Best Mixed Asset Fund Family Award at the 2007 Canadian Lipper Fund Awards.
Canadian Equity Pooled Fund Award at the 2006 Canadian Investment Awards.
About Acuity
BACKGROUND
Established in 1990 by Ian O. Ihnatowycz, Acuity is located in Toronto, now manages over $8 billion in assets and has evolved to include over 100 employees. Our investment team consists of 15 investment professionals. In addition to offering a broad range of traditional domestic and global investment products and capabilities, Acuity manages "sustainable" investment mandates for socially responsible investors.
Over the past five years, Acuity has made substantial investments in technologies and senior/intermediate level investment professionals to develop a multi-billion dollar investment platform. In addition to CFA designations and business degrees, our senior investment professionals have strong technical credentials with related work experience. These attributes give Acuity a competitive edge in understanding and assessing securities and the sustainability of their future revenue and earnings streams. Portfolio research is conducted on a sectoral basis, with each manager and analyst being responsible for certain sectors across countries and asset classes. Our investment team identifies themes, sectors and securities that meet our time proven selection criteria. All mandates are managed on a team basis.
PRODUCT OFFERINGS
Acuity offers segregated accounts, pooled funds and mutual funds in four separate product lines. The traditionally managed Acuity family of pooled funds was launched in 1993 and offers broad diversification across a wide spectrum of domestic and international asset classes to high net worth individuals as well as small institutional mandates. The Acuity Mutual Funds were launched in 1998 as a sister family of funds to the pooled funds, and are targeted at a retail client base. The Acuity Clean Environment Mutual Funds, available since 1992, pioneered the concept of sustainable development investing in Canada. Finally, the Acuity Social Values Mutual Funds have become best-in-class alternatives in the socially responsible investing arena.
Acuity's "sustainable" investment programs incorporate factors such as Environmental Governance, Business Practices and Compliance/Regulatory posture within the investment decision process where they are material to financial performance. Customized "sustainable" investment strategies are available to institutional investors.
In addition to the fund families listed above, Acuity also manages a number of publicly listed closed end funds with a variety of investment objectives on behalf of retail clients in Canada. Finally, Acuity provides advisory services to large institutional investors through a growing number of segregated accounts.
OWNERSHIP AND COMPENSATION
Incorporated in Ontario, Acuity is 100% owned by its key employees and investment professionals. Competitive compensation is a key part of our recruitment and retention strategy. Key professionals are offered a base salary, bonuses and if merited, equity participation.
INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS
With the objective of developing a multi-billion dollar management platform, over the past five years Acuity has made substantial investments in systems technologies and in senior and intermediate level investment professionals.
| Total number of investment professionals | 15 |
| Portfolio Managers | 5 |
| Analysts | 6 |
| Trader | 2 |
| Service | 2 |
| Name | Area/Position | Date Started at Acuity | Years of Experience |
Investment Professionals |
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| Ian Ihnatowycz*, B.Sc., MBA, CFA, C.Dir. | President, CEO and CIO | 1991 | 21 |
| Hugh McCauley*, B.Sc. Eng., MBA, CFA | Managing Director and Lead Portfolio Manager | 1996 | 12 |
| David Stonehouse*, B.Sc. Eng., MBA, CFA | Director, Fixed Income and Portfolio Manager | 1998 | 8 |
| Warren Fenton*, B. Comm., CFA | Director, Equities and Portfolio Manager | 1999 | 11 |
| Martin Grosskopf*, BA, MES, MBA | Associate Portfolio Manager and Manager of Sustainability Research | 2000 | 10 |
| Spencer Mellish*, BA, CFA | Associate Director, Global Equities and Portfolio Manager | 2006 | 12 |
| Lisa Abraham, B.Comm. | Senior Trader | 2001 | 13 |
| Shane Wilhelm, BA | Trader | 2003 | 2 |
| George Trapkov, BA, CFA | Investment Analyst | 1999 | 3 |
Marketing & Client Service |
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| Michael Peck, CFA | Vice President, Institutional | 2005 | 15 |
| Angela Bhutani, BA | Manager, Institutional Services | 2005 | 13 |
*Investment Committee Member
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY
Acuity's investment philosophy is consistent across all asset classes: we purchase reasonably valued securities with appealing growth characteristics to hold over the mid to long-term for capital appreciation. Equities are held for upside potential, whereas bonds stabilize portfolio returns, provide liquidity and generate a secure and consistent income stream. Acuity has also been a leader in employing income trusts as a complement to the two mainstream asset classes over the last decade.