Sprott Tactical Balanced Fund
Investment Team
Scott Colbourne
Senior Portfolio ManagerScott Colbourne
Senior Portfolio Manager
Scott joined Sprott Asset Management LP in March 2010 and brings over 22 years of global fixed income and currency market experience to the firm. Previously, Scott was senior Vice President and portfolio manager at AGF Funds Inc. where he managed all of the fixed income mandates and co-managed balanced funds. Scott was also a managing director and partner at a Canadian hedge fund focusing on global fixed income and currency management. Prior to joining Sprott, Scott was a senior fixed income portfolio manager at TD Asset Management, where he was part of a team that managed all the firm's active fixed income institutional, retail and private client assets.
Scott began his career at the Bank of Canada where he worked in both research and trading which assisted in the execution of monetary policy. He is a four-time winner of the Best Foreign Bond Fund at the Morningstar Canadian Investment Awards. Scott is a CFA Charter holder and has an MBA from University of Toronto and an Honours BA from Queens University.
Michael Craig
Portfolio ManagerMichael Craig
Portfolio Manager
Michael Craig joined Sprott Asset Management LP in May 2010 and brings 10 years of experience developing fixed income analytics, tactical asset allocation and fixed income management. Michael previously worked at Phillips, Hager and North where he developed the analytics and research systems used by the fixed income team.
Prior to joining Sprott Michael was a Vice President at TD Asset Management where he was a portfolio manager for the Managed Asset Programs as well led the portfolio analytics group. Michael obtained his Masters in Financial Risk Management from Simon Fraser University (2006) and his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia (1999). Michael is a CFA charterholder.
Peter Imhof
Investment StrategistPeter Imhof
Investment Strategist
Peter Imhof joined SAM in August 2007 as an Investment Strategist and member of the small cap team. Together with Allan Jacobs, Peter's focus is the new Sprott Small Cap Funds. Prior to joining SAM , Peter worked at Sceptre Investment Counsel as a member of the Canadian Equity Small Cap Team and was appointed as Managing Director in December 2006.
Peter was a significant contributor to the award-winning management team of the Sceptre Equity Growth Fund and the Small Capitalization Canadian Equity Pooled Fund. He began his investment career at Sceptre in March 1998. From 1998 to 2000 he was involved in quantitative analysis and portfolio construction in Canadian Equities.
Fund Details
| Fund Status | Open |
| Distributions | Income and Capital Gains Distributed Annually (if any) |
| Fund Code |
FRONT END LOW LOAD (LL) |
| Inception Date | 11/2/2009 |
| Nature of Securities | Mutual Fund Trust Units |
| Type of Fund | Tactical Allocation |
| Valuations | Daily |
| Redemptions | Daily |
| Minimum Initial Investment | $1,000 CDN |
| Minimum Subsequent Investment | $100 CDN |
| Minimum Investment Term | 180 days (3% penalty) |
| Management Fee | 2.25% annual - (A) |
| Performance Fee | 10% of excess over specified benchmark (at the underlying fund level). None applied to direct tactical investments. |
| Eligible for Registered Plans | Yes |
| Investor Risk Tolerance | Medium |
Fund Objective
The objective of the Fund is to seek to provide a total return over the long term by investing primarily in a portfolio of mutual funds that are managed by the Manager, its associates or its affiliates. The Fund may also invest in gold bullion, exchange traded funds and equity and/or fixed income securities.- Fund Snapshot
- Simplified Prospectus
- Annual Information Form
- Point of Sale Disclosure - Series A
- Point of Sale Disclosure - Series D
- Point of Sale Disclosure - Series F
- Point of Sale Disclosure - Series I
- Point of Sale Disclosure - Series T
- Additional Documents
- Conference Calls
Q4 Market Commentary
The Sprott Tactical Balanced Fund Series A (the "Fund") gained 44 basis points during the fourth quarter.
At year end, the Fund had approximate allocations to the institutional series of the following funds: Sprott Canadian Equity Fund at 20.0%, Sprott Diversified Yield Fund at 39.9%, Sprott Energy Fund at 15.4% and Sprott Small Cap Equity at 13.5%.
The Fund's allocation to the Sprott Energy Fund and the Sprott Small Cap Equity Fund, which rose 21.2% and 4.5%, respectively, during the quarter, helped nudge the Fund into positive territory. As represented by WTI which made an impressive run from the mid $70s in early October to $100 during the last week of December, oil stocks enjoyed a relatively strong quarter. The Sprott Energy Fund now holds a meaningful allocation to oil services stocks as the manager believes that a strong oil price and continued drilling in liquid rich natural gas reservoirs will drive these stocks, which were recently trading at historically low multiples, considerably higher. The Sprott Small Cap Fund continues to provide a diversified portfolio of small and mid-cap stocks which have traditionally outperformed their larger cap peers during periods of economic recovery.
The Sprott Diversified Yield Fund had a marginally negative quarter that was largely the result of high yield spreads widening. Regardless, we believe that the distinct strategy offered by this unique fixed income fund will add value over passive bond investments during 2012 and, as such, remains an allocation close to the stated maximum allowed by our investment policy.
The Sprott Canadian Equity Fund provides a core allocation to precious metals. We believe that most rational industry pundits would have to conclude that the resulting effects of past and future money printing and liquidity injections are inherently inflationary. This allocation therefore provides a defense against inflation and offers purchasing power protection while also providing the purest access to silver stocks available to Canadians.
We would like to remind unitholders that the Fund is not a typical 60/40 balanced fund which the Canadian market is saturated with. The Sprott Tactical Balanced Fund remains an ideal vehicle for investors to easily gain a balanced approach to Sprott's equity strategies that have delivered superior long-term net-of-fee outperformance.