Principal Protected Notes

MSCI Hedge Invest Index Notes, Series 1

Product Summary

Inception Date December 19, 2003
Maturity Date August 31, 2013
Offering Price $10.00
Guarantee Amount $......
Market Price Per Note $......

The ONE Financial MSCI Hedge Invest Index Notes™, Series 1 (the "Notes") are a new guaranteed investment designed to provide conservative investors with an alternative to traditional stock market and GIC investments. The Notes offer investors returns linked to the MSCI® Hedge Invest Index, an index consisting of a diverse sample of hedge funds. This index represents a broad range of hedge fund strategies that offer the potential for positive returns in both up and down markets. The Notes also provide 100% principal protection and a 10% guaranteed minimum return at maturity.

  • Issued by Société Générale (Canada) and guaranteed by its parent Société Générale, one of the largest banks in the world (approximately twice the size of Canada's largest bank)
  • 100% principal guarantee plus a 10% guaranteed minimum return at maturity (matures in 8+ years*)
  • Historical pro-forma returns are 15.5% per year (November 30th, 1993 to August 31st, 2003)
  • Returns linked to a diversified hedge fund index currently consisting of 141 experienced hedge fund managers, with the potential for positive performance in all stock market environments
  • 100% RRSP, RRIF, RESP, and DPSP eligible as Canadian property
  • Tax efficient structure defers taxes on growth above the guaranteed minimum return
  • Initial Offering Period: until December 15th, 2003

Investment Details

Style Hedge Fund / Index / Principal-Guaranteed
Underlying investment MSCI Hedge Invest Lyxor Tracker Fund
Index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc.
Guarantor Société Générale (Rated AA by S&P)
Administrator ONE Financial
Enhanced return potential Yes
Liquidity Weekly
RSP eligibility 100% (Canadian content)
Performance as at September 30, 2008
Returns as at September 30, 2008
1 Month -0.40%
3 Months 1.47%
6 Months 1.09%
Year-To-Date 1.69%
1 Year 2.14%
3 Year (annualized) -1.48%
Total Return since Inception -8.02%
Index Composition as at September 23, 2008
Arbitrage 12%
Discretionary Trading 9%
Event-Driven 4%
Long Bias 23%
Merger Arbitrage 1%
Multi-process (DT) 1%
Multi-process (MPG) 6%
Multi-process (RV) 1%
Specialist Credit ex illiquid 11%
No Bias 10%
Short Bias 0%
Statistical Arbitrage 3%
Systematic Trading 12%
Variable Bias 7%
Commentary as at September 30, 2008

The ONE Financial MSCI Hedge Invest Index Notes, Series 1 (the "Notes") provide returns linked to the MSCI Hedge Invest Index (the "Index") through the MSCI Hedge Invest Lyxor Tracker Fund (the "Index Fund"). The Index was down 10.47% for the third quarter of 2008 after being up 0.59% for the second quarter. The best-performing MSCI Hedge Invest sub-index this quarter was Systematic Trading (down 6.92%), while the worst-performing sub-index over the last three months was Long Bias (down 14.31%).

Investors in the Notes have benefited from the evolution of the Index which has raised its number of constituent funds from 74 at the end of 2003 to 141 at the end of the fourth quarter. The continuing refinement of the Index makes for a more diversified and representative benchmark of the hedge fund universe, providing investors with potentially lower portfolio volatility. Investors in the Notes automatically gain access to new investment managers and processes as they become part of the Index.

The Notes posted an increase of 1.5% for the third quarter, and are down 8.0% since inception. Investors in the Notes should keep in mind that the price of the Notes prior to maturity will not directly track the performance of the Index, and is affected by many inter-related factors, including:

  • changes in the level of interest rates,
  • the Notes' maturity payoff formula,
  • the performance of the Index Fund,
  • time remaining until the Notes' maturity date,
  • the level of volatility of the underlying Index Fund, and
  • market demand for the Notes.

The difference between the performance of the Notes and the performance of the Index since inception of the Notes can partly be attributed to the fact that the Notes are a principalguaranteed investment, which makes them highly sensitive to changes in the level of interest rates (especially in the early years following the Notes' inception dates). Over time, the impact of interest rates on the market price of the Notes gradually disappears, and investors benefit from the full payoff (in accordance with the terms of the Notes) linked to the performance of the Index Fund at maturity.

Purchase

This Note is available for purchase and eligible for the ONE Financial AMP Investment Loan Program. Please contact your Financial Advisor for more information.

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