Acadian Wins Big In Canada

Acadian Asset Management in Boston almost doubled its assets under management from Canadian pension funds to $4.6 billion last year, according to Benefits Canada magazine.

Capital Guardian Trust Co., however, suffered a 38.9% decline in its assets under management from Canadian plans, Legg Mason Canada posted a 30.1% drop and Northwater Capital Management lost 25.2% of Canadian pension assets. Canadian pension funds are shifting their money into alternatives and global mandates, away from domestic long-only portfolios.

Seventeen of the top 40 Canadian money managers saw their assets decline in 2007. Three big fund managers, Phillips Hager & North, Addenda Capital and Aurion Capital, were sold in recent months to larger financial institutions. Only one of the top 10 players, Connor Clark & Lunn, had better growth in 2007 than it did in 2006, noted Benefits Canada. CC&L, which is a multi-strategy boutique, saw its pension assets grow 13.3% to $20.3 billion, achieving No. 10 ranking in the nation.