Dominion Bond Rating Service says that the provisions of Thursday’s market timing settlement will not affect the ratings of IGM Financial Inc.

DBRS says it considers the impact of the settlement on Investor Group’s profile to not be material and to have no impact on its ratings. It notes that IGM is only responsible for paying $19.2 million to affected investors out of a total $156 million settlement. “As compared to settlements agreed to by peers, relative to its size, the payment required by Investors Group is minor,” the rating agency says.

It notes that financial results for Investors Group were favourable for the nine months ended September 2004, with fee and investment income increasing 13% to $1.6 billion and net income increasing 12% to $470 million as compared to $420 million in the prior year period. Total mutual fund assets increased to $80.4 billion as at November 2004.

“The outlook for Investors Group, and for the industry overall, remains favourable due to stronger equity market performance in recent quarters which bolsters investor confidence, and due to demographics as the ageing population continues to invest savings for retirement,” it concludes.