-3757; Web site:www.tdcanadatrust.ca. No load: deal directly with the bank.) invests in companies which it sees as having strong asset bases, proven management and the ability to internally finance growth. The $173.1-million TD Resource Fund’s top stock holdings mostly have Successful Investor Ratings of “Average” or higher. They include EnCana, Suncor Energy, Talisman Energy, Goldcorp, Yamana Gold, Petro-Canada, Red Back Mining, BHP Billiton, Husky Energy, Chevron, Marathon Oil and Nexen. TD Resource Fund holds 59.1% of its portfolio in Energy and 38.1% in Metals & Minerals. It has an MER of 2.15%....

Although they are still well below their 2007-2008 highs, resource prices have begun to rise lately. Most resource companies still need an economic recovery to show significant growth. Nonetheless, we think the long-term outlook for global resource demand is still bright. Meanwhile, we think you should cut your risk in this volatile sector by sticking with profitable, well-established companies that have an asset base they acquired when asset prices were low, or in mutual funds that hold those stocks. Here are two resource funds that we rate as Aggressive. They expose investors to two different levels of risk, measured by the stocks they hold. Both are down in value lately, but we think they have long-term gains ahead. TD RESOURCE FUND $22.44 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (TD Asset Management, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario, M5W 1P9. Tel: 1-800-386-3757; Web site:www.tdcanadatrust.ca. No load: deal directly with the bank.) invests in companies which it sees as having strong asset bases, proven management and the ability to internally finance growth....

Many U.S. corporations have cut their spending on information technology while they wait for the economy to start growing again. At the same time, U.S. consumers are buying less computer equipment as job losses push up the unemployment rate and erode confidence. International markets have also slowed for many U.S. technology companies, and the higher U.S. dollar is hurting foreign profit contributions. Still, high-quality tech stocks have a bright long-term outlook. Despite the recession, the best of them remain profitable, and they’ll benefit further from pent-up demand as the economy recovers. However, if you want to invest in tech funds, we recommend that you limit yourself to modest sums. And these funds should only make up a portion of your portfolio’s manufacturing-sector holdings....

People’s United Financial, $15.41, symbol PBCT on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 348.2 million; Market cap: $5.4 billion), is a holding company for the former People’s Bank and Chittenden Corp., acquired on January 1, 2008. People’s United provides a full range of financial services to individuals, businesses and municipal governments. These include lending, cash management, banking, brokerage, equipment leasing, asset management, insurance and related services. The bank has over 300 branches throughout the U.S. northeast, including 220 traditional branches, 79 supermarket-based branches and over 400 automated-teller machines. This New England regional bank has a much lower level of non-performing loans (only 0.47%) than most other banks. It’s also well capitalized, at almost 20% of tangible equity. That’s double the capitalization of many other U.S. banks, and as much as triple the national average....