First Asset ETFs Announce Planned Elimination of Advisor Class Units

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TORONTO, April 3, 2017 /CNW/ - First Asset Investment Management Inc., the manager of the First Asset family of exchange traded funds ("First Asset"), announces that it plans to eliminate all advisor-class units of its exchange trade funds ("ETFs"). Advisor class units are a class of ETF units which pay a service fee to the financial professionals who have purchased them on behalf of their clients. Advisor class units are currently only available on certain ETFs offered by First Asset (see the table below) and are denoted by ".A", ".D" or ".V" after their ticker symbol. The advisor class units represent less than 2% of First Asset's ETF assets under management and First Asset anticipates the changing regulatory environment will continue to reduce the demand for these units.

As of April 28, 2017, advisor class units will no longer be issued by the First Asset ETFs, and conversions from common class units to advisor class units will no longer be available. On or about July 7, 2017 (the "Conversion Date"), First Asset plans to reduce the annual management fee on the advisor-class units by an amount equal to the applicable service fee payable in respect of that class of units, and either concurrently or as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter, convert all advisor class units into the corresponding common class units of the same ETF, subject to receipt of all regulatory and third party approvals, if any. As at the Conversion Date, the advisor class units and the common class units will share the same attributes, and accordingly, the conversion will not adversely impact the financial interests or rights of any unitholders.

In connection with the conversion, holders of converting advisor class units will receive a number of whole converted common class units of the same ETF with an aggregate net asset value ("NAV") equal to the aggregate NAV of the advisor class units converted, based on their respective NAVs as of the applicable Conversion Date. The conversion of advisor class units into common class units of the same ETF does not give rise to a disposition by unitholders of converting advisor class units for tax purposes. A further press release will be issued confirming the details of conversion prior to the Conversion Date.

Unitholders do not have to take any action to participate in the elimination of the service fee or the conversion described above.

First Asset – Smart Solutions^TM

First Asset, a CI Financial Company, is a Canadian investment firm delivering a comprehensive suite of smart ETF solutions. Rooted in strong fundamentals, First Asset's smart solutions strive to deliver better risk-adjusted returns than the broad market, while helping investors achieve their personal financial goals.

^TMFirst Asset and its logo are trademarks of First Asset Capital Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CIX". ^®CI FINANCIAL is a registered trademark of CI Investments Inc., used under license.

	Name	Ticker(s)
1.	First Asset Canadian Convertible Bond ETF	CXF.A
2.	First Asset 1-5 Year Laddered Government Strip Bond Index ETF	BXF.A
3.	First Asset Can-Energy Covered Call ETF	OXF.A
4.	First Asset Can-Materials Covered Call ETF	MXF.A
5.	First Asset Tech Giants Covered Call ETF	TXF.A
6.	First Asset Energy Giants Covered Call ETF	NXF.A NXF.D
7.	First Asset European Bank ETF	FHB.A
8.	First Asset U.S. & Canada Lifeco Income ETF	FLI.A
9.	First Asset Active Canadian Dividend ETF	FDV.A
10.	First Asset Active Utility & Infrastructure ETF	FAI.A
11.	First Asset Canadian REIT ETF	RIT.A
12.	First Asset Morningstar Canada Dividend Target 30 Index ETF	DXM.A
13.	First Asset Morningstar US Dividend Target 50 Index ETF	UXM.A UXM.D
14.	First Asset Morningstar Canada Momentum Index ETF	WXM.A
15.	First Asset Morningstar US Momentum Index ETF	YXM.A YXM.D
16.	First Asset Morningstar Canada Value Index ETF	FXM.A
17.	First Asset Morningstar US Value Index ETF	XXM.A XXM.D
18.	First Asset Morningstar International Value Index ETF	VXM.A VXM.D
19.	First Asset Morningstar International Momentum Index ETF	ZXM.A ZXM.D
20.	First Asset Morningstar National Bank Québec Index ETF	QXM.A
21.	First Asset MSCI Canada Low Risk Weighted ETF	RWC.A
22.	First Asset MSCI USA Low Risk Weighted ETF	RWU.A RWU.D
23.	First Asset MSCI Europe Low Risk Weighted ETF	RWE.A RWE.D
24.	First Asset MSCI World Low Risk Weighted ETF	RWW.A RWW.D
25.	First Asset Active Credit ETF	FAO.A FAO.V
26.	First Asset Core Canadian Equity ETF	CED.A
27.	First Asset Core U.S. Equity ETF	CES.A CES.D CES.V

 

SOURCE First Asset

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