Investment and Retirement

Five ASTRA Funds Earn the "A+" Grade

Five ASTRA Funds Earn the

For the second year in a row, SSQ Financial Group stands out by receiving the highest distinction from Fundata – FundGrade A+ with its ASTRA Funds platform.

The FundGrade A+ is given to funds whose performance has been exceptionally outstanding over the last year. Fundata's approach is to adjust the fund's performance to account for risk. Less than 2% of funds are given the "A+" grade. This distinction confirms the diligence and dedication of SSQ's investment experts who work with the best fund managers in order to offer exceptional value to our clients.

 

Here are the ASTRA Funds being honored:

THEIR SUCCESS SECRETS

Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd.: This investment team sets itself apart through its thorough fundamental investing research, which is done entirely by their in-house team of investment professionals. This method results in a low annual portfolio turnover of 10 to 15%. Approximately 200 meetings are held every year with the directors of Canadian businesses.

Carnegie: Carnegie's portfolio management approach consists of security selection based in particular on the identification of global themes and trends. Known for its rigor, Carnegie adheres to the discipline of simultaneous buying and selling ("one-in, one-out"), which has enabled it to build a concentrated portfolio containing its top 25 to 30 ideas worldwide.

Fiera Capital: This fund stands out thanks to its efficient combination of two mandates: active management and tactical management. A conservative selection of corporate bonds is made in order to avoid non-compensated risk.

Triasima: This fund sets itself apart through the use of a method named the Three Pillar ApproachTM, which combines three complementary analysis methods: quantitative, fundamental and trend. The manager does not necessarily look for a "value" or "growth" bias. Instead, he uses both styles simultaneously depending on the markets in order to obtain stable and consistent results.

Celestia: In addition to including conventional asset classes, Celestia funds also rely on a significant portion of specialty asset classes like real estate, infrastructure and commodities. Asset classes in our portfolio funds are not only diversified, but the managers are selected based on their complementary management styles.