Canadian investors looking to diversify their holdings outside Canada and away from traditional asset classes can do so with five new funds from Fidelity Investments Canada Ltd. With the launch of these new funds, Fidelity now has a broad range of 16 global, international, regional and country-specific funds for investors and advisors to choose from, allowing investors and advisors to diversify by country, region, sector, market cap and investment style.

“Diversification across geographies and asset classes is always the best long-term investing strategy, yet few Canadian investors look outside of their own market for opportunities,” said Gary Grad, vp, investment management services. “With Canada representing only about 4% of the world equity market, this means that by only investing in Canada and maintaining a home country bias, Canadian investors are missing out on a world of investment opportunities.”

The five funds are:

  • Fidelity AsiaStar Fund;
  • Fidelity China Fund;
  • Fidelity Global Real Estate Fund;
  • Fidelity International Disciplined Equity Fund; and
  • Fidelity International Value Fund.



Fidelity AsiaStar Fund

From his base in Hong Kong, veteran Fidelity portfolio manager K.C. Lee will manage Fidelity AsiaStar Fund, a diversified Asia-Pacific fund. Like its highly successful namesake, Fidelity NorthStar Fund, AsiaStar is distinguished by its “go anywhere” mandate. This mandate enables Lee to invest not just in the growing economies of China and India, but in all growth opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Fidelity China Fund

China’s economy has grown at an annual rate of over 9% for more than 20 years, on pace to overtake the U.S. and become the world’s largest economy as early as 2020(2). Home to more than a fifth of the world’s population, China is the growth engine in the Asia-Pacific region and the Fidelity China Fund offers investors more exposure to the long-term growth opportunities in this region.

The Fidelity China Fund will be managed by Patrick Lo, who like K.C. Lee is based in Hong Kong. Lo, assisted by Fidelity’s 25-strong team of research professionals in Hong Kong, gives investors unparalleled insights into this region and an extensive track record in one of the world’s most dynamic markets.

Fidelity Global Real Estate Fund

The new Fidelity Global Real Estate Fund is another way for Canadian investors to diversify their holdings outside of Canada and outside of traditional asset classes. Over the last 10 years, global real estate securities have provided both higher returns and yields than global equities and bonds, including yielding twice the rate of global equities. Investing in global real estate also provides investors with a strong diversification benefit, as this asset class can help offset downturns in the stock and bond markets.

Fidelity Global Real Estate Fund will be managed by long-time money manager, Steven J. Buller, backed by Fidelity’s team of real estate analysts based around the world. Fidelity has over 20 years experience managing funds investing in real estate investment trusts (REITs) and real estate portfolios, including managing the longest-running mutual fund invested in U.S. REITs.

Fidelity International Discplined Equity Fund and Fidelity International Value Fund

Fidelity International Disciplined Equity Fund, managed by Chris Goudie and a team of dedicated sector portfolio managers, is a core diversified international equity fund that gives investors exposure to all key sectors of international markets (in both developed and emerging markets, excluding the U.S.). This fund applies the same successful sector neutral approach as the existing Fidelity Canadian Disciplined Equity Fund, Fidelity American Disciplined Equity Fund and Fidelity Global Disciplined Equity Fund.

For investors seeking exposure to value-oriented investments in developed markets, excluding the U.S., Fidelity now offers Fidelity International Value Fund. The fund, managed by Ravi Mantha, is a core diversified international equity fund.

“With the launch of these five new funds, Fidelity Investments now offers Canadian investors a complete range of global and international funds to meet all of their individual investing needs,” said Grad.