Transamerica CI Growth Portfolio Portfolio Review Fourth Quarter 2012
Portfolio Managers Economic Overview In the income sector, investors continued to favour higheryielding securities in the fourth quarter of 2012, spurred by low interest rates and ongoing fiscal concerns in the U.S. and Europe. The emphasis for this period was on investment-grade and high-yield corporate bonds, where prices continued to rise. Government bond prices in the U.S. and Canada, meanwhile, moderated slightly. Canadian income trusts and real estate investment trusts had strong results for the period. The Canadian and U.S. equity markets finished the quarter in positive territory, despite defensive investor sentiment for much of the quarter. Canada s S&P/TSX Composite Index added 1.7% for the quarter and 7.2% for all of 2012. U.S. stocks, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, rose 0.8% in the quarter and 13.5% for 2012 in Canadian dollar terms, capping a strong yet choppy year. Stock prices initially weakened in the fourth quarter on softer corporate earnings reports and concerns about the ability of politicians to find a compromise to the U.S. fiscal cliff of tax increases and budget cuts. The U.S. Federal Reserve s continued monetary easing programs and data indicating a nascent recovery in the housing market, however, helped to support equity prices into year-end. Overseas markets posted mainly positive returns in the fourth quarter. The advances came despite recession in Europe and sluggish growth in many other parts of the world. The MSCI World Index gained 3.8% for the quarter in Canadian dollars. Results were particularly robust for several European markets. Germany s DAX Index, for example, gained 5.5% in local currency terms as investors benefited from lower interest rates and greater confidence that the Eurozone would remain intact. Markets in Asia were also strong, with Hong Kong s Hang Seng Index benefiting from more stable growth in China. In Japan, where the central bank took steps to devalue the yen, the Nikkei Index climbed 17.2% for the quarter in local currency terms. Underlying Fund Allocations Aegon Capital Management Canadian Bond Pool 13.4% Cambridge Canadian Equity Corporate Class 8.1% Signature Select Canadian Corporate Class 8.0% CI International Value Corporate Class 7.0% Signature International Corporate Class 6.1% CI American Value Corporate Class 6.0% CI American Managers Corporate Class 5.5% Cambridge Global Equity Corporate Class 5.0% CI Canadian Investment Corporate Class 5.0% Signature High Yield Bond Corporate Class 5.0% Synergy Canadian Corporate Class 5.0% Cambridge American Equity Corporate Class 4.5% Signature Emerging Markets Corporate Class 4.2% CI Can-Am Small Cap Corporate Class 4.1% Harbour Corporate Class 4.0% Harbour Voyageur Corporate Class 4.0% CI American Small Companies Fund 3.1% Synergy American Corporate Class 2.0% Top Ten Holdings Canada Gov t 2.75% 01Jun22 1.9% Toronto-Dominion Bank 1.2% Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce 0.8% Canadian National Railway Company 0.8% Suncor Energy Inc. 0.7% Alimentation Couche-Tard 0.7% Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. 0.7% Canada Gov t 4% 01Jun41 0.7% Apple Inc. 0.7% Bank of Nova Scotia 0.6%
Portfolio Performance 1 Month 3 Months Since Inception (September 21, 2012) 1.6% 3.2% 2.5% Asset Allocation Overview and Activity Different types of investments will respond differently to the markets, reinforcing the importance of a multi-level diversification strategy. A balanced asset mix ensures that investors are not dependent on any one asset class or security type to provide returns. This report is designed to provide you with an up-to-date portfolio overview of the Transamerica CI Growth Portfolio, including the allocations across asset class, geographic region, equity sector and market capitalization. Asset Class Geographic Regions 32.7% 23.2% 14.3% 11.4% 5.5% 4.5% 4.1% 3.1% 1.2% U.S. equity Canadian equity Canadian bond European equity Cash Emerging markets equity Asian equity Foreign bond Other equity 37.5% 35.0% 11.4% 4.6% 2.8% 2.4% 2.3% 1.9% 1.1% 0.9% 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Canada U.S. Cash & Others Emerging markets U.K. Switzerland Japan Germany France Netherlands 0 5 Equity Market Cap 75.1% Large cap 20.2% Mid-cap 4.7% Small cap 32,7 % Actions américaines 23,2 % Actions canadiennes 14,3 % Obligations canadiennes 11,4 % Actions européennes 5,5 % Trésorerie 4,5 % Actions de marchés émergents 4,1 % Actions asiatiques 3,1 % Obligations étrangères 1,2 % Autres actions Equity Industry Sector 20.4% Financial services 12.7% Energy 11.7% Information technology 37,5 11.5% % 35,0 10.1% % 11,4 10.0% % 4,6 9.6% % Industrials Canada Consumer États-Unis discretionary Health Trésorerie care et autres Consumer Marchés émergents staples 8.7% Materials 2,8 % Royaume-Uni 2.4% Utilities 2,4 % Suisse 2.1% Telecommunications 2,3 % Japon 0.8% Other 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 1,9 % Allemagne 1,1 % 0,9 % France Pays-Bas 0
Portfolio Commentary The portfolio gained 3.2% during the quarter, outperforming its benchmark (30% S&P/TSX Composite Index, 20% DEX Universe Bond Index, 50% MSCI World Index, C$), which rose 2.4%. Strong equity performance contributed to returns, aided by our diversified income strategy, which was focused on investment-grade and high-yield corporate bonds. During the quarter, the major stimulus measures announced in September by European and U.S. central bankers continued to boost investor confidence, leading to strength in equities, mostly outside North America. U.S. equities were held back due to the country s so-called fiscal cliff concerns, but still managed to eke out a positive return for the quarter. The U.S. market finished the year with a double-digit return, far outpacing the Canadian market s gain, which was limited by weakness in the resource sector. Global real estate and high-yield bonds participated in the fourth quarter market rally. The U.S. dollar strengthened, while the Japanese yen declined dramatically in response to expectations that Japan s new leader would adopt a pro-growth monetary policy. Government bonds were out of favour as lenders expressed their preference for corporate bonds that are backed by superior credit fundamentals and offer higher yields. In the portfolio s income portion, exposure to high-yield bonds through Signature High Yield Bond Corporate Class contributed the most to performance. Aegon Capital Management Canadian Bond Pool outperformed its benchmark, but contributed the least due to its investmentgrade bond holdings, which did not gain as much as highyield bonds. The government bond position detracted from performance. In the income portion, we have been emphasizing investmentgrade and high-yield corporate bonds, while maintaining underweight allocations to Canadian government bonds, which offer little to no yield after inflation. Having a diversified and flexible framework allows us to benefit from changes in valuations in the market and continue providing steady income with low volatility. Our Canadian and U.S. equity funds outperformed their respective indexes. The international equity funds had strong absolute performance, although they lagged the international equity market, which was led by Japan and continental Europe. The sector allocation of the portfolio s equity portion is more diversified than that of the Canadian economy and the S&P/TSX Composite Index, which has over 75% of its value concentrated in three sectors: energy, materials and financials. We continue to focus on company fundamentals and valuations to add value and avoid undue concentration in any one sector. From a regional perspective, we continued to have an overweight allocation to the U.S. and an underweight position in Canada, while maintaining a neutral weighting in international equities. U.S. equities are supported by a diverse economy, with large exposure to global markets and strong representation in all major industrial sectors, making it a more attractive asset class than Canadian equities on a riskadjusted basis. In Canadian equities, Cambridge Canadian Equity Corporate Class was the biggest contributor to performance, significantly outpacing its benchmark due to stock selection in the energy sector and its underweight position in materials. Overall, the Canadian equity component had overweight allocations to information technology, health care, consumer staples and consumer discretionary sectors, and underweight positions in energy, materials and financials. This positioning added value. Among the U.S. equity funds, CI American Small Companies Corporate Class was the biggest contributor, outpacing both the large-cap and small-cap indexes due to stock selection in the consumer staples and consumer discretionary sectors. The U.S. equity component is tilted toward sectors that are tied to economic growth, such as the industrials sector, with underweight positions in defensive sectors such as consumer staples and utilities. In the international equity portion, CI International Value Corporate Class had the smallest gains, lagging its highperforming benchmark due to a generally defensive strategy. This fund s overweight allocation to consumer staples and
underweight position in consumer discretionary contributed to underperformance. Overall, our international equity portion had underweight positions in industrials, consumer discretionary and materials. Geographically, it had overweight allocations to emerging markets and Germany, and underweight positions in Japan, the U.K., Australia and the peripheral countries of Europe. We like emerging markets due to attractive valuations and strong economic fundamentals, particularly in China, where we expect to see sustained above-average growth over the long term fuelled by rising personal wealth and domestic consumption. Alfred Lam, CFA, Vice-President and Portfolio Manager Yoonjai Shin, CFA, Director Lewis Harkes, CFA, Analyst Andrew Ashworth, Analyst
Strength and experience The Transmerica CI Portfolios are managed by CI Investments Inc. on behalf of Transamerica Life Canada. Transamerica Life Canada is a leading life insurance company Canada s Investment Company in Canada. Through a number of distribution channels, resulting in a national network of thousands of independent advisors, Transamerica provides a full spectrum of individual life insurance and protection products, designed to help Canadians take responsibility for their financial future. Transamerica Life Canada is an Aegon company. CI Investments has been managing money for over four decades and today is one of Canada s largest investment fund companies. CI manages approximately $75 billion on behalf of two million Canadian investors. CI provides the industry s widest selection of investment funds and leading portfolio managers on a variety of platforms, including mutual and segregated funds, managed Aegon is an international life insurance, pension and investment solutions and alternative investments. company. With headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, Aegon has businesses in over twenty markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Aegon companies employ approximately 25,000 people and have nearly 47 million customers across the globe. CI is a subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX), an independent, Canadian-owned wealth management firm with approximately $99 billion in assets as at December 31, 2012.
For more information on Transamerica CI Portfolios, please contact your advisor or visit www.transamericaciportfolios.com. All commentaries are published by CI Investments Inc., CI Investments Inc. is the sub-advisor of all the funds described herein, other than Aegon Capital Management Canadian Bond Pool which is managed by Aegon Capital Management. The commentaries are provided as a general source of information and should not be considered personal investment advice or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell securities. Every effort has been made to ensure that the material contained in the commentaries is accurate at the time of publication. However, CI Investments Inc. cannot guarantee their accuracy or completeness and accepts no responsibility for any loss arising from any use of or reliance on the information contained herein. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Unless otherwise indicated and except for returns for periods less than one year, the indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in security value. All performance data assume reinvestment of all distributions or dividends and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Mutual fund securities are not covered by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or by any other government deposit insurer and there can be no assurances that the CI Money Market Funds will maintain its net asset value per security at a constant amount or that the full amount of your investment in these funds will be returned to you. CI Investments, the CI Investments design, Synergy Mutual Funds, Harbour Advisors, Harbour Funds, Global Managers and American Managers are registered trademarks of CI Investments Inc. Signature Funds and Signature Global Advisors are trademarks of CI Investments Inc. Cambridge Advisors is the business name of CI Global Invesments Inc. Certain portfolio managers of Cambridge Advisors are registered with CI Investments Inc. Aegon and the Aegon logo are registered trademarks of Aegon N.V. Aegon Canada ULC and its subsidiary companies are licensed to use such marks. Transamerica and the pyramid design are registered trademarks of Transamerica Corporation. Transamerica Life Canada is licensed to use such marks. First published January 2013. 2 Queen Street East, Twentieth Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5C 3G7 I www.ci.com Head Office / Toronto 416-364-1145 1-800-268-9374 Calgary 403-205-4396 1-800-776-9027 Montreal 514-875-0090 1-800-268-1602 Vancouver 604-681-3346 1-800-665-6994 Client Services English: 1-800-563-5181 French: 1-800-668-3528 FSC FPO 1301-0015_E (01/13)