Archive for March, 2014

March 28, 2014

Friday, March 28th, 2014

Placeholder won’t interfere with mortgage rates:

In contrast, when Mr. Oliver spoke to [BMO CEO] Mr. [Bill] Downe this week, he told the bank CEO that the government wants to be less involved in the mortgage market, and gave him the tacit go-ahead to cut rates.

Mr. Oliver went so far as to tell reporters in Ottawa Thursday that he would not be concerned if other banks followed suit, suggesting it was a private sector decision.

“There’s a market, and the bank made its decision,” he said.

“The chief executive officer of the Bank of Montreal informed me about it. I listened to his explanation, his reasons. I reiterated what I just stated, which is the government is gradually reducing its involvement in the mortgage market.”

Assiduous Readers will be used to, and perhaps even tired of, my complaints about SEDAR – a bank-owned (via the Canadian Depository for Securities) outfit that has been granted a monopoly on the publication of public documents that issuers are required to file, and which abuses that monopoly to an appalling extent with the smiling approval of the Canadian Securities Administrators.

But I don’t care if you’re tired of my complaints! I recently had occasion to require some information on CI Income Fund … and turned to SEDAR. So, the first thing on the document list found after a preliminary search is:

Jan 3 2014 16:06:24 ET Amended and restated final fund facts – English

So, let’s look at the precious Fund Facts, shall we? The wise securities administrators keep chanting about how vital and important Fund Facts are, so let’s start off by taking a peek at them.

Open the file and what do we find? There are actually quite a few:

  • CI Canadian Dividend Growth Fund (Class A units): Fund Facts
  • CI Canadian Dividend Growth Fund (Class D units): Fund Facts
  • CI Canadian Dividend Growth Fund (Class F units): Fund Facts
  • CI Canadian Dividend Growth Fund (Class I units): Fund Facts
  • CI Canadian Dividend Growth Fund (Class O units): Fund Facts
  • CI U.S. Dividend Growth Fund (Class A units): Fund Facts
  • CI U.S. Dividend Growth Fund (Class AT6 units): Fund Facts
  • CI U.S. Dividend Growth Fund (Class D units): Fund Facts
  • CI U.S. Dividend Growth Fund (Class F units): Fund Facts
  • CI U.S. Dividend Growth Fund (Class I units): Fund Facts
  • CI U.S. Dividend Growth Fund (Class O units): Fund Facts

Nothing – not a single damned thing – about CI Income Fund. Well done!

It was a good, if mixed, day for the Canadian preferred share market, which some might consider surprising because TMXMoney reports that TXPR was off 12bp and TXPL was down 17bp. A lot of issues went ex-dividend today … maybe somebody forgot to accrue? Anyway, PerpetualDiscounts were up 21bp, FixedResets were off 1bp and DeemedRetractibles gained 7bp. The Performance Highlights table is of average length, but notable for the inclusion of both Westcoast issues, which went ex-dividend but didn’t lose much bid. Volume was low, but block trading held up well.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.1003 % 2,421.9
FixedFloater 4.69 % 4.29 % 35,922 17.73 1 0.0000 % 3,619.2
Floater 3.01 % 3.09 % 49,954 19.49 4 0.1003 % 2,615.0
OpRet 4.65 % -0.89 % 100,030 0.23 3 0.0258 % 2,687.9
SplitShare 4.81 % 4.27 % 66,349 4.29 5 0.1273 % 3,087.8
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.0258 % 2,457.9
Perpetual-Premium 5.63 % -5.06 % 92,885 0.09 11 0.0644 % 2,366.0
Perpetual-Discount 5.44 % 5.50 % 123,002 14.56 26 0.2086 % 2,454.5
FixedReset 4.70 % 3.55 % 222,391 4.42 79 0.0118 % 2,516.8
Deemed-Retractible 5.06 % 2.29 % 160,674 0.16 42 0.0693 % 2,472.8
FloatingReset 2.62 % 2.58 % 191,055 4.31 5 -0.0283 % 2,453.2
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
CIU.PR.C FixedReset -1.84 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-28
Maturity Price : 21.30
Evaluated at bid price : 21.30
Bid-YTW : 3.75 %
W.PR.H Perpetual-Discount 1.11 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-28
Maturity Price : 24.31
Evaluated at bid price : 24.62
Bid-YTW : 5.59 %
MFC.PR.B Deemed-Retractible 1.23 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.29
Bid-YTW : 6.08 %
W.PR.J Perpetual-Discount 1.41 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-28
Maturity Price : 24.55
Evaluated at bid price : 24.80
Bid-YTW : 5.65 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
TD.PR.Y FixedReset 146,774 TD crossed blocks of 60,000 shares, 55,200 and 19,800, all at 25.30.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.30
Bid-YTW : 3.42 %
MFC.PR.L FixedReset 115,261 RBC crossed 107,500 at 24.49.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.47
Bid-YTW : 4.20 %
CU.PR.D Perpetual-Discount 102,100 Nesbitt crossed two blocks of 50,000 each, both at 23.58.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-28
Maturity Price : 23.14
Evaluated at bid price : 23.46
Bid-YTW : 5.26 %
TD.PR.I FixedReset 101,600 TD crossed blocks of 25,000 shares, 55,200 and 19,800, all at 25.67.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-07-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.65
Bid-YTW : 1.50 %
RY.PR.Z FixedReset 87,730 RBC crossed blocks of 50,000 and 25,000, both at 25.52.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2019-05-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.52
Bid-YTW : 3.70 %
TD.PR.K FixedReset 86,325 TD crossed blocks of 60,000 and 19,800, both at 25.67.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-07-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.65
Bid-YTW : 1.50 %
There were 19 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
PWF.PR.A Floater Quote: 19.32 – 19.99
Spot Rate : 0.6700
Average : 0.5440

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-28
Maturity Price : 19.32
Evaluated at bid price : 19.32
Bid-YTW : 2.74 %

TD.PR.R Deemed-Retractible Quote: 26.39 – 26.70
Spot Rate : 0.3100
Average : 0.1871

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.75
Evaluated at bid price : 26.39
Bid-YTW : -12.37 %

ELF.PR.F Perpetual-Discount Quote: 23.26 – 23.58
Spot Rate : 0.3200
Average : 0.2334

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-28
Maturity Price : 22.99
Evaluated at bid price : 23.26
Bid-YTW : 5.70 %

GWO.PR.M Deemed-Retractible Quote: 25.86 – 26.18
Spot Rate : 0.3200
Average : 0.2348

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2018-03-31
Maturity Price : 25.25
Evaluated at bid price : 25.86
Bid-YTW : 5.08 %

CIU.PR.C FixedReset Quote: 21.30 – 21.63
Spot Rate : 0.3300
Average : 0.2486

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-28
Maturity Price : 21.30
Evaluated at bid price : 21.30
Bid-YTW : 3.75 %

ENB.PR.N FixedReset Quote: 24.78 – 24.99
Spot Rate : 0.2100
Average : 0.1399

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-28
Maturity Price : 23.11
Evaluated at bid price : 24.78
Bid-YTW : 4.25 %

CF.PR.A, CF.PR.C : DBRS Says Trend Now “Stable”

Friday, March 28th, 2014

DBRS has announced that it:

has today confirmed its rating of the Cumulative Preferred Shares of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. (Canaccord or the Company) at Pfd-3 (low). The trend was restored to Stable (from Negative) largely on the strength of integration success and because improved geographic diversity has demonstrated a strengthening of Canaccord’s through-the-cycle resilience in the extended weak market environment in Canada. Results in U.K. and Europe, in particular, have counterbalanced poor results in Canada. The return to a Stable trend reflects DBRS’s belief that a negative rating action is less likely to occur in the very near term.

Canaccord’s leverage, as measured by total debt plus preferred shares-to-capitalization, of around 20% is acceptable to DBRS, as are the coverage ratios that have rebounded from recent periods. DBRS does recognize that the current environment represents a low point in the cycle and thus metrics are expected to be in the weaker end of the ranges; nevertheless, any deterioration will be unfavourable for the rating.

The trend has been negative for a long time! CF.PR.A was last mentioned on PrefBlog when the trend was revised to negative by DBRS in December 2011; CF.PR.C started trading in April 2012.

March 27, 2014

Thursday, March 27th, 2014

The world is about to end – banks are competing on price:

Just one week after Jim Flaherty stepped down, Bank of Montreal is shaking up the mortgage market, aggressively cutting its five-year rate to levels that caused the former finance minister to intervene last year.

BMO is now offering five-year fixed mortgages at 2.99 per cent, slashing its rate from 3.49 per cent. While that’s not the lowest rate in the market, BMO is the first big bank to move below the sensitive 3-per-cent threshold.

The last time a Canadian bank’s mortgage rates fell this low, in March of 2013, Mr. Flaherty stepped in and publicly called for “responsible lending” because he worried about an overheated housing market.

BMO’s rate cut comes after Toronto-Dominion Bank lowered its four-year rate to 2.97 per cent earlier in March. Last week, shortly after Mr. Flaherty stepped down, Bank of Nova Scotia also slashed its mortgage rates, and instituted a special 2.94-per-cent four-year rate.

At least one credit union also moved its five-year rate to 2.99 per cent in February.

Meanwhile, the Feds are defending their data:

Federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney defended his government’s use of Kijiji, but acknowledged there are technical concerns with the data including the need to weed out repeated postings for the same position.

“People are laughing at Kijiji, but it’s the new classified ads,” he told CTV’s Power Play. “I would just invite some of these economists – who sit in front of their spreadsheets of inadequate data trying to figure out the world – I wish they would actually go out into the real world and talk to employers like I do all the time.”

Mr. Kenney said critics should recognize the challenge of producing reliable labour data in a world of online job boards.

Let’s all square our rots for a good boo-hoo-hoo about how analysis is hard. It’s easier than reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of our analysis.

David Parkinson of the Globe points out:

Finance’s dramatic numbers don’t pass a basic sniff test. Specifically, if Canada really was suffering from acute skills shortages across a broad swath of the economy, it would manifest in significant upward pressure on wages. Those wage pressures, in general, simply aren’t there.

Year-over-year increases in Canadians’ average weekly wages have trended downward over much of the past two years, even as the country added more than 400,000 jobs. Average year-over-year wage growth last year was just 2 per cent, well below the 10-year average of 2.9 per cent and the five-year average of 2.5 per cent.

That said, there is certainly evidence of pockets where wage pressures are significant, indicative of possible skills shortages.

In Alberta, average weekly wages were up 4.6 per cent year over year in December. Two other oil-industry-heavy provinces, Newfoundland and Saskatchewan, posted increases of 3.8 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively. Skills- and education-heavy segments of the economy – such as business management; professional, scientific and technical services; mining and oil and gas extraction; and construction – have, indeed, shown some of the biggest year-over year wage gains.

It was a soft day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualDiscounts down 4bp, FixedResets off 1bp and DeemedRetractibles flat. Given the overall move, the Performance Highlights table is surprisingly lengthy, with a fair number of losers. Volume was average, but with some very nice block trades.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.2572 % 2,419.5
FixedFloater 4.69 % 4.29 % 34,447 17.73 1 0.0494 % 3,619.2
Floater 3.01 % 3.09 % 50,749 19.48 4 -0.2572 % 2,612.4
OpRet 4.65 % -0.88 % 100,053 0.23 3 -0.0258 % 2,687.3
SplitShare 4.81 % 4.11 % 67,229 4.29 5 -0.0159 % 3,083.9
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.0258 % 2,457.2
Perpetual-Premium 5.64 % -5.65 % 93,436 0.08 11 -0.0823 % 2,364.5
Perpetual-Discount 5.44 % 5.47 % 121,179 14.56 26 -0.0432 % 2,449.4
FixedReset 4.69 % 3.53 % 230,414 4.33 79 -0.0069 % 2,516.5
Deemed-Retractible 5.05 % 2.84 % 161,477 0.33 42 0.0029 % 2,471.1
FloatingReset 2.61 % 2.56 % 194,631 4.29 5 0.1041 % 2,453.9
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
IGM.PR.B Perpetual-Premium -1.59 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2018-12-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.44
Bid-YTW : 5.38 %
BAM.PR.K Floater -1.13 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-27
Maturity Price : 16.65
Evaluated at bid price : 16.65
Bid-YTW : 3.15 %
MFC.PR.B Deemed-Retractible -1.08 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.02
Bid-YTW : 6.22 %
BAM.PR.M Perpetual-Discount -1.07 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-27
Maturity Price : 20.41
Evaluated at bid price : 20.41
Bid-YTW : 5.86 %
GWO.PR.N FixedReset -1.03 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.15
Bid-YTW : 4.49 %
MFC.PR.F FixedReset 1.16 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.76
Bid-YTW : 4.46 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
TRP.PR.A FixedReset 856,484 RBC crossed two blocks of 427,400 each, both at 23.29.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-27
Maturity Price : 22.69
Evaluated at bid price : 23.30
Bid-YTW : 3.92 %
MFC.PR.J FixedReset 201,210 Desjardins crossed blocks of 137,500 and 50,000, both at 25.50.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2018-03-19
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.44
Bid-YTW : 3.56 %
SLF.PR.F FixedReset 200,100 RBC crossed blocks of 70,000 shares, 50,000 and 74,600, all at 25.33.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-06-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.27
Bid-YTW : 1.52 %
RY.PR.L FixedReset 114,040 RBC crossed blocks of 49,000 and 20,000, both at 26.45. TD crossed 35,000 at the same price.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2019-02-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.38
Bid-YTW : 3.14 %
RY.PR.B Deemed-Retractible 101,684 RBC crossed blocks of 75,000 and 20,000, both at 25.60.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-08-24
Maturity Price : 25.25
Evaluated at bid price : 25.63
Bid-YTW : 2.01 %
RY.PR.Z FixedReset 99,610 RBC crossed 85,000 at 25.50.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2019-05-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.51
Bid-YTW : 3.71 %
There were 32 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
BAM.PR.G FixedFloater Quote: 20.26 – 20.90
Spot Rate : 0.6400
Average : 0.4828

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-27
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 20.26
Bid-YTW : 4.29 %

PWF.PR.A Floater Quote: 19.44 – 19.99
Spot Rate : 0.5500
Average : 0.4058

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-27
Maturity Price : 19.44
Evaluated at bid price : 19.44
Bid-YTW : 2.72 %

GWO.PR.P Deemed-Retractible Quote: 24.97 – 25.30
Spot Rate : 0.3300
Average : 0.1985

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.97
Bid-YTW : 5.44 %

TRP.PR.B FixedReset Quote: 20.15 – 20.59
Spot Rate : 0.4400
Average : 0.3206

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-27
Maturity Price : 20.15
Evaluated at bid price : 20.15
Bid-YTW : 3.82 %

MFC.PR.B Deemed-Retractible Quote: 22.02 – 22.34
Spot Rate : 0.3200
Average : 0.2170

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.02
Bid-YTW : 6.22 %

MFC.PR.K FixedReset Quote: 24.49 – 24.82
Spot Rate : 0.3300
Average : 0.2276

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.49
Bid-YTW : 4.15 %

March 26, 2014

Wednesday, March 26th, 2014

Some civil servant claims that we need more civil servants:

Accordingly, in January, OSFI announced that, consistent with its mandate and expertise, it will supervise the effectiveness of governance and risk controls surrounding banks’ CDOR submission processes. Subsequently, in its recent budget, the federal government announced its intention to include a regulation-making authority in the Bank Act covering bank submissions to financial benchmarks.

Furthermore, the banks on the CDOR panel should, fairly soon, release a submitters’ code of conduct that they have developed in consultation with IIROC and the Bank of Canada. In addition to providing a formal definition of CDOR and requirements for being a submitter, the code will specify minimum standards for submission methodology, internal oversight and records retention.

Work continues to strengthen other aspects of the governance of CDOR to meet the principles established by IOSCO. For instance, we have discussed with industry the need for it to establish more formal administrative arrangements for CDOR, and the industry has begun work to take this forward.

Yeah, right. This guy works for the Bank of Canada, which reports 5-year GICs at 1.63%, and 5-year mortgages at 4.99%, in addition to problems with the housing price/rent ratio.

But there’s no shortage of questionable statistics:

Economists have been scratching their heads for weeks as to how the Conservative government could claim on budget day that Canada’s job vacancy rate was on the rise when Statistics Canada said it was declining.

The answer, it appears, is that Finance Canada’s numbers were thrown off by data from a surprising place: questionable job postings on Kijiji, a popular classified site used by Canadians to buy and sell everything from rarely used exercise bikes to old electronics.

Officials with the Parliamentary Budget Office say Kijiji is so unreliable as a job site that it can single-handedly explain away the government’s claims. With the simple removal of that one site from the search, the steep rise Ottawa flagged becomes much closer to a flat line.

The Fed’s regulators have determined that Citigroup doesn’t employ enough ex-regulators:

Citigroup Inc.’s capital plan was among five that failed Federal Reserve stress tests, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. passed only after reducing their requests for buybacks and dividends.

Citigroup, as well as U.S. units of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc and Banco Santander SA, failed because of qualitative concerns about their processes, the Fed said today in a statement. Zions Bancorporation was rejected as its capital fell below the minimum required. The central bank approved plans for 25 banks.

The central bank identified multiple deficiencies in Citigroup’s planning practices, including areas the Fed had flagged previously. The regulator expressed concern with the New York-based company’s ability to project losses in “material parts of its global operations” and to reflect all business exposures in its internal stress test.

“Taken in isolation, each of the deficiencies would not have been deemed critical enough to warrant an objection, but when viewed together, they raise sufficient concerns regarding the overall reliability of Citigroup’s capital planning process,” the Fed said.

Mike Corbat, the bank’s chief executive officer, said in a statement that Citigroup is “deeply disappointed” by the rejection and said the company will “work closely with the Fed to better understand their concerns so that we can bring our capital planning process in line with their expectations.” The timing of any resubmission hasn’t been decided, he said.

Osler has a chapter in their Capital Markets 2013 report titled Canada’s Technology Renaissance. It seems a successful entrepreneurs are mainly successful at sucking the public tit:

In addition, the Business Development Bank of Canada provides further funding to each successful accelerator graduate in the form a $150,000 convertible note.

The federal government has demonstrated its strong commitment to the sector by announcing (as part of the 2012 budget) that it would set aside $400 million for investment in Canadian venture capital funds. The Ontario government demonstrated a similar commitment by announcing in March 2013 that it would set aside $50 million for a new Ontario venture capital fund. In addition, the Ontario government continues to be an active direct investor through initiatives such as the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation (which matches investments made by qualified investors) and MaRS Innovation Accelerator Fund (which provides seed investments of up to $500,000 to promising Ontario-based start-ups).

The other point, in the chapter The Leading Role of Canadian Pension Funds at Home and Abroad is that returns look better when you mark to make-believe:

Pension funds have increased their direct investments in private equity, infrastructure and real estate as they continue to seek to align fund investment horizons with their long-term liability profile and reap the rewards of higher returns. Preliminary results from an ongoing survey by global consultant Mercer LLC reveal that the percentage of Canadian pension funds investing in alternative investments climbed to 38% from 25% over the past three years and that the average allocation to alternatives has increased to 18% from 15% in 2010.1 As their allocations to these areas have increased, Canadian pension funds have become highly visible in these markets. Smaller Canadian pension funds have also demonstrated an inclination towards alternative asset investing, guided by the expertise of Canadian pension consultants.

Yes, sir, if you want good investment advice, you really can rely on the expertise of Canadian pension consultants, all right! This isn’t going to turn out well.

Hedge funds are helping the US housing market renormalize. Of course, it helps when somebody else takes the first loss:

Louis Ragusa, who hasn’t paid his mortgage in two years, says he now has a chance to save his Blackwood, New Jersey, home from foreclosure after a hedge fund bought the loan.

American Homeowner Preservation, a Chicago-based investment firm, purchased the mortgage for less than half of what Ragusa owed. Chief Executive Officer Jorge Newbery called the father of three in August with an offer: Pay $5,000 and the company will drop the foreclosure case and erase the more than $100,000 of unpaid principal and penalties amassed.

The firms are making deep cuts to loan balances so borrowers can afford to pay again and the mortgages can be sold as more valuable “performing” notes. Another strategy is to offer thousands of dollars to those who agree to hand over keys without a fight. While borrowers seeking foreclosure alternatives from large banks have complained of lengthy processes and lost paperwork, Newbery says his company requires little or no documentation to approve a sale or loan workout.

Lenders are selling pools of soured mortgages as they face new regulations that make bad debt more expensive to hold. Banks sold $34.7 billion in nonperforming loans last year, up from $13.1 billion in 2012, according to Mission Capital Advisors, a New York-based real estate loan broker.

A delinquent mortgage in [judicial] New Jersey [where foreclosures need court approval] will cost about 60 percent of the property’s current value, compared with as much as 80 percent for a similar loan in California, a nonjudicial state, according to Derek Katz, managing director of Denver-based MountainView Capital Holdings, a residential whole-loan investor and sale adviser.

It is interesting to note that Enbridge has issued 50-year paper at 4.56%. This may be contrasted with their recent issue of ENB.PF.A, a FixedReset, 4.40%+266. I like the preferred better – and I didn’t like the preferred much!

It was a mixed day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualDiscounts up 14bp, FixedResets gaining 3bp and DeemedRetractibles off 2bp. Volatility was nothing special. Volume was slightly below average, but there were some nicely sized block trades.

PerpetualDiscounts now yield 5.47%, equivalent to 7.11% interest at the standard equivalency factor of 1.3x. Long corporates now yield about 4.5%, so the pre-tax interest-equivalent spread (in this context, the “Seniority Spread”) is now about 260bp, a significant tightening from the 275bp reported March 19 … although that figure is now suspect, given that the March 12 calculation resulted in an estimate of 265bp.

Geez, much more of this and I’ll have to go work for the Bank of Canada.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.0143 % 2,425.7
FixedFloater 4.69 % 4.29 % 35,808 17.73 1 0.2475 % 3,617.4
Floater 3.00 % 3.11 % 51,095 19.45 4 0.0143 % 2,619.1
OpRet 4.65 % -1.20 % 92,662 0.23 3 0.0000 % 2,687.9
SplitShare 4.80 % 4.13 % 67,574 4.30 5 0.1829 % 3,084.4
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.0000 % 2,457.9
Perpetual-Premium 5.63 % -4.97 % 94,848 0.09 11 0.1238 % 2,366.5
Perpetual-Discount 5.43 % 5.47 % 121,942 14.47 26 0.1363 % 2,450.5
FixedReset 4.69 % 3.59 % 221,909 4.38 79 0.0326 % 2,516.7
Deemed-Retractible 5.05 % 2.31 % 152,705 0.33 42 -0.0250 % 2,471.0
FloatingReset 2.62 % 2.59 % 196,343 7.05 5 0.0400 % 2,451.3
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
MFC.PR.C Deemed-Retractible -1.37 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 21.55
Bid-YTW : 6.32 %
GWO.PR.N FixedReset 1.22 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.38
Bid-YTW : 4.37 %
FTS.PR.H FixedReset 1.59 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-26
Maturity Price : 21.43
Evaluated at bid price : 21.75
Bid-YTW : 3.73 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
HSE.PR.A FixedReset 989,071 Nesbitt crossed two blocks of 50,000 each, both at 22.92. RBC crossed two blocks of 443,800 each, both at the same price. Nice tickets!
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-26
Maturity Price : 22.58
Evaluated at bid price : 22.90
Bid-YTW : 3.87 %
RY.PR.Z FixedReset 170,085 RBC bought 10,200 from Nesbitt at 25.50, crossed 10,000 at 25.53 and finally crossed 100,000 at 25.50.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2019-05-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.51
Bid-YTW : 3.71 %
BMO.PR.J Deemed-Retractible 144,410 RBC crossed 139,000 at 25.75.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-04-25
Maturity Price : 25.50
Evaluated at bid price : 25.75
Bid-YTW : -3.21 %
PWF.PR.E Perpetual-Discount 132,350 Scotia crossed 131,000 at 24.92.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-26
Maturity Price : 24.68
Evaluated at bid price : 25.00
Bid-YTW : 5.58 %
BMO.PR.P FixedReset 119,677 RBC crossed blocks of 47,900 shares, 25,000 and 19,900, all at 26.06. TD crossed 20,000 at the same price.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-02-25
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.02
Bid-YTW : 1.42 %
NA.PR.Q FixedReset 104,200 TD crossed 50,000 at 25.90 and 28,700 at 25.95; they also bought 17,900 from RBC at 25.90.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-11-15
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.89
Bid-YTW : 2.90 %
There were 28 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
MFC.PR.C Deemed-Retractible Quote: 21.55 – 21.90
Spot Rate : 0.3500
Average : 0.2204

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 21.55
Bid-YTW : 6.32 %

BAM.PR.X FixedReset Quote: 21.17 – 21.43
Spot Rate : 0.2600
Average : 0.1646

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-26
Maturity Price : 21.17
Evaluated at bid price : 21.17
Bid-YTW : 4.41 %

ELF.PR.H Perpetual-Discount Quote: 24.41 – 24.79
Spot Rate : 0.3800
Average : 0.3094

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-26
Maturity Price : 24.01
Evaluated at bid price : 24.41
Bid-YTW : 5.73 %

CU.PR.C FixedReset Quote: 25.40 – 25.59
Spot Rate : 0.1900
Average : 0.1230

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-06-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.40
Bid-YTW : 3.57 %

FTS.PR.E OpRet Quote: 25.90 – 26.10
Spot Rate : 0.2000
Average : 0.1412

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-06-01
Maturity Price : 25.50
Evaluated at bid price : 25.90
Bid-YTW : -1.92 %

BAM.PR.T FixedReset Quote: 24.00 – 24.20
Spot Rate : 0.2000
Average : 0.1487

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2044-03-26
Maturity Price : 22.97
Evaluated at bid price : 24.00
Bid-YTW : 4.23 %

DF.PR.A To Get Bigger

Wednesday, March 26th, 2014

Quadravest has announced:

Dividend 15 Split Corp. II (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has filed a preliminary short form prospectus in each of the provinces of Canada with respect to an offering of Preferred Shares and Class A Shares of the Company. The offering will be co-led by National Bank Financial Inc., CIBC, RBC Capital Markets and will also include BMO Capital Markets, TD Securities Inc., GMP Securities L.P. and Canaccord Genuity Corp.

The Preferred Shares will be offered at a price of $10.00 per Preferred Share to yield 5.25% on the issue price and the Class A Shares will be offered at a price of $8.50 per Class A Share to yield 14.12% on the issue price. The closing price on the TSX of each of the Preferred Shares and the Class A Shares on March 25, 2014 was $10.14 and $9.08, respectively.

The net proceeds of the secondary offering will be used by the Company to invest in an actively managed portfolio of dividend-yielding common shares which includes each of the 15 Canadian companies listed below:

Bank of Montreal Enbridge Inc. TELUS Corporation
The Bank of Nova Scotia Manulife Financial Corp. Thomson-Reuters Corporation
BCE Inc. National Bank of Canada The Toronto-Dominion Bank
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Royal Bank of Canada TransAlta Corporation
CI Financial Corp. Sun Life Financial Inc. TransCanada Corporation

The Company’s investment objectives are:
Preferred Shares:
i. to provide holders of the Preferred Shares with fixed, cumulative preferential monthly cash dividends in the amount of $0.04375 per Preferred Share to yield 5.25% per annum on the original issue price; and
ii. on or about December 1, 2019, to pay the holders of the Preferred Shares the original issue price of those shares.

Class A Shares:
i. to provide holders of the Class A Shares with regular monthly cash dividends initially targeted to be $0.10 per Class A; and
ii. on or about December 1, 2019, to pay the holders of Class A Shares at least the original issue price of those shares.

The sales period of this overnight offering will end at 9:00 a.m. (Toronto time) on March 27, 2014.

The pricing on this is interesting … as may be seen from the press release, the new units are being offered at a nice discount to market. Discerning investors will, however, note that the NAVPU on March 14 was 16.55 and that a reasonable proxy, XDV, is up only about 60bp since then … so the estimated current NAVPU is about 16.64 and the unit price for the offering is 18.50. Some bargain!

DF.PR.A was last mentioned on PrefBlog when it got bigger last November. DF.PR.A is tracked by HIMIPref™ but is relegated to the Scraps index on credit concerns.

Update, 2014-4-29: On April 10, Quadravest announced:

Dividend 15 Split Corp. II (the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has completed an overnight offering of 2,225,250 Preferred Shares and 2,225,250 Class A Shares. Total gross proceeds of the offering were $41.2 million, bringing the Company’s net assets to approximately $153.7 million. Shares will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the existing symbol DF.PR.A (Preferred Shares) and DF (Class A shares).

The Preferred Shares were offered at a price of $10.00 per share to yield 5.25% annually and the Class A Shares were offered at a price of $8.50 per share targeting to yield 14.1%, based on the current distribution policy.

The offering was co-led by National Bank Financial Inc., CIBC and RBC Capital Markets and also included BMO Capital Markets, TD Securities Inc., GMP Securities L.P. and Canaccord Genuity Corp.

NEW.PR.C To Be Refunded In June

Wednesday, March 26th, 2014

Scotia Managed Companies has announced:

NewGrowth Corp. (the “Company”) announced today that holders of its Class A Capital Shares (“Capital Shares”) have overwhelmingly approved a share capital reorganization (the “Reorganization”) allowing holders of Capital Shares, at their option, to retain their investment in the Company after the scheduled redemption date of June 26, 2014. The Reorganization will permit holders of Capital Shares to extend their investment in the Company beyond the redemption date of June 26, 2014 for up to an additional 5 years. The Class B Preferred Shares, Series 2 will be redeemed on the same terms originally contemplated in their share provisions on June 26, 2014. In order to maintain the leveraged “split share” structure of the Company, the Company expects to create and issue a new series of Class B preferred shares on or about June 26, 2014.

Holders of Capital Shares electing to retain their investment in the Company will continue to enjoy the benefit of a leveraged participation in the capital appreciation of the Company’s portfolio while potentially deferring any capital gains tax liability which would otherwise be realized on the redemption of their Capital Shares. As part of the Reorganization, the Company’s portfolio of common shares of Canadian chartered banks, telecommunication, utility and pipeline companies will be expanded to include selected issuers in the oil and gas sector and will be rebalanced to equal weight.

Holders of Capital Shares who do not wish to continue their investment in the Company after June 26, 2014 must give notice that they wish to exercise their special retraction right and how they wish to be paid for their shares on or prior to April 18, 2014. Holders of Capital Shares who retract their Capital Shares will be paid on June 26, 2014. The Reorganization will become effective provided that holders of at least 1,287,000 Capital Shares retain their Capital Shares and do not exercise the special retraction right.

The proposal for the Capital Unit term extension was reported on PrefBlog. NEW.PR.C is tracked by HIMIPref™ but is assigned to the Scraps index on volume concerns.

New S&P/TSX Preferred Share Sub-Indices?

Wednesday, March 26th, 2014

I was a little startled to find some new entries on the TMXMoney indices page:

S&P/TSX Preferred Share Current Year Laddered Index ^TXLC 954.15 -0.51 -0.05
S&P/TSX Preferred Share Year 1 Laddered Index ^TXL1 886.44 -0.72 -0.08
S&P/TSX Preferred Share Year 2 Laddered Index ^TXL2 872.91 -0.19 -0.02
S&P/TSX Preferred Share Year 3 Laddered Index ^TXL3 875.73 0.44 0.05
S&P/TSX Preferred Share Year 4 Laddered Index ^TXL4 948.92 0.37 0.04

Clicking the names provides the inclusion criteria – just as one would expect from the names, e.g.:

•Same as the S&P/TSX Preferred Share Laddered Index, except that preferred stocks are restricted to those with reset dates in the current calendar year.

The “methodology” and “fact sheet” buttons lead only to the TXPL methodology and fact sheet.

There are no references to these subindices on S&P’s TXPL web page.

Mr. Google knows nothing about these indices.

So it’s all very mysterious. I suspect that there’s a new ETF family in the works, now that ZPR has attracted $972-million in about sixteen months making every promoter in the country salivate while kicking themselves for not thinking of it first; and I’m sure that the Exchange doesn’t create these things on spec.

The other puzzle is: what useful purpose could these things serve? I would be more interested in a slicing of TXPL by credit quality (investment grade & junk) and Issue Reset Spread (so that the bands were, effectively, ‘likely call’, ‘likely extension’ and ‘maybe’, but I know nothing of sales techniques.

Registered Disability Savings Plans

Wednesday, March 26th, 2014

I’m more of a portfolio manager than a financial planner, so it was only recently that I learned of Flaherty’s little-known legacy for a largely forgotten minority:

The RDSP is a cousin of the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) but tweaked to fit the needs of those with physical, developmental and psychiatric disabilities.

Under the program, money can be set aside for a person with a disability (by family or the person him– or herself) and investments accrue tax-free; the RDSP is much like a RRSP, except withdrawals can begin at age 45. For example, the parent of a 15-year-old who puts $200 a month into the plan would provide her with an additional $2,500 a month by age 65. Also, the rules are such that her other income, such as disability benefits, would not be clawed back as a result.

What distinguishes it from a RRSP is that the federal government also makes a contribution, like it does with the Registered Education Savings Plan, but far more generous. Those eligible for a RDSP can get a grant of up to $3,500 a year, and low-income parents can receive an additional Disability Savings Bond of up to $1,000 annually.

The main knock on the program is that it takes a lot of paperwork – which is the reality with any program with eligibility. In this case, a person’s disability has to be so severe that they qualify for a Disability Tax Credit.

The main Revenue Canada web page which has links to Eligibility Requirements:

You can designate an individual as beneficiary if the individual:
•is eligible for the disability tax credit (DTC);
•has a valid social insurance number (SIN);
•is a resident in Canada when the plan is entered into; and
•is under the age of 60 (a plan can be opened for an individual until the end of the year in which they turn 59).The age limit does not apply when a beneficiary’s RDSP is opened as a result of a transfer from the beneficiary’s former RDSP.

… and links to grant information and savings bonds:

An RDSP can get a maximum of $3,500 in matching grants in one year, and up to $70,000 over the beneficiary’s lifetime. A grant can be paid into an RDSP on contributions made to the beneficiary’s RDSP until December 31 of the year the beneficiary turns 49.

The amount of the grant is based on the beneficiary’s family income. The beneficiary family income thresholds are indexed each year to inflation. The income thresholds for 2013 are as follows:

Amount of CDSG grant when family income is $87,123 or less:
•on the first $500 contribution—$3 grant for every dollar contributed, up to $1,500 a year.
•on the next $1,000 contribution—$2 grant for every dollar contributed, up to $2,000 a year.

Amount of CDSG grant when family income is more than $87,123:
•on the first $1,000 contribution—$1 grant for every dollar contributed, up to $1,000.

… and the savings bonds part …

A Canada disability savings bond (bond) is an amount paid by the Government of Canada directly into an RDSP. The Government will pay bonds of up to $1,000 a year to low-income Canadians with disabilities. No contributions have to be made to get the bond. The lifetime bond limit is $20,000. A bond can be paid into an RDSP until the year in which the beneficiary turns 49.

The amount of the bond is based on the beneficiary’s family income. The beneficiary family income thresholds are indexed each year to inflation. The income thresholds for 2013 are as follows:
•$25,356 or less (or if the holder is a public institution), the bond is $1,000;
•between $25,356 and $43,561, part of the $1,000 is based on the formula in the Canada Disability Savings Act;
•more than $43,561, no bond is paid.

This doesn’t really have a lot to do with preferred shares, I agree. But while I don’t consider myself to be a financial planning specialist, I do know more about financial matters than most people … and I’d never heard of this. Right off the top of my head, I knew of two families who might be eligible.

So … I decided this needed some more publicity, and this is it.

MAPF Releases 2013 Financial Statements

Tuesday, March 25th, 2014

Malachite Aggressive Preferred Fund has released its Audited Financial Statements for 2013. In addition, Portfolio Transactions for 2013 have also been published.

For those who are more familiar with ticker symbols than full names of securities, the Holdings as of 2013-12-31 are presented in an alternative format.

TD.PR.E and TD.PR.G To Be Redeemed

Tuesday, March 25th, 2014

The Toronto-Dominion Bank has announced:

that it will exercise its right to redeem all of its 12 million outstanding Non-cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset Preferred Shares, Series AE (the “Series AE Shares”) on April 30, 2014 at the price per share of $25.00, for an aggregate total of approximately $300 million.

TD also announced it will exercise its right to redeem all of its 15 million outstanding Non-cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset Preferred Shares, Series AG (the “Series AG Shares”) on April 30, 2014 at the price per share of $25.00, for an aggregate total of approximately $375 million.

On February 27, 2014, the Board of Directors of TD declared quarterly dividends of $0.390625 per Series AE Share and $0.390625 per Series AG Share. These will be the final dividends on the Series AE Shares and Series AG Shares, respectively, and will be paid in the usual manner on April 30, 2014 to shareholders of record on April 8, 2014, as previously announced. After April 30, 2014, the Series AE Shares and Series AG Shares will cease to be entitled to dividends and the holders of such shares will not be entitled to exercise any right in respect thereof except that of receiving the redemption amount.

Instructions with respect to receipt of the redemption amount will be set out in the Letter of Transmittal to be mailed to registered holders of the Series AE Shares and Series AG Shares shortly. Inquiries should be directed to our Registrar and Transfer Agent, CST Trust Company, at 1-800-387-0825 (or in Toronto 416-682-3860). Beneficial holders who are not directly the registered holder of these shares should contact the financial institution, broker or other intermediary through which they hold these shares to confirm how they will receive their redemption proceeds.

There should be no surprise at these redemptions. TD.PR.E is a FixedReset, 6.25%+437, which commenced trading 2009-1-14 and TD.PR.G is a FixedReset, 6.25%+438, which commenced trading 2009-1-30.