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RBC's Voyageur to acquire Access Capital Strategies
Strategic move expands Voyageur Asset Management's Capabilities
into Socially Responsible Investing
MINNEAPOLIS and BOSTON, June 10, 2008 — Royal
Bank of Canada (RY on NYSE and TSX) and Boston-based Access
Capital Strategies, LLC (Access Capital) today announced the
signing of a definitive acquisition agreement under which
Voyageur Asset Management Inc. will acquire certain assets
of Access Capital.
The details of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition
is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions
and is expected to be completed by the third fiscal quarter
2008.
Founded in 1997, Access Capital operates as an independent
SEC-registered investment adviser serving banks and related
financial institutions, public pension funds, foundations,
endowments and community trusts. The firm manages the Access
Capital Strategies Community Investment Fund (Ticker: XACSX)
which invests in debt securities that support community development
serving low and moderate-income individuals and communities
across the U.S. These activities include investment in home
ownership, affordable housing, education, community health
centers and small businesses. Access Capital has more than
US$650 million in assets under management.
"Increasingly, clients are seeking investment opportunities
that are consistent with their values," said Mike Lee,
president and chief investment officer of Voyageur, which
has sub-advised the fund since 2006. "The Access Capital
Community Investment Fund provides clients with the ability
to target investments by income and region, pinpointing where
their investment can make a positive impact in a community."
Access Capital represents a strong strategic fit for Voyageur
and helps RBC to build a U.S. presence and increase its activities
in socially responsible investment assets. RBC is listed on
the 2007-2008 Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which recognizes
the world's financial, social and environmental corporate
leaders, as well as the Jantzi Social Index and the FTSE4Good
Index.
"Access Capital and Voyageur have developed an innovative
partnership combining extensive community investment expertise
and fixed income portfolio management and I look forward to
becoming a part of the Voyageur team and building on that
success," said Ron Homer, chief executive officer of
Access Capital.
"Access Capital has built a strong reputation for effectively
leveraging our clients' assets through vital community investments
without sacrificing total returns," added David Sand,
president and chief investment officer of Access Capital.
"I'm excited to continue the Community Investment Fund's
10-year history of serving our clients and communities as
a part of the Voyageur organization."
About Global Asset Management and RBC Wealth Management
Global Asset Management comprises RBC Asset Management Inc.
(RBC AM), Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management
Ltd. (PH&N) and Voyageur Asset Management Inc.
Founded in 1983, Voyageur Asset Management
Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser headquartered
in Minneapolis, MN. It is an institutional asset management
company with US$34 billion in assets under management, offering
equity and fixed income investment strategies. For more information,
please visit www.voyageur.net.
Global Asset Management is part of RBC Wealth Management,
which directly serves affluent and high net worth clients
in Canada, the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia,
and provides asset management and trust products and services
directly and through RBC partners and third-party distributors.
RBC Wealth Management has nearly $500 billion of assets under
administration, more than $240 billion of assets under management,
and more than 3,600 financial consultants, advisors, private
bankers and trust officers.
About Royal Bank of Canada
RBC (RY on NYSE and TSX) is the 5th-largest bank in North
America and one of the top 25 largest banks in the world as
measured by market capitalization. In the United States, RBC
provides personal and commercial banking, insurance, full-service
brokerage and corporate and investment banking services to
about two million clients through RBC Bank, RBC Insurance,
RBC Wealth Management, and RBC Capital Markets. The company
employs approximately 70,000 full and part-time employees
who serve more than 15 million personal, business, public
sector and institutional clients throughout offices in North
America and 36 countries around the world. In 2007, the company
released the RBC Environmental Blueprint, outlining its environmental
priorities and objectives. In 2007, RBC was named Canada's
top corporate citizen, and in 2008, was named one of the top
100 sustainable companies in the world. For more information,
please visit www.rbc.com.
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For more information, please contact:
RBC / Voyageur
Kevin Foster, (212) 428-6902
Beja Rodeck, (416) 974-5506
Investor Contacts:
Amy Cairncross, RBC, (416) 955-7809
For general investor relations information please visit:
www.rbc.com/investorrelations.
CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained in this press release may be
deemed to be forward-looking statements under certain securities
laws, including the "safe harbor" provisions of
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities legislation,
and Royal Bank of Canada intend that such forward-looking
statements be subject to the safe-harbor created thereby.
These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to statements with respect to the acquisition of Access Capital
by Voyageur Asset Management. Forward-looking statements are
typically identified by words such as "believe",
"expect", "forecast", "anticipate",
"intend", "estimate", "plan"
and "project" and similar expressions of future
or conditional verbs such as "will", "may",
"should", "could", or "would".
By their very nature, forward-looking statements require
us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and
uncertainties, which give rise to the possibility that our
predictions, forecasts, projections, expectations and other
forward-looking information, including statements about the
acquisition of Access Capital by Voyageur Asset Management
will not be achieved. We caution readers not to place undue
reliance on these statements as a number of important factors
could cause our actual results to differ materially from the
expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements.
These factors include, but are not limited to the possibility
that the proposed transaction does not close when expected
or at all because required regulatory, shareholder or other
approvals are not received or other conditions to the closing
are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all, that the Voyageur
and Access Capital may be required to modify the terms and
conditions of the proposed transaction to achieve regulatory
approval, or that the anticipated benefits of the transaction
are not realized as a result of such things as the strength
of the economy and competitive factors in the areas where
Voyageur does business; the impact of changes in the laws
and regulations regulating financial services and enforcement
thereof (including banking, insurance and securities); judicial
judgments and legal proceedings; Voyageur's ability to complete
the acquisition of Access Capital and to integrate it with
Voyageur successfully; reputational risks, and other factors
that may affect future results of Voyageur and Access Capital,
including changes in trade policies, timely development and
introduction of new products and services, changes in tax
laws, and technological and regulatory changes. We caution
that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive.
Additional information about these and other factors can be
found in Royal Bank of Canada's 2007 Annual Report.
Except as required by law, RBC, Voyageur and Access Capital
assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements
contained in this press release.
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