CI Investments funds and First Asset ETFs win Thomson Reuters Lipper Fund Awards

TORONTO, Nov. 8, 2018 /CNW/ - CI Investments Inc. ("CI") and First Asset Investment Management Inc. ("First Asset"), an affiliate of CI, announced today that they have each been honoured with 2018 Thomson Reuters Lipper Fund Awards. The awards recognize funds that have provided consistently strong risk-adjusted performance, relative to peers.

"We congratulate our portfolio managers on their impressive work and these well-deserved accolades," said Neal Kerr, Executive Vice-President, Investment Management at CI. "These awards reflect the deep expertise that CI's portfolio management teams have developed across categories and asset classes and their focus on achieving consistent risk-adjusted returns over the long term."

"We are very proud to have earned two Lipper Fund Awards," said Rohit Mehta, President, First Asset. "These awards speak to the quality and strength of the ETF solutions we have built at First Asset since we first began offering ETFs in 2011."

The 2018 Lipper Fund Awards for Canada were announced last night in Toronto. The winning CI funds are:

• Cambridge Canadian Dividend Fund was a winner in the Canadian dividend and income equity category over five years. The fund is managed by Stephen Groff of Cambridge Global Asset Management.
• Cambridge Global High Income Fund was a winner in the tactical balanced category over 10 years and is co-managed by Cambridge Global Asset Management's Robert Swanson and Paul Marcogliese.
• Sentry Small/Mid Cap Income Fund was a winner in the Canadian-focused small/mid-cap equity category for its 10-year returns. The Lead Portfolio Manager of the fund is Aubrey Hearn of Sentry Investment Management.
• Sentry Precious Metals Fund was an award recipient in the precious metals equity category over 10 years and is managed by Sentry Investment Management's Jon Case.

The winning First Asset ETFs are:

• First Asset Morningstar National Bank Québec Index ETF (QXM) won in the Canadian equity ETF category for its five-year performance.
• First Asset Morningstar International Value Index ETF (Unhedged) (VXM.B) won in the international equity ETF category over three years.

About CI Investments ­­– Trusted Partner in Wealth™ 
CI Investments is one of Canada's largest investment management companies. It offers a wide range of investment products and services, and is on the Web at www.ci.com. CI is a subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX), an independent, Canadian-owned wealth management firm with $172.5 billion in fee-earning assets as of October 31, 2018.

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.

About the Lipper Awards Methodology
The Lipper Fund Awards, granted annually, are part of the Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence and highlight funds that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers. The Lipper Fund Awards are based on the Lipper Ratings for Consistent Return, which is a risk-adjusted performance measure calculated over 36, 60 and 120-month periods. The highest 20% of funds in each category are named Lipper Leaders for Consistent Return and receive a score of 5, the next 20% receive a score of 4, the middle 20% are scored 3, the next 20% are scored 2 and the lowest 20% are scored 1. The highest Lipper Leader for Consistent Return in each category wins the Lipper Fund Award. Lipper Leader ratings change monthly. For more information, see www.lipperweb.com. Although Lipper makes reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Lipper.

Cambridge Canadian Dividend Fund (Class D units) was named Best Canadian Dividend Fund Global five years ending July 31, 2018 out of a category total of 73 funds (3 years), 69 funds (5 years), 46 funds (10 years). Performance for the fund for the period ended September 30, 2018 was 3.19% (1 year), 8.21% (3 years), 10.48% (5 years) and 10.05% (10 years). The corresponding Lipper Leader ratings of the fund for the same period were: 5 (3 years), 5 (5 years) and 5 (10 years).

Cambridge Global High Income Fund (Class A units) was named Best Tactical Balanced Fund for 10 years ending July 31, 2018, out of a category total of 40 funds (3 years), 31 funds (5 years), 10 funds (10 years). Performance for the fund for the period ended September 30, 2018 was 2.3% (year 1), 3.3% (3 years), 5.2% (5 years) and 7.5% (10 years). The corresponding Lipper Leader ratings of the fund for the same period were: 2 (3 years), 2 (5 years), and 4 (10 years).

Sentry Small/Mid Cap Income Fund (Series A units) was named Best Canadian Focused Sm/Mid Cap Equity for 10 years ending July 31, 2018 out of a category total of 19 funds (3 years), 17 funds (5 years) and 14 funds (10 years). Performance for the fund for the period ended September 30, 2018 was 5.01% (1 year), 9.79% (3 years), 9.82% (5 years) and 13.74% (10 years). The corresponding Lipper Leader ratings of the fund for the same period were: 2 (3 years), 3 (5 years) and 5 (10 years).

Sentry Precious Metals Fund (Series A units) was named Best Precious Metals Equity fund for 10 years ending July 31, 2018 out of a category total of 12 funds (3 years), 12 funds (5 years), 11 funds (10 years). Performance for the fund for the period ended September 30, 2018 was -18.94% (1 year), 8.55% (3 years), 1.50% (5 years) and 3.82% (10 years). The corresponding Lipper Leader ratings of the fund for the same period were: 2 (3 years), 3 (5 years), and 5 (10 years).

First Asset Morningstar National Bank Québec Index ETF (QXM) was named Best Canadian Equity ETF for 5 years ending July 31, 2018 out of a category total of 23 funds (3 years), 19 funds (5 years), N/A funds (10 years). Performance for the fund for the period ended September 30, 2018 was -2.88% (1 year), 6.75% (3 years), 9.58% (5 years) and N/A (10 years). The corresponding Lipper Leader ratings of the fund for the same period were: 4 (3 years), 5 (5 years), and N/A (10 years).

First Asset Morningstar International Value Index ETF (unhedged) (VXM.B) was named Best International Equity ETF over 3 years ending July 31, 2018 out of a category total of 17 funds (3 years), N/A (5 years), N/A (10 years). Performance for the fund for the period ended September 30, 2018 was -7.40% (1 year), 7.01% (3 years), N/A (5 years) and N/A (10 years). The corresponding Lipper Leader ratings of the fund for the same period were: 5 (3 years), N/A (5 years), and N/A (10 years).

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds and ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compound total returns including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or operational charges or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns. Performance is calculated net of all fees. The performance information shown is for a particular class of units and may not be indicative of the performance of other classes or series of the same fund. Variations in performance data among various classes or series of the same fund are due to differences in management fees attributed to each class or series. You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell units of an ETF on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX"). If the units are purchased or sold on the TSX, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying units of the ETF and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them.

®CI Investments, the CI Investments design, and Cambridge are registered trademarks of CI Investments Inc. ™Sentry Investment Management is a trademark of CI Investments Inc. The First Asset ETFs are managed by First Asset Investment Management Inc., a subsidiary of First Asset Capital Corp. (FA Capital). ™First Asset and its logo are trademarks of FA Capital.   ®CI FINANCIAL is a registered trademark of CI Investment Inc., used under license.

Cambridge Global Asset Management and Sentry Investment Management are each a division of CI Investments Inc.

Certain funds associated with Cambridge Global Asset Management are sub-advised by CI Global Investments Inc., a firm registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and an affiliate of CI Investments Inc. Robert Swanson is associated with CI Global Investments Inc.

SOURCE CI Financial Corp.

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