CI Financial reports record assets under management

TORONTO, March 3, 2014 /CNW/ - CI Financial Corp. ("CI") today reported assets under management of $95.1 billion as of February 28, 2014, a new record for CI.

CI's assets under management grew by $15.3 billion or 19.1% year over year and were up $3.3 billion or 3.6% for the month of February. Total assets were $123.2 billion at February 28, representing growth of $19.4 billion or 18.7% for the year and $4.2 billion or 3.5% in February. In comparison, the S&P/TSX Composite Total Return Index gained 14.3% over the year and 3.9% in February.

"February was exceptional for CI," said Stephen A. MacPhail, CI President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our net sales outpaced every February since 2000 and we achieved our best ever monthly asset growth, at $3.3 billion, reflecting good investment performance by our portfolio managers."

Recently, CI's investment performance was recognized at the 2013 FundGrade® A+ Awards, with CI receiving 21 awards - more than any other fund company. The awards recognize investment funds with consistent, outstanding risk-adjusted performance and are presented by Fundata Canada Inc., a major provider of financial and market data.

CI's assets under management as of February 28, 2014 were up $6.6 billion or 7.4% from the average assets under management for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, and up $11.8 billion or 14.1% over the average for fiscal 2013.

CI also reported assets under administration at Assante Wealth Management (Canada) Ltd. of $28.1 billion at February 28, 2014, an increase of 17.1% year over year.

Additional information about CI's assets and financial position can be found below in the tables of preliminary statistics and on its website, www.cifinancial.com, in the Statistics section. These are the only statistics authorized by CI and CI takes no responsibility for reporting by any external sources.

CI FINANCIAL CORP. February 28, 2014 PRELIMINARY MONTH-END STATISTICS
ENDING ASSETS	Feb. 28/14  (millions)	Jan. 31/14  (millions)	%  Change	Feb. 28/13  (millions)	%  Change
Assets under management	$95,113	$91,805	3.6%	$79,844	19.1%
Assets under administration*	28,087	27,195	3.3%	23,982	17.1%
TOTAL	$123,200	$119,000	3.5%	$103,826	18.7%

MONTHLY AVERAGE  ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT	Feb. 28/14  (millions)	Jan. 31/14  (millions)	%  Change
Monthly average	$93,006	$91,751	1.4%

FISCAL QUARTER AVERAGE  ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT	Ending Feb. 28/14  (millions)	Ending Dec. 31/13  (millions)	%  Change
Fiscal quarter average	$92,347	$88,558	4.3%

FISCAL YEAR AVERAGE  ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT	Ending Feb. 28/14  (millions)	Fiscal 2013  (millions)	%  Change
Fiscal year average	$92,347	$83,325	10.8%

EQUITY		FINANCIAL POSITION (millions)
Total outstanding shares   QTD weighted avg. shares Current Yield Potential share dilution from options All options % of shares	284,593,578 284,625,703 3.3% 1,058,837 2.0%	Debt outstanding Net debt outstanding Terminal redemption value of funds	$500 $364 $747

* Includes CI and United Financial funds administered by Assante advisors.

ESTIMATED GEOGRAPHIC EXPOSURE OF AUM
Canada	44%	Asia	4%
United States	27%	Other	5%
Europe	14%	Cash	6%

CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX) is an independent, Canadian-owned wealth management company. CI offers a broad range of investment products and services, including an industry-leading selection of investment funds, and is on the Web at www.cifinancial.com.

SOURCE: CI Investments Inc.

Stephen A. MacPhail
President and Chief Executive Officer
CI Financial Corp.
[phone]