ONE Financial has launched a new guaranteed investment offering returns linked to the MSCI Hedge Invest Index, an index of 74 hedge funds representing a broad range of strategies.

The ONE Financial MSCI Hedge Invest Index Notes Series 1 also feature a unique double guarantee — 100% principal protection and a 10% guaranteed minimum return at maturity.

“ONE Financial is delighted to be the first to offer Canadian investors the next step in hedge fund investing — a principal-guaranteed index-based product,” said Jeffrey O’Brien, CEO, of ONE Financial.

The notes are issued by Société Générale (Canada) and the principal and minimum 10% return at maturity are guaranteed by its parent Société Générale, one of the world’s largest banks.

The notes are available through financial advisors across Canada until December 15 for a minimum investment of only $2,000.

When the notes mature in approximately nine years, investors will receive their principal, plus the greater of a 10% return and up to 150% enhanced participation in the positive performance (based on the adjusted average monthly net asset value) of a fund linked to the index.

The notes’ performance is linked to the performance of the MSCI Hedge Invest Lyxor Tracker Fund, whose investment objective is to track the performance of the MSCI Hedge Invest Index. The Fund’s pro-forma historical performance between November 30, 1993 and August 31, 2003 was 15.5% per annum, with 1/4 the volatility of the S&P 500 stock market index.

The Notes also offer a tax-efficient structure that defers taxes on growth above the guaranteed maturity return, and they qualify as Canadian content for RRSPs, RRIFs, RESPs, and DPSPs.