CI Global Asset Management Announces Launch of ETF Series of CI Floating Rate Income Fund

Rhea-AI Summary

CI Global Asset Management has launched its CI Floating Rate Income Fund ETF C$ Series on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker CFRT. With a management fee of just 0.35%, the fund offers Canadian investors low-cost exposure to floating rate securities, aiming to provide a hedge against rising interest rates. As of March 31, 2022, the fund was the top performer in its category over three years, with a five-star rating from Morningstar Canada. Additionally, the risk rating for the CI MSCI Europe Low Risk Weighted ETF (RWE.B) has changed from Low-to-Medium to Medium.

Positive

• Launch of the CI Floating Rate Income Fund ETF with a low management fee of 0.35%.
• The fund ranked #1 for absolute returns within its category over three years as of March 31, 2022.
• Five-star rating from Morningstar Canada.

Negative

• Risk rating for CI MSCI Europe Low Risk Weighted ETF (RWE.B) increased from Low-to-Medium, indicating higher risk.

Risk rating change announced for CI MSCI Europe Low Risk Weighted ETF (RWE.B)

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CI Global Asset Management (“CI GAM”) today announced that ETF C$ Series units of CI Floating Rate Income Fund (the “Fund”) will begin trading today on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) under the ticker symbol CFRT. The ETF C$ Series of the Fund has a management fee of 0.35% – the lowest management fee of any floating rate income ETF in the Canadian industry.

By investing in floating rate securities, the Fund allows investors to diversify their fixed-income portfolios and mitigate the impact of rising interest rates. The Fund benefits from the expertise of the CI GAM fixed-income team, which actively manages the security selection and the asset allocation of the portfolio.

CI Floating Rate Income Fund, offered since June 2017, has posted outstanding performance. Within its category, it is the #1 ranked fund for absolute returns over the three years ending March 31, 2022 – a challenging period for investors in corporate credit due to the economic disruption of the global pandemic and the increase in interest rates over the past six months. The Fund holds a five-star rating from Morningstar Canada and was the winner of a 2021 FundGrade A+^® Award.¹

As previously announced, the maximum management fees of Series F and A of the Fund were recently reduced by 40 basis points to flat fees of 0.35% and 0.85%, respectively.

CI Floating Rate Income Fund is designed to provide a regular income stream by investing in higher-yielding floating rate debt securities such as bonds and loans, as well as short-term high-yield and investment grade bonds and floating rate preferred shares. Given that interest rates paid by loans and floating rate bonds typically reset either monthly or quarterly, such securities offer a hedge against rising interest rates.

Risk rating change

CI GAM also announced that the risk rating for CI MSCI Europe Low Risk Weighted ETF (Unhedged Common Units) (TSX ticker: RWE.B) has been changed to “Medium” from “Low-to-Medium.” The risk rating change is effective immediately and is based on the risk classification methodology mandated by the Canadian Securities Administrators to determine the risk level of mutual funds. CI GAM reviews the risk rating for each of the funds it manages at least on an annual basis, as well as when a fund undergoes a material change. This change is the result of an annual review and are not the result of any changes to the investment objectives, strategies or management of the fund.

About CI Global Asset Management

CI Global Asset Management 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 Global Asset Management is a subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX, NYSE: CIXX), an integrated global asset and wealth management company with approximately $370.2 billion in assets as of February 28, 2022.

1) Performance
	1 year	3 years	Since Inception (June 1, 2017)
CI Floating Rate Income Fund (Series F)	3.25%	4.37%	3.66%
Morningstar Rating (Overall: 5 stars)	n/a	5 stars	n/a
Category fund rank	#2	#1	#1
Number of funds in category	93	87	75

Category is Floating Rate Loans; Source: Morningstar Research Inc., as of March 31, 2022. Category fund rank excludes USD virtual class fund series and represent the absolute return rank of the fund relative to category peers. Being ranked as the #1 fund means that no other fund outperformed it from an absolute return perspective over the trailing period. Morningstar Rating is for the Series F share class only; other classes may have different performance characteristics.

™2022 Morningstar and the Morningstar Rating are registered trademarks of Morningstar Research Inc. All rights reserved.

^©2022 Morningstar Research Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The Morningstar Absolute Quartile Rankings are compiled by sorting the funds by returns relative to the mutual funds within the same peer group and range from 1 to 4 for all time periods covered and can change monthly. The top performing 25% of funds in each fund category are assigned a ranking of 1, the next 25% a 2, etc.

Morningstar Ratings reflect performance as of March 31, 2022 and are subject to change monthly. The ratings are calculated from a fund’s 3, 5 and 10-year returns measured against 91-day Treasury bill and peer group returns. For each time period the top 10% of the funds in a category get five stars. The Overall Rating is a weighted combination of the 3, 5 and 10-year ratings. For greater detail see www.morningstar.ca.

CI Floating Rate Income Fund received a FundGrade A+ Award for the year 2021 in the CIFSC Floating Rate Loan category, which included 57 funds. The time period used to calculate the award was 1/31/2018 – 12/31/21.

FundGrade A+^® is used with permission from Fundata Canada Inc., all rights reserved. The annual FundGrade A+^® Awards are presented by Fundata Canada Inc. to recognize the “best of the best” among Canadian investment funds. The FundGrade A+^® calculation is supplemental to the monthly FundGrade ratings and is calculated at the end of each calendar year. The FundGrade rating system evaluates funds based on their risk-adjusted performance, measured by Sharpe Ratio, Sortino Ratio, and Information Ratio. The score for each ratio is calculated individually, covering all time periods from 2 to 10 years. The scores are then weighted equally in calculating a monthly FundGrade. The top 10% of funds earn an A Grade; the next 20% of funds earn a B Grade; the next 40% of funds earn a C Grade; the next 20% of funds receive a D Grade; and the lowest 10% of funds receive an E Grade. To be eligible, a fund must have received a FundGrade rating every month in the previous year. The FundGrade A+^® uses a GPA-style calculation, where each monthly FundGrade from “A” to “E” receives a score from 4 to 0, respectively. A fund’s average score for the year determines its GPA. Any fund with a GPA of 3.5 or greater is awarded a FundGrade A+^® Award. For more information, see www.FundGradeAwards.com. Although Fundata makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Fundata.

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compound total returns net of fees and expenses payable by the fund (except for figures of one year or less, which are simple total returns) including changes in security value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns. Mutual funds and ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell units of an ETF on recognized Canadian exchanges. If the units are purchased or sold on these Canadian exchanges, 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.

This communication is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase mutual funds managed by CI Global Asset Management and is not, and should not be construed as, investment, tax, legal or accounting advice, and should not be relied upon in that regard. Every effort has been made to ensure that the material contained in this document is accurate at the time of publication. Individuals should seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding any particular investment. Investors should consult their professional advisors prior to implementing any changes to their investment strategies. These investments may not be suitable to the circumstances of an investor.

The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect the current expectations of CI GAM regarding future results or events and are based on information currently available to them. Certain material factors and assumptions were applied in providing these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. CI GAM believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions; however, CI GAM can give no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, a forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. CI GAM undertakes no obligation to publicly update any such statement or to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances except as required by securities laws. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release.

CI Global Asset Management is a registered business name of CI Investments Inc. ©CI Investments Inc. 2022. All rights reserved.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220419005299/en/

Murray Oxby

Vice-President, Corporate Communications

CI Global Asset Management

416-681-3254

moxby@ci.com

Source: CI Global Asset Management

FAQ

What is the management fee for the CI Floating Rate Income Fund ETF CFRT?

The management fee for the CI Floating Rate Income Fund ETF CFRT is 0.35%, the lowest in its category.

How did the CI Floating Rate Income Fund perform over three years?

As of March 31, 2022, the CI Floating Rate Income Fund was the #1 ranked fund for absolute returns in its category over three years.

What is the new risk rating for CI MSCI Europe Low Risk Weighted ETF RWE.B?

The risk rating for CI MSCI Europe Low Risk Weighted ETF RWE.B has changed from Low-to-Medium to Medium.

When did the CI Floating Rate Income Fund ETF start trading?

The CI Floating Rate Income Fund ETF began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on the date of the press release.