Two AIC Funds With a Financial Focus

Article Excerpt

Here are two AIC funds that hold much of their portfolios in financial services stocks. We prefer diversified funds. But if you must focus on something, finance is a relatively stable sector. AIC Diversified Canada has underperformed lately, mainly because it holds fewer stocks that we see as buys. We don’t recommend it for new buying. However, it’s OK to hold, particularly if you’ve built up a big capital gain over the last few years. AIC AMERICAN ADVANTAGE FUND $7.30 (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, with almost 97% of assets in the financial services area. This segment breaks down as follows: Property & casualty insurance companies, 15.2%; Investment banking & brokerage, 14.0%; Multi-line insurance, 12.6%; Life & health insurance, 12.4%; Commercial Banks, 11.8%; Regional Banks, 7.5%; Diversified financials, 7.3%; Insurance brokers, 7.0%; Wealth management, 6.2%; and Consumer finance,…