AGF Management Ltd. has been named a “dividend achiever” by Mergent Inc., a New York-based provider of global business and financial information, for an outstanding record of five or more years of consecutive dividend increases.

Mergent says this honour is shared by only 1% of Canadian-listed dividend-paying companies.

According to Mergent, AGF ranks in the top 10 of Canadian dividend achievers with a five-year average annual compound growth rate on dividends of 22.28% from Jan. 31, 2000 to Jan. 31, 2005.

AGF has raised its dividend for eight consecutive years, one of the longest records in Canada, and raised it this year alone by 36.4% from the previous quarterly rate.

“We are delighted to be recognized for our commitment to shareholder value,” said Blake Goldring, president and CEO, AGF, in a release. “This honour highlights our consistent success in the Canadian marketplace and our priority to build for the future.”