Under the new governance structure, the Finance Committee is responsible for all financial matters, including the management of the investments of the Consolidated Trust Fund (CTF) and Cemetery Fund. The Finance Committee has oversight of the Investment Committee which adheres to the parameters set out under Canon 39 (currently suspended). The Investment Committee meets at least four times a year to review the results of the Funds and to set policy directions.
For more information, contact Patricia D’Souza.
Consolidated Trust Fund
Churches are free to set their own investment policies and make their own decisions. Many choose to use the diocesan Consolidated Trust Fund (CTF). It provides a convenient and low-cost investment vehicle for the investment, endowment and trust funds of the Diocese and its parishes.
How it’s managed
The CTF is managed by the Investment Committee of Synod based on investment principles and guidelines contained in the Investment Policy Statement, established by the committee and approved by Synod Council. The investment policy for the fund is governed by the Ontario Trustee Act.
The fund uses a number of managers:
| Balanced fund | Letko Brosseau |
| Equity fund | Burgundy Asset Management Ltd; 1832 Asset Management |
| Fixed income | Manulife Investment Management |
| Infrastructure | Northleaf Capital Partners |
| Custodian | RBC Investor & Treasury Services |
As of December 31, 2023, the investment portfolio mix is as follows:
| Letko Brosseau | 20.82% |
| Burgundy Asset Management | 32.17% |
| 1832 Asset Management | 15.02% |
| Manulife Investment Management | 11.42% |
| Northleaf Capital Partners | 20.57% |
How is the CTF performing?
The rate of return on investment funds is calculated on an annual basis. Here’s the five-year performance:
| Year | Unit value | Yield | % of return |
| 2019 | 238.17 | 4.25% | 11.45% |
| 2020 | 243.72 | 4.25% | 6.58% |
| 2021 | 279.47 | 4.25% | 18.92% |
| 2022 | 253.74 | 4.25% | -4.96% |
| 2023 | 279.14 | 4.25% | 14.26% |
The 2024 CTF dividend rate is at 4.50% (4.25% in 2023).
The dollar value of dividend per unit is computed as a three-year rolling average, taking September as the base period for the past three years. For example, for the year 2023, the average of unit values of the three periods — September 2022, September 2021 and September 2020 — is multiplied by the yield rate (4.25%) to determine the dividend per unit.
Investing in the CTF
Send the amount you want to invest as a cheque payable to “The Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Toronto.” In the memo line, write “CTF investment” and the parish name. You can also send funds by direct deposit:
- Bank name: CIBC
- Institution number: 010
- Transit number: 00002
- Account number: 8146713
Include a letter of direction with your investment that states the fund name where the money should be invested.
In case of new funds, provide the following details:
- Fund name: the name you want to give your investment.
- Fund type: Rectory Fund, Glebe Fund, Cemetery Investment, Cemetery Bequest, Church Bequest Restricted, Church Bequest Unrestricted, Church Investment Restricted, Church Investment Unrestricted, Endowment
- Restrictions to withdrawals, if any, with a detailed explanation of the conditions that need to be met to be able to withdraw
- Dividend payment term: paid out in full, partially capitalized, capitalization percentage
- Signatures: signatures of the authorized churchwardens who can request withdrawals from the fund
Dividend payments
To receive your dividends (paid out partially or in full), download and submit an EFT Permission form. To get your investment fund statements, let us know what email addresses to send them to.
Dividends are based on the unit balance at the end of the previous calendar quarter. For example, if you invest in a fund on Oct. 1, you’ll receive your first dividend payment on March 31 of the following year, based on the units in the fund as of Dec. 31 of the year of investment.
We recommend that you post-date your cheque to a quarter end date or send us funds close to the end of a quarter, as it won’t earn any money until the investment is unitized.
Withdrawing funds
There is no minimum balance restriction on the withdrawal of funds, but if you ask to withdraw the entire fund balance, we usually require 20% withheld until the quarterly unitization process is complete. This is necessary to determine the updated value of the units and make any adjustment to pay out the remaining balance.
For more information, contact Patricia D’Souza.
Cemetery Fund
The Cemetery Fund is managed by Scotia Asset Management, which invests on behalf of the parishes with cemeteries. It includes Care & Maintenance Funds, Monument Funds and Pre-need Funds.
The Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c.33 requires that the funds be managed by a trustee. The trustee for the Cemetery Fund is Scotia Wealth Management.
The fund will distribute income earned in the form of interest and dividend. In compliance with Bereavement Authority of Ontario’s requirement, the dividend distribution is limited to the investment income earned during the year. As a result, the income distribution for the year 2023 was set at the rate of $5.94 per unit, representing a 3.3% return on investments as at December 31, 2023.