Product roundup: Franklin Templeton introduces evergreen private equity fund

Available to Canadian accredited investors, the Franklin Lexington PE Secondaries Fund provides exposure to a diversified portfolio of private equity investments acquired through secondary market transactions and co-investments in new private equity transactions alongside sponsors. Its underlying fund is the US$875-million Luxembourg-domiciled Franklin Lexington Private Markets Fund SICAV SA.

The new fund has an evergreen structure, offering quarterly liquidity with some limitations.

“Transacting in the secondary market has really become a portfolio management tool now for these large institutional investors, who will look to optimize their private markets allocations and maybe trim certain areas and add to other areas,” said Dario Di Napoli, senior-vice president, alternatives distribution with Franklin Templeton Canada, in an interview.

“So, we believe there’s a structural, long-term need for liquidity in private markets and private equity. And we’re a provider of that liquidity, so we’re obviously very excited about the future.”

The new fund is managed by Franklin Templeton’s private equity subsidiary, Lexington Partners, which has been managing private equity secondaries since 1994 for the institutional market, typically in closed-end funds.

Franklin Templeton and Lexington Partners were inspired to launch a fund that was available to investors in the Canadian wealth channel because of the interest this channel showed in Lexington’s recently closed fund, Lexington Capital Partners X, Di Napoli said.

“Almost a quarter of the capital in that fund actually came from the wealth channel, through various feeder structures,” he said.

“So, we saw that there is demand from the … individual investor space to access private equity secondaries to the point where they were willing to invest in a 10-year closed-end fund. That was sort of when the light bulb went off that we should launch a vehicle that’s built for the individual investor.”

Also, the accredited investor channel in the private markets is “relatively untapped,” whereas institutional investors have been allocating to private markets for decades, Di Napoli said.

“It’s a new growth area, I would say, from a fundraising perspective,” he added.

There are a few factors that investors should consider before investing in such a fund.

Although this is an evergreen fund, “there is still some illiquidity in this strategy,” and while investing in private equity is less volatile than public equity, “it’s still dependent on the economic cycle,” Di Napoli said.

“Every investor needs to think about what their goals are first,” he added.

TD, iCapital expand access to global infrastructure strategy

TD Asset Management Inc. (TDAM) has collaborated with iCapital Network Canada Ltd. (iCapital Canada) to provide eligible Canadian accredited investors with access to a decade-old global infrastructure investment strategy.

Together, the two firms have launched the TD Greystone Infrastructure iCapital Canada Access Fund, which will primarily invest its assets in TDAM’s pre-existing TD Greystone Infrastructure Fund (Canada) L.P., which has been accessible to institutional investors for more than 10 years.

The pre-existing fund has a portfolio of private infrastructure assets, with more than 500 projects across seven countries. It aims to provide investors with “potential stability and growth during times of uncertainty and over the long term,” a release said.

“At a time of global uncertainty, we are excited to work with iCapital to provide access to our institutional portfolio of infrastructure assets to eligible Canadian accredited investors and advisor-led market,” said Jeffrey Mouland, managing director, head of global infrastructure investments with TDAM, in the release.

“We have been managing the Institutional Fund for more than 10 years and have built a high-quality portfolio of private infrastructure that can provide inflation protection, long-term contracted revenues and diversification, benefiting client portfolios.”

More information is available here.

Harvest to launch leveraged, single-stock ETF

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. says it has filed a preliminary prospectus with Canadian securities regulators to launch an ETF that provides single-stock exposure to Apple Inc.

If approved, the Harvest Apple Enhanced High Income Shares ETF would provide access to the growth potential of Apple “by engaging modest leverage and an active covered call strategy designed to generate enhanced high monthly income,” a release said Thursday.

The fund is slated to be listed with the ticker symbol APLE and have a 0.4% management fee.

Brompton introduces CLO ETF

Brompton Funds Ltd. has rolled out a new ETF that invests in a portfolio of collaterized loan obligations (CLOs).

The Canadian-dollar-hedged Brompton Wellington Square AAA CLO ETF (TSX: BAAA) and a U.S.-dollar version of the fund (TSX: BAAA.U) began trading on April 23.

The fund aims to provide investors with “high monthly income and capital preservation” by investing in a portfolio of CLOs selected by Wellington Square Advisors Inc., BAAA’s investment sub-advisor, a release said. Wellington Square is a Toronto-based independent investment advisory firm that’s invested in CLOs for more than a decade.

The CLOs that BAAA invests in will generally range in credit quality from AAA to BBB, with a minimum of 75% of BAAA’s portfolio invested in AAA-rated CLOs.

Up to 10% of the fund’s portfolio “may from time to time be tactically invested in CLOs rated less than BBB,” the release noted.

The fund has a 0.4% management fee.

AGF announces fund changes

AGF Investments Inc. (AGF) has announced changes for certain funds, including lower management and administration fees as well as risk rating tweaks.

“These changes build on the firm’s commitment to continually reviewing its product line-up to ensure its offerings are responsive to market trends and competitively priced,” the firm said in a release on April 30.

AGF reduced management fees on the following funds/series on May 1:

• The F series of AGF Equity Income Fund, from 0.85% to 0.8%
• The T and MF series of AGF European Equity Class, from 2.5% to 1.9%
• The F series of AGF European Equity Class from 1% to 0.9%
• The MF, T and V series of AGF Global Strategic Income Fund from 2.25% to 2%

The firm reduced administration fees on the following funds/series on May 1:

• The MF and T series of AGF European Equity Class, from 0.38% to 0.17%
• The F series of European Equity Class, from 0.32% to 0.02%

As well, as of April 30, AGF has tweaked the risk ratings for the AGF European Equity Class and AGF European Equity Fund from “medium-high” to “medium.”

NBI announces fund changes

National Bank Investments Inc. (NBI) has announced risk rating revisions, management or administrative fee reductions and a portfolio management change for certain NBI mutual funds and ETFs.

As of May 7, NBI has made the following fund risk rating changes:

• Meritage Global Conservative Portfolio’s risk rating has been revised from “low” to “low to medium”
• NBI Global Small Cap Fund’s risk rating has been revised from “medium” to “medium to high”

On or about May 14, the following fee changes will take effect:

• The management fees for the F and F5 series of the NBI High Yield Bond Fund will be lowered from 0.8% to 0.7%
• The management fees for the advisor, investor and T5 series of the NBI High Yield Bond Fund will be reduced from 1.5% to 1.4%
• The administrative fees for the F, N, NR and advisor series of the NBI Sustainable Global Equity Fund will be lowered from 0.2% to 0.15%

Also on or about May 14, 2025, NBI said it will replace National Bank Trust Inc. as portfolio manager of several funds. A full breakdown of the funds affected is available here. The investment objectives of these funds will remain unchanged, NBI said, adding this change will have no impact on the sub-advisors for the funds.

Venator announces fund changes

Toronto-based Venator Capital Management Ltd. (Venator) is looking to amend the investment objective and several other details of one of its funds.

In a release Wednesday, the firm said it’s seeking unitholder approval to amend the Venator Founders Alternative Fund to “provide a simpler, lower cost and lower fee structure for the fund as well as introducing a ‘hurdle’ rate that the fund must surpass to be eligible for performance fees.”

The proposed changes to the investment objective of the fund are set to be voted on at a unitholder meeting on May 29.

In addition to the investment objective change, the firm is looking to tweak the name of the fund to the “Venator Ascendant Alternative Fund,” change the functional currency of the fund to U.S. dollars, and reduce the management fees and change the performance fees of the fund’s A1, F and F1 series.

If approved, the investment objective change is expected to be implemented on or about May 29. More information is available here.

Montrusco Bolton Investments takes over some investment management responsibilities from Fiera

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. has been entrusted by National Bank Trust Inc. (NBT) and Fondaction to take over the investment management responsibilities for certain funds and portfolios that were previously handled by Fiera Capital Corp. (Fiera).

In a May 5 release, NBT said it transitioned Fiera’s portfolio sub-advisory responsibilities for the NBI Small Cap Fund and the NBI Quebec Growth Fund directly to Montrusco Bolton Investments.

“The funds’ investment objectives and strategies remain unchanged. As portfolio manager, NBT will continue to ensure compliance of investment decisions in relation to the mandates,” the release noted.

Separately, Fondaction said the portion of its “development capital investment portfolio” currently managed by Fiera will be transferred to Montrusco Bolton Investments, effective May 5.

“Fondaction has made this decision in order to continue to benefit from the expertise of the team of professionals who were responsible for managing this part of its portfolio, composed of publicly traded Quebec companies, at Fiera Capital Corporation and who have chosen to join Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.,” the firm said a release on May 2.

“The other portfolio management mandates entrusted to Fiera Capital Corporation remain unchanged.”

These changes come reportedly amid a restructuring at Fiera. As Bloomberg reported, Fiera’s chief investment officer has stepped down from the firm, “along with a small number of colleagues.”