Gordon Pape's 1994 Buyer's Guide to Mutual Funds

Jane M. Wilson is a Toronto-based chartered financial analyst in the
investment business.

Canadians have nearly $130 billion invested in mutual funds, and
choosing a fund today is as bewildering as selecting individual
investments. This guide has essential information for the prospective
investor. It has no vast tables of performance data; these can be found
in business newspapers. As a directory of mutual funds, the book is
fairly good; as a guide to buying a mutual fund, it is excellent.

The guide describes types of funds and their marketing arrangements.
Tax effects and fee structures are illustrated with calculations. Also
covered are specialized funds—Far East, money market, real-estate,
labor-sponsored, tactical asset-allocation funds, and more. The second
half of the book lists fund managers and telephone numbers, and features
Pape’s choices. Unfortunately, stated assets under management exclude
corporate funds managed by the same team; some of Canada’s largest
money managers are shown as directing a mere $100 million or so. The
lack of information on the relative size is regrettable. Funds are then
listed by specialization. Each has a risk rating, notations for load
type and RRSP eligibility, and an overall rating of suitability. Rating
revisions are noted. This information is followed by remarks by the
author about performance to June 1993 and other points of interest.
Pape’s unstructured commentary indicates considerable research and
will be as valuable to readers as his ratings.