A prominent Canadian mutual fund executive is bullish on investing in the US.

"The US is one of our favourite markets. We feel the characteristics are good for prolonged economic recovery. We can see this recovery lasting at least a few years,'' Mr. Frederick Pye, senior vice president of Fidelity Investments Canada Ltd., said on Friday, during a visit to the Island.

"Corporate profits are good in the US, inflation has subsided, and margins are reflecting productivity gains. With low inflation corporate profits can be maintained. We are also looking for the US dollar to stabilise against the Japanese yen. This will bode well for the US. There is a big debate on how much of the dropping US dollar is due to trade volume and how much is linked to speculation.'' The decline in the US trade deficit seems to indicate the latter is playing a bigger role than first thought, he said.

Mr. Pye, responsible for managing and directing Fidelity's business in Canada, is visiting Bermuda and spoke at a seminar on Thursday evening. The seminar held at City Hall, sponsored by Emerald Financial Group, covered global investment opportunities. About 20 people attended.

For the past year, he has been based in Toronto as part of Fidelity Canada's senior management team. From 1991 to 1994 he was based in Montreal as a regional vice president for Fidelity. Under Mr. Pye's guidance Fidelity became the largest mutual fund company in Quebec.

"Today people are concerned about how poor the markets were in 1994 and they are also interested in the opportunities presented,'' he said.

"The average investor now realises the risks associated with emerging markets as countries repatriate capital. Canada's economy has to some extent been a victim of repatriated capital and there has been a lot of press on separatism.

Separatism has no where near the strength it did in 1980. There is a strong federalist movement in Quebec and this makes for a strong buying opportunity,'' he said.

Mr. Pye has over 10 years' experience in the Canadian investment industry; active in all aspects of financial markets from equities to precious metals and from foreign currencies to managed trade options.

He holds an honours degree in economics and an MBA from Concordia University in Montreal.

Fidelity Canada is that country's sixth largest mutual fund company managing over $6 billion in mutual fund assets.

Fidelity Investments Canada, established in 1987, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boston-based Fidelity Investments, North America's largest mutual fund company.

Emerald Financial Group, a Bermuda company, plans to host a spring seminar in conjunction with Mckenzie Financial Corp.