Bridgehouse Asset Managers Announces Changes to Its Investment Fund Lineup

TORONTO, Jan. 29, 2019 /CNW/ - Bridgehouse Asset Managers (Bridgehouse), the retail trade name for Brandes Investment Partners & Co., today announced a proposal to merge the following funds effective on or about May 3, 2019 and August 23, 2019, subject to obtaining all necessary securityholder and regulatory approvals:

Fund mergers on or about May 3, 2019

Terminating Funds	Continuing Funds
Brandes Global Balanced Fund Sionna Monthly Income Fund Sionna Diversified Income Fund	Sionna Canadian Balanced Fund
Sionna Canadian Small Cap Equity Fund	Sionna Opportunities Fund

Fund merger on or about August 23, 2019

Terminating Fund	Continuing Fund
Brandes U.S. Small Cap Equity Fund	Brandes Global Small Cap Equity Fund

Bridgehouse has also decided to implement the following changes with respect to Sionna Canadian Balanced Fund, each change to be effective as of April 12, 2019, except as noted below: reduce the management fee applicable to Series A and Series F of the Fund, redesignate Series AN and FN of the Fund  as Series A and F, respectively, change the distribution policy to monthly (effective May 15, 2019), enhance the investment strategies to include dividend paying companies, and change the name of the Fund to Sionna Strategic Income Fund.  Bridgehouse will also be expanding its large investor program to provide additional fee reductions for certain qualifying investors in Lazard Global Compounders Fund.

Proposed Fund Mergers

Bridgehouse has decided to implement the proposed mergers of the Terminating Funds into the Continuing Funds due to the benefits of scale that are expected to be achieved by merging the Terminating Funds with the Continuing Funds.

Approval from securityholders of the Terminating Funds and Sionna Canadian Balanced Fund will be sought at special meetings to be held on April 12, 2019. In advance of the meetings, full details of the proposed mergers will be set out in a notice of meetings and management information circular that will be sent or made available to securityholders of record as at February 25, 2019. The notice of meetings and management information circular will also be available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

If the proposed mergers are approved, the mergers are expected to be implemented on or about May 3, 2019 and August 23, 2019.  Securityholders of each series of the Terminating Funds will receive securities of the equivalent series of the Continuing Funds.  The Terminating Funds will be wound up as soon as possible following the mergers. The Independent Review Committee of the funds listed above has reviewed the potential conflict of interest matters related to the proposed mergers and has provided Bridgehouse, the manager of the funds, with a positive recommendation for the mergers after determining that the mergers, if implemented, achieve a fair and reasonable result for the funds.

In anticipation of the proposed mergers, the Terminating Funds will be closed to new purchases, excluding pre-authorized debit plan purchases, effective as of close of business on January 29, 2019.

Management Fee Reduction and other changes to Sionna Canadian Balanced Fund

Effective April 12, 2019, the management fee applicable to Series A and Series F of Sionna Canadian Balanced Fund will be reduced as indicated in the table below:

Series of Sionna Canadian Balanced Fund	Current Management Fee	New Management Fee
Series A	1.90%	1.80%
Series F	0.90%	0.80%

Also effective April 12, 2019, except as noted below, Series AN and FN of Sionna Canadian Balanced Fund will be redesignated as Series A and F, respectively, the distribution policy will be changed to monthly (effective May 15, 2019), the investment strategies will be enhanced to include dividend paying companies, and the name of the Fund will be changed to Sionna Strategic Income Fund.

Large Investor Fee Reduction for Lazard Global Compounders Fund

Effective February 1, 2019, investors in the Lazard Global Compounders Fund whose individual Fund account balance equals or exceeds $150,000 will automatically qualify for an additional 25 bps reduction in Cost for Series F and Series FH securities.

About Bridgehouse Asset Managers:
For more about Bridgehouse and the Bridgehouse Funds visit: bridgehousecanada.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Brandes Investment Partners & Co. is the manager of the Bridgehouse Funds. Securities of the Bridgehouse Funds are available through registered dealers only and not available through Bridgehouse. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Returns on mutual funds are not guaranteed, values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. 

News release for information purposes only.

SOURCE Bridgehouse Asset Managers

For further information: Media Contact: Samantha Hill, Senior Global Marketing Manager, Bridgehouse Asset Managers, 416-306-5723, [e-mail]

Related Links

http://bridgehousecanada.com