Global private investment firm Ardian has made an evergreen private equity fund available to eligible Canadian accredited investors, providing them with greater access to private market investments — particularly in the secondaries market, where the firm is a leading player.
Originally launched this July, Ardian Access SICAV-RAIF2 is a Luxembourg-domiciled fund that invests in a diversified global portfolio of private equity assets managed by general partners across sectors, geographies and company sizes. It seeks to generate long-term value while “mitigating risk and J-Curve effects,” the firm said in a release.
It’s now available to eligible accredited Canadian investors through a feeder fund, which will invest directly in the Luxembourg fund, said Frédérick Castonguay, managing director — investor relations with Ardian and head of the firm’s Montreal office, in an interview.
The fund provides investors with exposure to Ardian’s primaries, secondaries and co-investments platforms, which collectively manage more than $150 billion in assets.
“Ardian is the largest player globally in secondaries, and the idea was to structure an evergreen vehicle to make it available to more investors,” Castonguay said.
“It [invests] 70% in our secondary strategy and 30% in our co-investment strategy. We also have a pocket of cash, … so that way we have liquidity flexibility.”
The fund has an investment minimum of $25,000. It also has a flat fee of 1.25%, plus a performance fee of 12.5% after returns exceed a hurdle rate.
Once the fund hits 150 investors, it’ll qualify to be structured as a mutual fund trust, making it available for registered accounts, Castonguay said.
Ardian Access is suitable for wealth managers who want to diversify client portfolios by allocating a portion of them to private equity, on a discretionary basis, he added.
Through its partnership with iCapital, Ardian has other plans for expanding access to private market investments in Canada.
It’s slated to make its recently launched Ardian Access Infrastructure SICAV-RAIF, domiciled in Luxembourg, available through a Canadian feeder fund in the coming months as well, Castonguay said, noting that “there was a lot of demand from Canadian professional investors for this type of diversification.”
That fund has a diversified portfolio across sectors and geographies, including infrastructure assets like Heathrow Airport, which is the largest airport in Europe, and Verne, a sustainable data centre platform.
The expansion of these products is supported by Ardian’s Canadian team, which is based out of an office in Montreal that opened in 2023. There are currently 16 people on that “growing” team, Castonguay said.
France-headquartered Ardian manages or advises $270 billion in assets around the world for more than 1,890 clients across private equity, real assets and credit.
Desjardins Investments announces fund changes, ESG fund terminations
Desjardins Investments Inc. has announced several changes to its mutual fund lineup.
For one, it said it’s going to terminate the Desjardins Sustainable Canadian Equity Income Fund, Desjardins Sustainable American Small Cap Equity Fund and Desjardins Low Volatility Global Equity Fund on or around March 27, 2026.
Investors will be able to redeem or exchange their units of the terminated funds until the close of business on the termination date, and the funds will be closed to new or additional investments, except for regular, pre-scheduled investments, on or around Jan. 14, 2026, a release said.
Desjardins Investments said in the release that it decided to terminate the funds “to streamline our product lineup, optimize portfolio management and better meet investors’ changing needs.”
The firm is also amending its Responsible Investment Policy, allowing its responsible investment products to invest in some issuers that are currently excluded “so we can better adapt to the persistently variable political and economic landscape,” it said. Namely, it’s planning to make the following changes:
- Removing the exclusion of sovereign debt issued by countries that haven’t signed the Paris Agreement on or around Jan. 15, 2026.
- Amending the sovereign debt exclusion criteria in the policy to allow ESG-based assessments to carry more weight. This change, also expected to take effect on or around Jan. 15, 2026, will “offer more leeway to manage risk and ensure the stability of members’ and clients’ portfolios,” the release said.
- Removing the exclusion of businesses that make “a significant amount” of their revenue from uranium mining or nuclear power generation on or around March 30, 2026. The policy’s nuclear weapons exclusion will remain in effect.
Moreover, Desjardins Investments is planning to replace the current portfolio sub-manager assigned to the Desjardins Canadian Small Cap Equity Fund.
The new manager would be PICTON Investments. The fund’s investment strategies will be changed to reflect PICTON’s investment philosophy, but its core objectives and risk level remain unchanged.
Those changes, which may be subject to regulatory approval, are expected to take effect on or around Feb. 23, 2026.
Harvest seeks to grow its crop of ETFs
Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. has announced it intends to add two new funds to its crop of ETFs.
If approved by Canadian securities regulators, the Harvest Premium Yield Canadian Bank ETF and Harvest Premium Yield Enhanced ETF would be listed on the TSX under the ticker symbols HPYB and HPYE, respectively.
HYPB would invest in a portfolio of Canadian banks. It would seek to deliver long-term capital appreciation, on a levered basis, using an active option strategy aimed at providing monthly cash distributions, a release said.
HPYE would provide investors with access to the same strategy but consist of a broad portfolio of equities, the release noted.
MD Financial Management announces changes to pools
MD Financial Management Inc. will soon terminate the retail series of two pools in its product lineup.
In a release, it said Series A of the MDPIM Canadian Equity Pool and the MDPIM US Equity Pool will be terminated on or around Feb. 15, 2026. It noted that this series of these two pools has been closed to new or additional investments since 2001.
“The termination of these pools will simplify the fund line-up and sharpen focus on areas of high client demand,” MD Financial Management said.
Bridgehouse to reduce some fund fees
Bridgehouse Asset Managers has announced management fee reductions for two funds.
As of Tuesday, the management fees for Series A and F of the Brandes Emerging Markets Value Fund and the Brandes International Equity Fund will be reduced as indicated below:
- Series A of the Brandes Emerging Markets Value Fund will have its management fee reduced to 2% from 2.2%
- Series F of the Brandes Emerging Markets Value Fund will have its management fee reduced to 1% from 1.2%
- Series A of the Brandes International Equity Fund will have its management fee reduced to 1.8% from 1.85%
- Series F of the Brandes International Equity Fund will have its management fee reduced to 0.8% from 0.8%