Sonia D. Raikes

Standard Life Investment Canada's (SLIC) investment process combines asset allocation, stock selection, portfolio construction, risk management and trading. Their research is based process seeks the early identification of changes in the key drivers that affect markets and the factors that are likely to cause shifts in the investment environment. SLIC's process is supplemented by analysis of the key drivers of the p[rice and what expectations for these drivers are currently priced in the investment. The firm then considers what is changing and whether these changes will lead to revised market expectations and a revised share price. The firm's Asset Mix Strategy Committee sets the overall investment strategy for their balanced mandates. The Committee examines broad economic, fundamental, technical, quantitative market and industry data to ensure that portfolios are appropriately structured. The recommended asset mix is based on a 12 to 18 month outlook. SLIC's portfolio management team is responsible for the implementation of the asset mix strategy. The firm manages a variety of portfolios with different styles, objectives and constraints. Portfolio construction responsibilities are allocated to a number of equity portfolio teams covering core, small cap-focused and income portfolios. SLIC's fixed-income investment approach is based on interest rate anticipation and is enhanced by active trading that seeks to exploit anomalies in the valuation of individual issues or market sectors. Investments are of high-quality and liquidity, so that the portfolio can be restructured as expectations and relative values change.