Canadian Investment Grade Preferred Share Fund
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CANADIAN INVESTMENT GRADE PREFERRED SHARE FUND INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT OF FUND PERFORMANCE For the financial period ended June 30, 2021 CANADIAN INVESTMENT GRADE PREFERRED SHARE FUND CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENTS Interim management report of fund performance 1 This report may contain forward-looking statements about the Fund, including Financial highlights 2 its strategy, expected performance and condition. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer Summary of investment portfolio 3 to future events or conditions, or that include words such as “expects,” Corporate information Back cover “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” or negative versions thereof and similar expressions. In addition, any statement that may be made concerning future performance, strategies or prospects, and possible future action, is also a forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events and are inherently subject to, among other things, risks, uncertainties, and assumptions about the Fund and economic factors. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual events and results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by the Fund. Any number of important factors could contribute to these digressions, including, but not limited to, general economic, political and market factors, interest and foreign exchange rates, global equity and capital markets, business competition, technological change, changes in government regulations, unexpected judicial or regulatory proceedings, and catastrophic events. We stress that the abovementioned list of important factors is not exhaustive. We encourage you to consider these and other factors carefully before making any investment decisions, and urge you to avoid placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Further, you should be aware of the fact that the Fund has no specific intention of updating any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, prior to the release of the next Management Report of Fund Performance. 2021 INTERIM REPORT CANADIAN INVESTMENT GRADE PREFERRED SHARE FUND INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT OF FUND PERFORMANCE The management report of fund performance presents the views of the Over the course of the first quarter, the fixed‑income and credit markets manager and the portfolio management team concerning significant factors and wrestled with the forces of rising rates, dovish central banks, the reopening developments that have affected the Fund’s performance and outlook. of the global economy, and a reflationary backdrop. The first‑quarter 2021 Please read the caution on the inside of the cover page regarding total return loss of ‑4.50% on US investment‑grade corporate index was the forward‑looking statements. second‑largest quarterly loss on record after ‑7.49% in the third quarter of 2008 during the global financial crisis. However, in April, the combination of a rallying INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES US Treasury market and positive momentum on the earnings front provided a good backdrop for credit markets. In the second quarter, companies generally Canadian Investment Grade Preferred Share Fund seeks to: (i) provide holders reported good numbers, credit metrics were generally stable or improved, and of units with monthly cash distributions, and (ii) maximize the total return defaults, for the most part, were low by historical measures. to unitholders over time, by investing in an actively managed portfolio (the Envisioning the world beyond government and central bank stimulus efforts will “Portfolio”) comprised primarily of preferred shares of Canadian issuers. be the story of the second half of this year. Many programs will begin to be taken The Portfolio will be actively managed by the Manager and will seek to capitalize off post Labour Day, and by third quarter, earnings comparisons will be harder on historically attractive yields accessible in the preferred share market when for companies to achieve. compared to Government of Canada bonds of similar duration. Not less than Fund performance has been strong over the reporting period. Nearly all sectors 80% of the total assets will be invested in Canadian preferred securities, with a have contributed to returns, with financials, the fund’s largest allocation, minimum of 80% of the total assets invested in investment grade securities. bringing the majority of returns year to date. Utilities and energy were also The Fund uses the Unit Traded Fund (“UTF”) structure, which has been meaningful contributors, despite their smaller allocations. We’ve decreased our developed to accomplish two goals, namely (a) to enable the Fund to invest weighting in cash and cash equivalents year to date, the performance of which virtually all of the gross proceeds from the offering in the portfolio, and (b) to has been relatively flat this year. Excluding those, everything by region, sector, encourage the Fund’s Class T units to trade in the market at a price not less than and asset class has performed well so far this year. 98.50% of their net asset value throughout the life of the Fund. MANDATORY MARKET PURCHASE PROGRAM The Fund will invest primarily in Canadian preferred securities issued by In order to enhance liquidity and provide market support for the Class T units, companies in the financial services sector, as well as energy, industrials, utilities, the Fund has the ability to repurchase Class T units under a mandatory market pipelines, health care and telecommunications sectors and other such sectors purchase program (“MMPP”). Under the MMPP, Class T units are repurchased at deemed appropriate by the Manager. their market price, the Fund has purchased 43,700 units at an average price of Purpose Investments Inc. (“Purpose”), is the manager of the Fund (the “Manager”). $25.23 over the period ended June 30, 2021. LEVERAGE RISK The Fund may employ leverage in an amount up to 25% of total assets for the purpose of: purchasing additional securities for the Portfolio, effecting market The risks of investing in the Fund are disclosed in the Fund’s prospectus and purchases of Class T units, maintaining liquidity and funding redemptions. there have been no significant changes during the period that affected the overall level of risk associated with the Fund. During the period ended June 30, 2021, the minimum and maximum amount borrowed was $nil and $3,749,422 (December 31, 2020 – $201,835 and RESULTS OF OPERATIONS $3,749,422), respectively; the percentage of total assets of the Fund that the borrowing represented at June 30, 2021 was not applicable (December 31, 2020 The Fund offers Class T units listed on the Aequitas NEO Exchange under the – 17.5%); and the terms of the borrowing were based on the Federal Funds rate ticker RIGP.UN and a mutual fund class. plus a spread. As at June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the interest rate was The net asset value per unit as at: not applicable. There was no related interest expense for the periods ended June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020. The borrowings were used to purchase June 30, December 31, additional securities in the portfolio. Investments are used as collateral against 2021 2020 Class ($) ($) the borrowed funds. The Fund will bear the risk of loss of any investment of cash collateral. Class T 27.00 21.06 During the period ended June 30, 2021, the Fund paid distributions as follows: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Class T Units The continued spread of COVID‑19 has sustained a high level of uncertainty Month ($) and volatility in the financial markets and has had an enormous impact on January 0.1146 businesses and consumers in all sectors. The continuous rollout of the COVID‑19 February 0.1146 vaccines will help in the recovery towards normality. March 0.1146 There were no changes to the Manager of the Fund, nor were there any material April 0.1146 changes to the investment philosophy or process. The Manager actively May 0.1146 monitors the positioning of the Fund’s portfolio for changes in current market June 0.1146 conditions and the economic environment. Total 0.6876 The last 16 months will go down as one of the most volatile but profitable periods in investing history, with markets back to all‑time highs, as the economy benefitted from the ongoing vaccine rollout, sizeable fiscal support from governments, and increasing retail sales. In the broader equities market, reflationary trades were favoured in the first two quarters of 2021 as value stocks outperformed growth stocks. However, large cap tech made a comeback as sinking bond yields breathed life back into the growth trade in June. 2021 INTERIM REPORT 1 CANADIAN INVESTMENT GRADE PREFERRED SHARE FUND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Purpose is deemed to be a related party as Manager of the Fund. Please refer The following tables show selected key financial information about the Fund below to the “Management Fee” section for fees paid to Purpose. Purpose and are intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance for has also appointed an Independent Review Committee (“IRC”) as required the years ended December 31, except 2021 which is provided as at June 30: by National Instrument 81‑107 Independent Review Committee for Investment NET ASSETS PER UNIT 1 Funds. The mandate of the IRC is to review, and provide input on, the Manager’s 2021 a 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 b written policies and procedures that deal with conflict of interest matters in Class T ($) ($) ($) ($) ($) ($) respect of the Funds. IRC members receive fees and reimbursement of expenses Net assets, beginning of period 21.06 21.04 23.10 29.44 25.06 25.00 c for services provided to the Fund and other Purpose managed funds and Agency and issue expense – – – (0.17) (0.16) (0.13) such costs are allocated among all the Funds on a fair and reasonable basis.