The firm planned all along to wait until after the 2002 RRSP season to make any product changes. Registered Retirement Savings Plans are tax-sheltered retirement savings plan in Canada similar to IRAs in the U.S.
"When the AIM/Trimark merger was announced in 2000, we made a commitment to investors and advisers to avoid major product changes until after the 2002 RRSP season," said Philip Taylor, CEO of AIM in Toronto. "Mergers in this industry are complicated enough for investors. Now that the 2002 RRSP season has ended, we're proposing some changes that can really help to streamline our product offering."
Investors will receive a proxy package in mid-May and will vote on the changes, which require investor approval, on June 25, 2002.
The changes being proposed are as follows:
Proposed mergers of funds with similar investment objectives:
- AIM Canadian Bond Fund to merge with and continue as Trimark Canadian Bond Fund
- AIM Global Growth & Income Fund to merge with and continue as Trimark Global Balanced Fund
- AIM RSP Global Growth & Income Fund to merge with and continue as Trimark RSP Global Balanced Fund
- AIM Global Blue Chip Fund to merge with and continue as Trimark Select Growth Fund
- Trimark RSP Fund to merge with and continue as Trimark RSP Select Growth Fund
Proposed mergers of funds with different investment objectives:
- AIM Global Bond Fund to merge with and adopt the investment objectives of Trimark Canadian Bond Fund, which will seek to provide above-average investment returns through a combination of income and capital growth with a focus on debt securities issued by Canadian governments and companies
- AIM Indo-Pacific Class to merge with and adopt the investment objectives of Trimark Select Growth Class, which will seek to provide strong capital growth by investing primarily in equities of companies anywhere in the world
- AIM Latin America Growth Class to merge with and adopt the investment objectives of Trimark Select Growth Class, which will seek to provide strong capital growth by investing primarily in equities of companies anywhere in the world
Proposed changes to fund names, investment objectives and strategies:
- AIM Short-Term Income Class to adopt new investment objectives and strategies and be renamed AIM Capital Yield Class. AIM Capital Yield Class will seek to preserve capital and liquidity while providing a moderate level of income. The Fund will invest in a diversified portfolio of Canadian equity securities, and at the same time use options to hedge the portfolio of equities, in order to approximate the rate of return provided by money market investments
- Trimark Americas Fund to adopt new investment objectives and strategies, and be renamed Trimark Global Endeavour Fund. Trimark Global Endeavour Fund will seek to generate long-term capital growth by investing primarily in mid-cap companies anywhere in the world
- Trimark RSP Americas Fund to adopt new investment objectives and strategies, and be renamed Trimark RSP Global Endeavour Fund. Trimark RSP Global Endeavour Fund will seek to provide long-term capital growth that is linked to the returns of Trimark Global Endeavour Fund
