(February 28 – 15:30 ET) – Barclays Global Investors Canada Ltd., the S&P/TSE 60 index and the Toronto Stock Exchange have won the battle for the hearts and minds of index unit investors.
Today TIPS 35 and TIPS 100 unitholders approved their units proposed conversion into the new i60s, which track the S&P/TSE 60 index. Last week State Street Global Advisors launched a challenge to the i60s, touting a new fund to track the Dow Jones Canada 40 index as an alternative. BGI Canada and SSgA waged a PR war through duelling full-page newspaper ads and press releases arguing over the quality of the indexes and the costs of their respective products.
Today the i60s won out. BGI Canada reports that 66.5% of the TIPS 35 units and 78.2% of the TIPS 100 units voted in favour of the i60s. The mergers will be completed on March 6. Unitholders who prefer the new DJ Canada 40 product will have to sell their units and buy the new fund.
“We are pleased with the outcome of the votes. We believe that the vote results attest to the acceptance of the S&P/TSE 60 Index as a leading Canadian benchmark and to the quality of the i60 product. Moreover, we at BGI Canada are committed to providing a high level of service to all i60 unitholders,” said Gerry Rocchi, president of BGI Canada.
Once the deal closes, the i60s will have about $6.15 billion in assets under management.
– IE Staff