McLean Budden has launched Canada’s first UCITS fund family based in Dublin, Ireland, making five of Canada’s top performing equity funds available in more than 100 countries worldwide.

RBC Dexia Investor Services is acting as the fund’s custodian, administrator and transfer agent.

“We have actively managed assets on behalf of our non-Canadian clients for more than four decades,” stated Roger Beauchemin, president and CEO, McLean Budden, in a release.

“This international following has grown organically based on the strength of our balanced approach, which translates into a non-Canadian client base of over $2.5 billion in a dozen countries. The UCITS umbrella now makes us available to an array of global clients who until now have not had access to us.”

Since being introduced in 1985, UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) funds have become increasingly popular among global investors. UCITS funds enable investment managers to distribute their products across borders within a transparent and highly regulated structure. UCITS have been described as the gold standard for investor protection, regulation and disclosure.

“As a Canadian investment firm, we have a substantial advantage in international markets,” explained Beauchemin. “Canadian diversity fuels an understanding of global markets, and this is reflected in our firm — with 110 employees and 27 languages spoken across the company. We understand
global markets because we have been global investors since day one — today we manage over $8 billion in global equities.”

“It also helps that Canada’s financial system is widely recognized for its strength, integrity and stability,” Beuchemin concluded.

The McLean Budden UCITS structure has a family of five funds. Each fund has four classes: two institutional and two private client. All four classes are denominated in U.S. dollars and euros

The funds mirror five of McLean Budden’s topperforming funds, which have previously only been
available to Canadians:

• McLean Budden American Equity Fund;
• McLean Budden Canadian Equity Fund;
• McLean Budden Global Equity Fund;
• McLean Budden Global Equity Growth Fund; and
• McLean Budden Global Equity Value Fund.

The McLean Budden UCITS fund family was launched on Dec. 31 and is regulated by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority.

Founded in 1947, McLean Budden has offices in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver and Chicago. The firm actively manages over $35 billion in pension, foundation, mutual fund assets and private wealth on behalf of institutional and private clients across North America, Europe and Asia.

IE