Desjardins rolls out 16 mutual funds on TSX-NAVex

Desjardins has announced that it has posted 16 mutual funds on the TSX-NAVex, nearly half of which were responsible-investing strategies that promise to be 100% free of oil production and pipeline exposure.

“Thirty years ago this month, we introduced our first RI fund (Desjardins Environment Fund),” said Desjardins President and CEO Guy Cormier in a statement. “[E]ver since, we have made a conscious effort to develop products for investors who want to see their investment grow while supporting businesses that promote sustainable development and social responsibilities.”

Accessed through the TSX, NAVex is a mutual-fund distribution platform that lets users include mutual funds in their discretionary accounts, much as stocks and ETFs can be included. Aside from streamlined mutual fund processing, the platform offers operational efficiency and speed, active management with lower transaction costs on management fees, and no secondary trading.

Purchase and redemption orders submitted by dealers are executed at their end-of-day NAV, consistent with the timing of any mutual fund. The platform also provides for bulk trading across multiple accounts and client portfolios, which allows for reduced operational risk.

Among the Desjardins funds offered on the TSX NAVex platform, the traditional funds include:

• The Desjardins Global Total Return Bond Fund (DGTRB);
• The Desjardins Global Tactical Bond Fund (DGLTB);
• The Desjardins American Equity Growth Fund (DAEQG);
• The Desjardins Overseas Equity Fund (DOEQG);
• The Desjardins Global Equity Growth Fund (DGEQG);
• The Desjardins Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund (DEMOP);
• The Desjardins Alt Long/Short Equity Market Neutral ETF Fund (DANCF); and
• Desjardins Global Infrastructure Fund (DGINF)

Meanwhile, the responsible-investment funds launched by Desjardins on the TSX-NAVex are:

• The Desjardins SocieTerra Environmental Bond Fund (DRENB);
• The Desjardins SocieTerra American Equity Fund (DRAEQ);
• The Desjardins SocieTerra International Equity Fund (DRIEQ);
• The Desjardins SocieTerra Environment Fund (DRENV);
• The Desjardins SocieTerra Positive Change Fund (DRPOS);
• The Desjardins SocieTerra Cleantech Fund (DRCLN); and
• The Desjardins SocieTerra Emerging Markets Equity Fund (DREEQ)

“We are proud to welcome Desjardins, an industry leader and long-standing partner in Canada's markets, to TSX NAVex, our centralized mutual fund solution,” said Kevin Sampson, president, Equity Trading, TMX Group. “As the nature of investing continues to evolve, we look forward to working closely with our industry stakeholders to build our markets stronger and more competitive into the future.”

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