TORONTO, Sept. 25, 2020 /CNW/ - CI Investments Inc. ("CI")
today announced a proposal to implement fixed administration fees
for each series of 19 CI exchange-traded funds ("ETFs"), replacing
the current variable operating expenses being charged to the ETFs
(the "Proposal").
If approved by securityholders, CI, as manager, will be
responsible for the operating expenses of each ETF, other than
certain expenses ("Certain Expenses"), in exchange for the payment
by the ETF of a fixed administration fee. Under the Proposal, the
management expense ratio ("MER") of each ETF series will consist of
the management fee, the fixed administration fee, Certain Expenses
and applicable taxes.
Fixed administration fees have become a more common investment
industry practice in recent years and offer several benefits to
investors, including greater predictability and transparency of the
MER for each ETF, as well as protection from potential increases in
future operating expenses.
The following is a list of the ETFs included in the Proposal and
their ticker symbols:
|
Fund
name
|
Ticker(s)
|
Fund
name
|
Ticker(s)
|
|
CI First Asset Active
Canadian Dividend ETF
|
FDV
|
CI First Asset Global
Financial Sector ETF
|
FSF
|
|
CI First Asset Active
Credit ETF
|
FAO, FAO.U
|
CI First Asset
Investment Grade Bond ETF
|
FIG, FIG.U
|
|
CI First Asset Active
Utility & Infrastructure ETF
|
FAI
|
CI First Asset Long
Duration Fixed Income ETF
|
FLB
|
|
CI First Asset
Canadian Buyback Index ETF
|
FBE
|
CI First Asset MSCI
Canada Quality Index Class ETF
|
FQC
|
|
CI First Asset
Canadian REIT ETF
|
RIT
|
CI First Asset
Preferred Share ETF
|
FPR
|
|
CI First Asset
CanBanc Income Class ETF
|
CIC
|
CI First Asset Short
Term Government Bond Index Class ETF
|
FGB
|
|
CI First Asset Core
Canadian Equity Income Class ETF
|
CSY
|
CI First Asset U.S.
& Canada Lifeco Income ETF
|
FLI
|
|
CI First Asset
Enhanced Government Bond ETF
|
FGO, FGO.U
|
CI First Asset U.S.
Buyback Index ETF
|
FBU
|
|
CI First Asset
Enhanced Short Duration Bond ETF
|
FSB, FSB.U
|
CI First Asset U.S.
TrendLeaders Index ETF
|
SID
|
|
CI First Asset
European Bank ETF
|
FHB
|
|
|
Pursuant to National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds,
the Proposal requires the approval of securityholders of the ETFs.
Accordingly, meetings of securityholders will be held on
Thursday, December 3, 2020, and if
required, adjourned meeting(s) will be held on Thursday, December 10, 2020. Holders of record
for each series of securities on October 23,
2020 will be entitled to receive notice and vote at the
meetings. The Notice and Access Document which details the Proposal
will be mailed to investors and the Management Information Circular
will be available on www.sedar.com and on www.firstasset.com on or
about October 29, 2020. If approved,
the change to fixed administration fees will take effect on or
before January 1, 2021.
The Independent Review Committee of the ETFs has reviewed the
Proposal with respect to potential conflict of interest matters and
provided its positive recommendation, having determined that the
Proposal achieves a fair and reasonable result for each of the
ETFs.
Risk rating changes
CI has also reviewed the risk ratings for each ETF included in
the Proposal and will be making changes to the risk rating for six
ETFs, effective immediately:
|
Fund
name
|
Current risk
rating
|
New risk
rating
|
|
CI First Asset Active
Credit ETF
|
Low
|
Low-to-Medium
|
|
CI First Asset
Canadian Buyback Index ETF
|
Low-to-Medium
|
Medium
|
|
CI First Asset
Canadian REIT ETF
|
Low-to-Medium
|
Medium
|
|
CI First Asset Core
Canadian Equity Income Class ETF
|
Low-to-Medium
|
Medium
|
|
CI First Asset MSCI
Canada Quality Index Class ETF
|
Low-to-Medium
|
Medium
|
|
CI First Asset U.S.
Buyback Index ETF
|
Medium
|
Medium-to-High
|
The changes are based on the risk classification methodology
mandated by the Canadian Securities Administrators to determine the
risk level of mutual funds. CI 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. These changes are not the result
of any changes to the investment objectives, strategies or
management of the ETFs.
Information about CI's ETFs is available at
www.firstasset.com.
About CI Investments
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 company offering
global asset management and wealth management advisory services
with $189 billion in assets as of
August 31, 2020.
This communication is intended for informational purposes
only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation
of an offer to purchase CI First Asset ETFs and is not, and should
not be construed as, investment, tax, legal or accounting advice,
and should not be relied upon in that regard. Commissions,
management fees and expenses all may be associated with an
investment in ETFs. 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. The CI First Asset
ETFs are managed by CI Investments Inc., a subsidiary of CI
Financial Corp., which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
under the symbol "CIX".
CI Investments and the CI Investments design are registered
trademarks of CI Investments Inc.
©CI Investments Inc. 2020. All rights reserved.
SOURCE CI Investments Inc.