(December 1 – 11:30 ET) – Canada Life Financial Corp. is considering a new investment strategy – investing some of its surplus assets in hedge funds.

Bob Morrison, vice president and chief investment officer at Canada Life, says a study group is considering a small investment in hedge funds from the firm’s US$3 billion surplus. The remarks were reported in HedgeWorld, a U.S. hedge fund industry trade publication. “One of the critical decisions is how to do it,” Morrison said.

The firm’s investment committee will decide what to do with the funds, and may invest in a plain vanilla fund or a fund of funds. A decision is expected in the first quarter of 2001. “We are trying to find alpha without taking on a lot of volatility in the stock market,” Morrison said.
-IE Staff